Hoarding the Harvest

Reflection for October 4, 2026 - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants and reveals himself as the “cornerstone the builders rejected.” Find the daily reading here.

I’ve always thought the Parable of the Tenants could be a storyline on one of those “world’s dumbest criminals” shows.

Serial murder seems like an absolutely insane course of action simply to hoard the profits of a harvest you don’t legally own. In what world did the tenants think they would get away with that? Furthermore, they must have had a contract with their landowner ensuring payment for their labor. Why, all of a sudden, is this payment not enough?

It’s easy to dismiss the tenants as paranoid. Selfish. Greedy.

But then I think of my soul — my own little vineyard. Who owns it? Who bought it at great cost?

You see, the Parable of the Tenants isn’t a story about greed. It’s a story about trust. The tenants don’t trust the landowner to give them their payment, to honor his promises. They’re scared. They’re resentful. They’re angry.

And I get it.

Around my vineyard, there is a hedge, a protective barrier of grace shielding the fruit within from the toxic fumes of a fallen world. There is a wine press, so that the harvest of my vineyard can fulfill its ultimate purpose instead of withering, forgotten, on the branch. And there is a tower, tall and sturdy, built by capable hands. From its summit, I can see predators — animals, thieves — a long time before they reach me.

But I can see something else from the tower, too. I can see the landowner’s Son, making his way to the gates of my vineyard. He is coming to claim the harvest. He is coming to give me what is promised.

Do I trust him? Do I let him in?

©LPi