The Parable of the Wicked Tenants teaches us a lot about God and how God relates to us. First we see the PROVIDENCE of God. “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower.” (MARK 12: 1a). Before God entrusts a responsibility to you, He makes provision for all that you will need in carrying out the responsibility.

“Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.” (MARK 12: 1b). This shows God’s TRUST in us. God does not stand looking over our shoulders, policing us to make sure we do the right thing. God leaves the job to us and goes on vacation to a far country, so to say. God trusts that we will do the right thing. Unfortunately many of us don’t. The story also highlights God’s PATIENCE with us. God sends messenger after messenger to the rebellious managers who would not render to God what is His due. With each messenger, God provides another chance for us to put an end to rebellion and do the right thing. Finally there comes a last chance. God plays His last card and sends His only Son. If we miss this last chance, then we’ve missed it. In the end we see God’s JUDGMENT in which rebellious humanity lose their very lives, and their privileges are transferred to others who are more promising. The picture is that of a provident, trusting, patient, but also just God.

From this we can learn a lot about ourselves and how we stand in relation to God. First we see human PRIVILEGE. Like the managers of the vineyard, everything we have is a privilege and not a merit. This is what we mean when we say that everything is God’s grace. Grace is unmerited favour. Another word for this is privilege. Life itself is a privilege which can be taken away from any of us at any moment. Privilege comes, however, with RESPONSIBILITY. We are ultimately responsible and accountable to God for the way we use or abuse our God-given privileges. God has given us all that we need to make a judicious use of all our privileges, yet we retain the ability to abuse them. This is called FREEDOM. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants is a parable on the misuse of human freedom. Let us today pray for the wisdom and the courage never to abuse our privileges but rather to make a judicious use of all the privileges and opportunities that God gives us.                                                                            (FR. MUNACHI E. EZWOGU)

They tell of two friends walking along in the desert.

During the journey, the two began a temperamental argument. Eventually, in the heat of the moment, one friend slapped the other friend’s cheek. The friend who had been slapped did not hit back or curse his friend. Instead, he picked up a stick and wrote in the sand:

Today, my best friend slapped me in the face.

They continued their journey, until they found an oasis and decided, after quenching their thirst, to take a swim. One friend went into the water and splashed in them with no problem and the other friend, who had been slapped, tripped and hit his head, and immediately began to sink.

His friend quickly swam towards him and pulled him to shore, where he slowly recovered. When he felt better, he got up, found a sharp stone and carved on a rock these words:

Today, my best friend saved my life.

His friend, who has both slapped him and rescued him from drowning, looked at him, surprised.

‘After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you’re carving on stone – why?’

The other friend looked at him and said:
‘When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand so the winds of forgiveness can erase what happened, but when something good happens or when someone is doing a wonderful thing for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can blur what happened, and no future deeds can erase the kindness.’

We hope to always remember, to etch those good deeds on the rock of our foundation, and to let the winds of forgivness wipe away the bad deeds that were done to us, if only we write them in sand, and not in stone…                                      (SOURCE UNKNOWN)

There were five distinctive groups of people present during Jesus’ Triumphal Entry on the first Palm Sunday.

THE COMMITTED: A committed follower of Christ is one who follows Jesus leadership without questioning. A committed follower recognizes Jesus as Lord. In their lives we see an obedience to go where led. They understand Jesus mission of bringing a lost and dying world to new life in Him. Committed followers give willingly of themselves for the cause of Christ. We see in their lives an orientation towards the needs of others. A committed follower acts as an extension of Jesus Christ.

THE CONFUSED: The confused don’t recognize Jesus for who He truly is. They may see Jesus as a good man, a prophet or a wise man. They may confess that Jesus is Lord, but yet believe that their works and not God’s grace will save them. The confused often have the wrong intentions. Many of those present that day, thought that Jesus was coming to overthrow the Roman government and take political control of the country. Many people are the same today; they may see God as their piggy bank or their life raft, but not as their reason for living and not as their Savior and Lord.

THE PRETENDERS: The pretenders are often present, but have no real commitment to Jesus. They want to be seen, but will not surrender control of their lives. Some people come to church to get someone off their back or just to ease their conscience, but ultimately they are going through the motions. These people know very little about Jesus Christ or His plan for their lives. Pretenders are easily influenced by the actions of others. They will take the path of least resistance and will let the approval of others dictate their level of commitment.

THE CURIOUS: The curious that day, thought of Jesus along much the same lines as the circus or a magic show. Their minds were permeated with a wonder about what amazing thing Jesus would do next. The curious are neither committed or opposed. They may have heard some interesting things about Jesus, and just want to find out for themselves. They are seeking amazing experiences both emotional and paranormal. They are not necessarily looking for truth, just what feels right for the moment.

THE OPPOSITION: The opposition seeks to promote its own interests. Those in opposition to Jesus are consumed with seeking the attention of people. They oppose a commitment to Christ, because commitment requires change, requires the focus to be on Jesus and not ourselves. They actively seek to destroy those who would promote Jesus Christ in their lives.

The question now becomes very simple: Which One Are You?

No matter which face is yours, Jesus loves you. He gave His life for you and He rose again that you might have eternal life. As Jesus went through the crowd He saw each and every face, He knew each and every story. Jesus sees your face today and He knows your story… will you allow Him to be the Lord and Savior of your life?                                                        (CARL WILLIS)

Someone once said that worship is the act of sacrificially giving to Jesus something that is precious to us. What would that be for you? Your money? Your time? Your job? For the Mary of Bethany, it was a container of perfume.

First of all, the alabaster jar of ointment contained something that was very precious, but as long as it stayed in the container, it didn’t benefit anyone. But when the perfume was poured out upon Jesus its fragrance filled the house. God has given each one of us a spiritual gift. It may be great faith, acts of service, hospitality, teaching, or some other gift. But if you keep that gift to yourself, it benefits no one. It is your responsibility as a Christian to figure out what your gift is, and then to use it for the glory of God and the benefit of those around you.

When Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, she walked away smelling like Jesus did. When we use what we have for Jesus, others can sense that we have been with Him. If your gift is mercy, you display the mercy that Jesus showed to us when He died in our place. If your gift is evangelism, then you display the love that Jesus has for sinners. The use of our spiritual gifts causes others to sense Jesus’ presence in our lives.

Mary couldn’t do much, but she did what she could. Mary couldn’t keep the Jewish leaders from falsely accusing Jesus. She couldn’t keep the soldiers from crucifying Him, or the crowds from mocking Him. But she could show her love and devotion by sacrificing the most precious thing that she possessed. You may be thinking, I can’t teach, I can’t sing, but too often we focus on what we can’t do instead of what we can. So what if you can’t teach? Not everyone is meant to be a teacher. Can you call someone on the phone and invite them to church? Can you go and visit someone who is in the hospital? For us to accomplish great things in God’s Kingdom, we must all work together, doing whatever we have the ability to do.

Jesus told the disciples to leave Mary alone and to stop criticizing her. We must never disregard or devalue anyone else’s acts of service. The sad thing is that I see Christians do that all the time. The people who do these things are just like the disciples in the story…too busy complaining about others to worship their Lord and Savior.

Some believe that Mary’s act of devotion was the thing that caused Judas to decide to switch teams. Judas was the most vocal of the disciples in criticizing Mary for what she had done, but it wasn’t because he was concerned for the poor; it was because he was the treasurer of the group and had taken some of their money for himself. Judas wanted to get his hands on that money. So when Jesus condemns the disciples for criticizing Mary, Judas decides to get his money another way…by betraying Him. Judas went to the religious leaders and promised to hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

What is Jesus worth to you? To Mary, He was worth everything that she had. To Judas He was worth 30 pieces of silver.                       (SHAWN ROSE)