The Vineyard belongs to all of us 

In our Gospel this weekend we are drawn further into what’s happening in the Vineyard of the Lord. Jesus is in the last week of his life in Jerusalem; the conflicts with the religious leaders are pivoting. Jesus does the unprecedented. He drives away those buying and selling in the Temple, who, led by the religious officials, have turned what should be a house of prayer for all people into a self-serving house for the privileged. 

 
Time and time again, God will use the excluded of the world, those not seen or treated as if they don’t matter, to create something new, to change the course of history. Jesus the Cornerstone says, “Come, stand on me; let’s build something new from what happened to you. Let’s build something new out of your experience. You are part of the greater story, my story, called ‘The Resurrection Story.’ 

 
Jesus assures us that we have been given the gift of dignity; we have a purpose in this world. We are now the tenants, the stewards of God’s vineyard. We have been entrusted with this world with all that we have. He asks us, do we acknowledge it? You are baptized; you have a stake in this Church. Will you claim it? Were you rejected for speaking the truth? Jesus reminds us that you are an heir to the Kingdom. Will you build it?