Tenants of Live and Love

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, exhort us to develop the virtues that will assist in the growth of communities in which we are tenants of the Lord.

The Vineyard of the Lord

The Reading from the Second Letter of Peter is an Exhortation to Christian Virtue and proclamation of The Power of God’s Promise.*

* [1:1] Symeon Peter: on the authorship of 2 Peter, see Introduction; on the spelling here of the Hebrew name Šim‘ôn, cf. Acts 15:14. The greeting is especially similar to those in 1 Peter and Jude. The words translated our God and savior Jesus Christ could also be rendered “our God and the savior Jesus Christ”; cf. 2 Pt 1:11; 2:20; 3:2, 18.

* [1:2] Knowledge: a key term in the letter (2 Pt 1:3, 8; 2:20; 3:18), perhaps used as a Christian emphasis against gnostic claims.

* [1:3–4] Christian life in its fullness is a gift of divine power effecting a knowledge of Christ and the bestowal of divine promises (2 Pt 3:4, 9). To share in the divine nature, escaping from a corrupt world, is a thought found elsewhere in the Bible but expressed only here in such Hellenistic terms, since it is said to be accomplished through knowledge (2 Pt 1:3); cf. 2 Pt 1:2; 2:20; but see also Jn 15:4; 17:22–23; Rom 8:14–17; Heb 3:14; 1 Jn 1:3; 3:2.

* [1:3] By his own glory and power: the most ancient papyrus and the best codex read “through glory and power.”

* [1:5–9] Note the climactic gradation of qualities (2 Pt 1:5–7), beginning with faith and leading to the fullness of Christian life, which is love; cf. Rom 5:3–4; Gal 5:6, 22 for a similar series of “virtues,” though the program and sense here are different than in Paul. The fruit of these is knowledge of Christ (2 Pt 1:8) referred to in 2 Pt 1:3; their absence is spiritual blindness (2 Pt 1:9).

* [1:10–11] Perseverance in the Christian vocation is the best preventative against losing it and the safest provision for attaining its goal, the kingdom. Kingdom of…Christ, instead of “God,” is unusual; cf. Col 1:13 and Mt 13:41, as well as the righteousness of…Christ (2 Pt 1:1). (2 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 91 is confident that God’s presence will protect the people in every dangerous situation.

* [Psalm 91] A prayer of someone who has taken refuge in the Lord, possibly within the Temple (Ps 91:1–2). The psalmist is confident that God’s presence will protect the people in every dangerous situation (Ps 91:3–13). The final verses are an oracle of salvation promising salvation to those who trust in God (Ps 91:14–16). (Psalms, PSALM 91 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark presents the Parable of the Tenants.

* [12:1–12] The vineyard denotes Israel (Is 5:1–7). The tenant farmers are the religious leaders of Israel. God is the owner of the vineyard. His servants are his messengers, the prophets. The beloved son is Jesus (Mk 1:11; 9:7; Mt 3:17; 17:5; Lk 3:22; 9:35). The punishment of the tenants refers to the religious leaders, and the transfer of the vineyard to others refers to the people of the new Israel. (Mark, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Creighton Online Ministries was on “hold” at publication time.

Don Schwager quotes “Christ's wounds bring healing and life,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"The vineyard prefigures us, because the people of God, founded on the root of the eternal Vine, appear above the earth, bordering the lowly ground. They now grow ripe with budding flowers. They now are clothed with dense greenery and take on a gentle yoke [see Matthew 11:30] when they worship with mature branches as if with the twigs of the vine. The Father Almighty truly is the Vinedresser, and Christ is the Vine. We, not vine sprouts, are pruned by the sickle of the eternal cultivator if we do not bear fruit in Christ. [see John 15:1-2] The people of Christ then is correctly named a vineyard, either because the sign of the cross is woven on its forehead [see Ezekiel 9:4,6] or its fruit is gathered in the last season of the year. It may also be called a vineyard because there is equal measurement in the church of God for rich and poor, humble and powerful, servants and masters. There is no difference in the church, as in all the rows of the vineyard.[see Colossians 3:25] As the vine clings to trees, so the body is joined to the soul and the soul to the body. When the vine clings, it is raised up. When it is pruned, it is not diminished, but it increases. The people of God is stripped when it is bound, uplifted when it is humbled, crowned when it is cut back. The tender shoot cut from an old tree is grafted onto the progeny of another root. When the scars of the old shoot are cut away, the people of God likewise grow into the wood of the cross. It is as if they are cherished in the arms of a pious parent. The Holy Spirit comes as if cast down into the deep ditches of the earth and poured into this prison of the body. With the flow of saving water, the Holy Spirit washes away whatever is filthy and raises the posture of our members to heavenly discipline. (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 9.30.21) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on 2 Peter 1:2-7 comments that St. Peter seems to be saying two different things in our first reading. He begins by reassuring us that God’s “divine power has bestowed on us everything” we need to become holy (2 Peter 1:3). But then he exhorts us, “Make every effort to supplement your faith” with virtue, knowledge, and the fruit of the Spirit (1:5). So do we just have to rely on God’s “divine power,” or do we have to work at it by “supplementing” our faith?

Or perhaps you are trying so hard on your own that you forget that it’s God’s “divine power” that you need each day (2 Peter 1:3). If so, try to remember to ask for his help when you face a temptation or trial.

God is so good! He is eager to give us everything we need to live a holy life. But he doesn’t want us to be passive and miss out on all he has for us. It’s the start of a new month—let’s choose to cooperate with the grace and power that God so willingly pours out on us!

“Lord, your grace is always sufficient. Help me to do my part!” (Meditation on 2 Peter 1:2-7, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the authorship debates concerning 1 Peter and 2 Peter. The secretary of Peter is a likely author of 1 Peter. 2 Peter is a letter likely written in the name of Peter at a later time. It proclaims Divine power to live a life of virtue beginning with endurance and progressing to love. Seven virtues are named indicating a path of perfect fulfillment in virtue. In Mark, the parable of the tenants of the vineyard, they finally kill the son thinking, falsely, to inherit the property. They kill inside the vineyard and throw the body outside. The leaders of the Jews realize the rejection of Jesus is about them, the tenants that have not responded. The fact that Jesus actually died outside the city walls is a mistake corrected in the accounts in Matthew and Luke. In Mark, the son is killed inside the walls and thrown out  indicating the parable dates to before the event of Jesus' death and proves Jesus knows He is going to die and accepts the mission from the Father.

The Parable of the Tenants is a parable told by Jesus. In Matthew 21:33-46, “And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him”.In Mark 12:1-12, “So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.”and in Luke 20:9-19. “So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, affirms God’s desire for us to know and welcome all of ourselves and others. Religious people who use the scriptures to condemn or exclude others seem to have different goals and objectives from those of God or Jesus. Their arguments generally have to do with very secular concerns: power and control, fear of the other and the unknown, and idealization of a family unit that Jesus himself neither lived nor idealized. Author Jen Austin considers how God invites us to move beyond neat categories:

It is part of the human tendency to put everything into a neat little category…. However, categories also allow us to include and exclude people based on characteristics that are unfamiliar to us or that we don’t understand. Black or white, gay or straight, we spend a lot of time and waste a lot of energy creating and adhering to labels in our culture, quite often at the expense of basic human dignity and common sense…. God is bigger than all our little boxes. God’s love transcends the lines we draw on earth. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)

We are empowered by the Spirit to oppose the greed and violence of our time that is continuing to reject the message of love and growth for the Vineyard of the Lord.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/12? 

Meditation on 2 Peter 1:2-7. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/01/1583509/ 

Psalms, PSALM 91 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/91? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Loving Beyond the Boxes. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/loving-beyond-the-boxes/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). They Will Respect My Beloved Son. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

2 Peter, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2peter/1? 

Gratitude or Greed

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the poison of greed and jealousy in damaging our relationship with the people in our lives and our full life with God.

Stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

In the Reading from the Book of Genesis, Joseph is Sold into Egypt.

* [37:21–36] The chapter thus far is from the Yahwist source, as are also vv. 25–28a. But vv. 21–24 and 28b–36 are from another source (sometimes designated the Elohist source). In the latter, Reuben tries to rescue Joseph, who is taken in Reuben’s absence by certain Midianites; in the Yahwist source, it is Judah who saves Joseph’s life by having him sold to certain Ishmaelites. Although the two variant forms in which the story was handed down in early oral tradition differ in these minor points, they agree on the essential fact that Joseph was brought as a slave into Egypt because of the jealousy of his brothers.

* [37:28] They sold Joseph…silver: editors tried to solve the confusion, created by different sources, by supposing that it was the Midianite traders who pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to Ishmaelites. In all probability, one source had the brothers selling Joseph to Ishmaelites, whereas the other had them cast him into the pit whence he was taken by Midianite traders. (Genesis, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 105 is a hymn to God who promised the land of Canaan to the holy people.

* [Psalm 105] A hymn to God who promised the land of Canaan to the holy people, cf. Ps 78; 106; 136. Israel is invited to praise and seek the presence of God (Ps 105:1–6), who is faithful to the promise of land to the ancestors (Ps 105:7–11). In every phase of the national story—the ancestors in the land of Canaan (Ps 105:12–15), Joseph in Egypt (Ps 105:16–22), Israel in Egypt (Ps 105:23–38), Israel in the desert on the way to Canaan (Ps 105:39–45)—God remained faithful, reiterating the promise of the land to successive servants. (Psalms, PSALM 105 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents The Parable of the Tenants.

* [21:33] Planted a vineyard…a tower: cf. Is 5:1–2. The vineyard is defined in Is 5:7 as “the house of Israel.”

* [21:34–35] His servants: Matthew has two sendings of servants as against Mark’s three sendings of a single servant (Mk 12:2–5a) followed by a statement about the sending of “many others” (Mk 12:2, 5b). That these servants stand for the prophets sent by God to Israel is clearly implied but not made explicit here, but see Mt 23:37. His produce: cf. Mk 12:2 “some of the produce.” The produce is the good works demanded by God, and his claim to them is total.

* [21:38] Acquire his inheritance: if a Jewish proselyte died without heir, the tenants of his land would have final claim on it.

* [21:39] Threw him out…and killed him: the change in the Marcan order where the son is killed and his corpse then thrown out (Mk 12:8) was probably made because of the tradition that Jesus died outside the city of Jerusalem; see Jn 19:17; Heb 13:12.

* [21:41] They answered: in Mk 12:9 the question is answered by Jesus himself; here the leaders answer and so condemn themselves; cf. Mt 21:31. Matthew adds that the new tenants to whom the vineyard will be transferred will give the owner the produce at the proper times.

* [21:42] Cf. Ps 118:22–23. The psalm was used in the early church as a prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection; see Acts 4:11; 1 Pt 2:7. If, as some think, the original parable ended at Mt 21:39 it was thought necessary to complete it by a reference to Jesus’ vindication by God.

* [21:43] Peculiar to Matthew. Kingdom of God: see note on Mt 19:23–24. Its presence here instead of Matthew’s usual “kingdom of heaven” may indicate that the saying came from Matthew’s own traditional material. A people that will produce its fruit: believing Israelites and Gentiles, the church of Jesus.

* [21:44] The majority of textual witnesses omit this verse. It is probably an early addition to Matthew from Lk 20:18 with which it is practically identical.

* [21:45] The Pharisees: Matthew inserts into the group of Jewish leaders (Mt 21:23) those who represented the Judaism of his own time. (Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB, n.d.)

Steve Scholer offers that if we can focus on just one word each day as we pray, we can put Greed and Envy in their place. And that word is Gratitude. To humbly thank God each day for his endless gifts, for our life and salvation, the joy we find in our friends and family, and the world God created for us.

St. Ignatius knew the importance of “Finding God in all things.” In so keeping, we should recognize God’s presence, not just in church, but in our everyday lives, be it at work, in relationships, in times of stress and joy, and in the beautiful world in which we live. By keeping our focus here, we can push Greed and Envy into the far recesses of our minds and live God-focused, not self-focused, lives. (Scholer, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes Life through death, by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Unless the Word of God had first assumed our mortal flesh He could not have died for us. Only in that way was the immortal God able to die and to give life to mortal humans. Therefore, by this double sharing He brought about a wonderful exchange. We made death possible for Him, and He made life possible for us." (excerpt from Sermon 218C, 1) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Genesis presents the story of Joseph, son of Jacob who showed his preference, and his brothers throw him in a dry cistern and he is sold to be a slave in Egypt. Joseph, in difficult circumstances, shows that God works through history to save. In the Gospel of Matthew, when the tenants refuse to pay they plan to kill the son and acquire the inheritance meant for the son. In Mark, they claim to kill him in the city. Mark as the oldest Gospel is likely to be what Jesus said and Matthew describes what happened. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. Friar Jude comments that the leader will be rejected. Jesus rejected, by them, will be the cornerstone of a new community including people from outside Israel.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 comments that Jesus can show us the way to freedom. As “the stone that the builders rejected,” he, too, knew the sting of rejection (Matthew 21:42). But he never let that sting fester into resentment or anger. Instead, he let his Father’s love dissolve any bitter or spiteful thoughts before they took hold of him. He protected his human gift of reason so that he could address challenges clearly and peacefully. And that enabled him to look at each person—including those who rejected him—with love and understanding.

So take Jesus as your model. Use your own God-given gift of reason to help you see clearly. Let your Father’s love dissolve your own bitterness and help you meet opposition with love. And when you are tempted to embrace the illogic of envy, let his mercy for everyone soften your heart.

“Jesus, teach me to think like you so that I can love like you.” (Meditation on Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, honors that we must be very clear about right and wrong, naming when injustice takes place, while maintaining our commitment to grace and love. Fr. Richard can’t deny there are numerous black and white, vengeful scriptures, which is precisely why we must recognize that all scriptures are not equally inspired or from the same level of consciousness. Literal interpretation of Scripture is the Achilles’ heel of fundamentalist Christians.

We have to begin with dualistic thinking, just as we must first develop a healthy ego and frame before we can move beyond it. Jesus often made strong binary statements, for example, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24); “The Son of Man will separate the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32–33). We must first be capable of some basic distinctions between good and evil before we can hold paradox. Without basic honesty and clarity, nondual thinking becomes very naive. We must first succeed at good dualistic thinking before we also discover its final inadequacy in terms of wisdom and compassion. Not surprisingly, Jesus exemplifies and teaches both dualistic clarity and then non-dual wisdom and compassion: “My Father’s sun shines on both the good and the bad; his rain falls on both the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

The ego prefers a dualistic worldview where bad people are eternally punished, and good people (like ourselves) are totally rewarded. But the soul does not need to see others punished to be happy! Why would anyone like the notion of somebody being tortured for all eternity? What kind of psyche or soul can condemn others to hellfire? Certainly not Divine Love. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit to bring to our mind gratitude that initiates the affirmation of the people, children of God, and “keystones” who bring fullness of life to our journey.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 37 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/37?3 

Matthew, CHAPTER 21 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/21?33 

Meditation on Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/06/1513232/ 

Psalms, PSALM 105 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/105?16 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/an-all-embracing-love/ 

Scholer, S. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-6-2026 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Stone Which the Builders Rejected. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/