DEATH TO ENTITLEMENT

After having cleansed the temple on Monday, Jesus comes back each day to teach in the temple. He speaks about the Kingdom of God, sharing parables and answering questions from the Pharisees and priests. One of his teachings is the “Parable of the Evil Farmers,” which we will read today.  

In Jesus’ parable, the renters of the farm began to believe the farm was theirs and the harvest was their fruit, rather than remembering it was the owner’s property and rightfully his. They held on to their entitlement of working the land, forgetting they had been hired and entrusted to work for the owner. The priest and Jewish people were God’s chosen people to tell others of His wonders. But they lost sight of their true purpose of being God’s people - a light for others to come and share in God’s kingdom. Instead, the priest and Pharisees chose, like the tenants, to believe their religious laws and actions entitled them and them alone to be righteous. Rather than remembering that all things come from God and His kindness.