“the fruited plain”
“In due time he dispatched a man in his service to the tenants to obtain from them his share of produce from the vineyard.” —Mark 12:2
The Lord’s first recorded words to the human race concerned the bearing of fruit: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gn 1:28, RSV-CE). Jesus even called Himself “the Vine” (Jn 15:5). This was His way of insisting that we bear abundant, lasting fruit (Jn 15:5, 16).
Jesus warned His disciples that they would suffer a tragic end unless they repented and bore fruit (Lk 13:1-9). He cursed a fig tree because it was not bearing fruit — even out of season (Mk 11:13ff). Jesus did this before He cleansed the Temple because of the unfruitfulness of its religious leaders. Before His death, Jesus told a parable about an owner of a vineyard who sent servant after servant to the vineyard’s tenant farmers to collect his share of the fruits (Mk 12:2ff). These servants were repeatedly beaten and murdered. Nevertheless, the owner of the vineyard was determined to get his fruit. He finally sent his beloved son to obtain the fruit. Predictably, the son was also murdered. Allegorically, this means that God the Father sent His Son not only to collect fruit but to bear it super-abundantly by dying on the cross (Jn 12:24).
Jesus has made Himself clear. We must bear the fruit of evangelization and holiness, or perish. Be fruitful!
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in me (see Gal 5:22).
Promise: “He has bestowed on us the great and precious things He promised, so that through these you who have fled a world corrupted by lust might become sharers of the divine nature.” —2 Pt 1:4
Praise: The king of Uganda, enraged at the refusal of some of his page boys to submit to his immoral demands, ordered his Christian servants to separate from the others. St. Charles Lwanga and fourteen other men declared their loyalty to Jesus and endured martyrdom.
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from June 1, 2024, through July 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio October 4, 2023"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.