Grace does not cancel out our responsibility or accountability for the things God has given us to do. (Mike Bickle) One of the major themes that Jesus preached during his public ministry was accountability. Accountability is a sign of one’s fidelity and loyalty. One who is not accountable can’t be considered faithful. The parable of the talent and the parable of the final judgement emphasize the aspect of accountability in our faith journey. The gospel passage of the day presents to us the parable of the wicked tenants. The parable of the vineyard entrusts his vineyard to tenants, hoping that they will remain loyal to him. However, they forgot the fact that they were just tenants and were called to remain accountable to the owner. They became very selfish and wanted to possess the vineyard by all means. The master sends his servants to collect his share. Anyway, these wicked tenants, instead of surrendering their accountability, harmed the servants sent by their master. Some of them were beaten up, some others were stoned, and a few were killed. Though the master had repeated experiences of rejection, he lends another chance for the tenants to correct their errors.

Finally, he decided to send his only son, thinking that they would respect him and do justice to him. However, the wicked tenants would consider this a golden opportunity to eliminate the heir so that they could possess the vineyard forever. Therefore, they killed him. Jesus poses the question to his audiences: What would the owner do when he came to know about the deeds of these arrogant servants? The disciples answered that he would destroy these wicked tenants and entrust the vineyard to those tenants who faithfully served the master and the vineyard.

Jesus uses this parable to speak about his own salvific mission. The Lord is the owner of the vineyard. The vineyards represent the people of Israel. In the first reading taken from the book of the prophet Isiah, we see how God cared for the people of Israel like a vineyard. He entrusted the care of his vineyard to religious leaders such as Pharisees, scribes, priests, etc.; they were accountable before the Lord. In the history of Israel, we see the Lord sending his prophets in every epoch to correct the people of Israel and to assist them in getting back their fidelity to Yahweh. Despite everything, these prophets were rejected by the people of Israel. The prophet Mica was imprisoned on bread and water; the prophet Zechariah was stoned in the temple courts; Jeremiah was chastised; Isiah was sawn into two; and the last of all prophets, John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for Jesus, was beheaded by King Herod and Herodias. Finally, when Jesus the Messiah came, the religious leaders sought all the possible ways to murder him and finally managed to condemn him to crucifixion. In the parable, we read that tenants threw their son’s body out and even failed to give him a proper burial. Jesus had a quick burial ceremony, and he was buried in a borrowed tomb. The church is the new Israel, and Jesus, the corner stone rejected by the tenants, became the corner stone of the new building. The new tenants are apostles, the shepherds, after the heart of Jesus called them to remain accountable and serve the people faithfully.

As we reflect on this gospel passage, let us pose and see: are we accountable to the Lord for the graces that he has bestowed in our lives? We cannot take for granted any graces that we have received. God sent all the blessings and responsibilities with the intention that we needed to shepherd and nurture everyone through our fidelity to the Lord and fellow brethren. As we continue our faith journey, let us grow in our accountability and prepare in such a way that we may not be ashamed when the Lord asks us to present our accountability at the end of our faith journey.