NOTES for Mar 12:1-12
The parable of the wicked tenants reminds us of all human history - of the fate of the righteous in a world of sin. A similar parable had already been told by the prophet Isaiah (5:1-7), but here the emphasis is not on the vineyard, that is, Israel, the beloved planting of the Father, but on the tenants, those entrusted with cultivating and guarding the vineyard. The Father, that is, the vinedresser (cf. John 15:1), continually sends His servants into the world: prophets, apostles, saints, whose preaching and righteous lives have always been, are now, and will always be a living reproach to those in whom the blinding light of divine Truth exposes inner emptiness, even if it is covered with the garments of outward piety. No, these are by no means always hardened villains. It is important to remember that the parable is addressed to respected and even righteous people. But the righteousness of the Pharisees, in the words of one contemporary Christian writer, is bad because it can be measured, that is, one can say at some point, "I am a perfectly decent person," and rest there (see Luke 18:9-14). Historical tragedies are usually brought about not by villains, but by the majority of "decent people" who have lost their thirst for the Absolute, their thirst for holiness. Such people, even without wishing it themselves, can at some point kill God...
The vineyard is our own life; it is we ourselves, created in the image and likeness of the Creator. The image of the vineyard reminds us that life and everything we have are God's gift, a gift that does not belong to us and that we can lose. But we appropriate His gifts as our own property, and when He sends us His servants - our neighbors, all the people we meet and who need us - when we find ourselves in circumstances that require real fruit from us, we, like the tenants, prove unworthy of His call, His holiness, His love.
Let us try to remember that all the difficult circumstances of our life or, on the contrary, certain special moments of grace all mean that the Lord is calling us, that He wants us to bring Him our fruits, our heart.