By Father Jacob Dankasa
Special to The Texas Catholic
Every day we are blessed with an abundance of generosity from God — things both seen and unseen. He gives these things to us even when we don’t see or feel them. Because we are His creatures, God is constantly pasturing us and drawing us closer so that we recognize the many gifts with which He surrounds us. It is our responsibility to identify that which God has placed in our care and be joyful in taking care of it and nurturing it, as well as giving it the care that it deserves. Whatever God places in our hands is like a vineyard that needs to be properly taken care of with the utmost love.
The purpose of our creation is also fulfilled when we become good stewards of God’s creation and take care of the vineyard as described in Matthew 21:33-43. In this passage, Christ gave us the parable of the tenants in the vineyard. The owner of the vineyard prepared it and made it so beautiful for tenants: He “put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.” The Landowner prepared the vineyard so that it would be beneficial to tenants; then he leased it to them. I want us to take note that the owner “leased it” — he didn’t sell it to the tenants.
The owner of the vineyard represents God, and we humans are the tenants. The beautiful vineyard is the Earth and all that God has placed on it, and He has entrusted it to our care. We are on lease here on Earth. God didn’t sell what he places in our hands, and we do not possess complete and absolute ownership — we are caretakers. God wants us to be responsible caretakers of His possessions in our care. We’re not only to bear good fruits, but we also have the responsibility of seeing to the good of everything that God has placed in our care — our families, our jobs, our resources, our friends, our communities, our churches, etc. And because we are on lease here on Earth, we must give returns to the owner — God.
When we don’t take care of God’s manifold resources that are in our care with prudence, it amounts to a kind of rejection of God and His generosity, like the tenants in the parable. If you have a family, for instance, it is not a burden; God has leased that family to you for you to love, to nurture, and to behold. The same thing can be said of any good thing we possess. Similarly, for us Christians who belong to a parish, we must consider ourselves tenants with responsibility for that parish. And with responsibility comes the love of your parish and your desire to do all in your power to be among those who keep the parish going by your presence, by sharing your talents and your resources and, above all, by contributing to assuring its growth. Each of us who belongs to a faith community should feel like a responsible steward and a worthy caretaker of God’s gifts, and our house of worship is one of the best gifts that we can have. Don’t ignore your place of worship — you’re God’s partner on Earth in its taking care of it.
In the parable of the tenants the landowner was disappointed with the lack of care by the tenants when he returned. As we live our everyday lives, let’s love what we have — our spouses, families, friends, jobs, places of worship, etc. When we struggle to take care of these manifold gifts of God, we must not hesitate to return to the source of our strength, the Landowner — God. He is the source of our ability, and He will give us the grace to carry on. Don’t abandon or become careless of the many gifts God has given you.
Father Jacob Dankasa is the pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving.
