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The Gospels are filled with drama.

In a matter of pages, we encounter demons, lepers, prostitutes, murderers, and even Satan himself. 

At first glance, many of us are probably glad we didn’t live back then. Satan seemed to wreak havoc on people’s lives, leaving Jesus to clean up the mess.

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But is our world much different today?

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The mark of evil is division. As Jesus says in the Gospels, “A house divided against itself will fall.” 

And by extension – a family, a community, a nation, a world – divided against itself will fall; it falls because its members fight against each other.

It’s an uncomfortable question to ask ourselves, but how often are we responsible for sowing seeds of division?

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For example, when we gossip about other people; when we nurse a grudge or refuse to forgive; or when we post negative or hate-filled images online, we sow division.

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Jesus, on the other hand, seeks to unite us. This was his final prayer on earth before his crucifixion and death: “That they may be one, Father, as we are one.”

How can we counteract the forces of division around us, and answer Christ’s prayer for peace, instead?

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Perhaps we need to answer that individually.

But, we can all pray the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, who said some 800 years ago:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.” 

Be like Christ. Plant a seed of unity in the soil of America today. 

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In 1975, Cardinal Van Thuan, then the Archbishop of Hanoi, Vietnam, was arrested by the Communist government.

He spent the next 13 years in prison – 9 of them in solitary confinement. In his memoir, Five Loaves and Two Fish, Van Thuan says he was nearly driven to insanity.

He was in the prime of his life. He had been a bishop for 8 years, he was building schools and churches, and training young men to become priests.

But in an instant, everything was taken away.

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From his prison cell, Van Thuan could hear the bells of his cathedral ring in the morning, and the waves of the ocean crash along the beach at night.

His ministry was just beyond his reach.

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But those 13 years alone taught him an important lesson: We must seek the Lord in prayer before we do his work.

As Van Thuan wrote, “God wants me here and nowhere else.”

Here in this cell. Here in prayer. 

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The same is true for us.

The Lord wants us here – beginning our day in prayer – before we do anything else.

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How many of us saw recent pictures of that blood orange sky in San Francisco?

It looked apocalyptic.

Smoke from the wildfires billowed across the sky, turning everything orange.

A few days ago, I spoke with a friend who lives in northern California. He said it’s terrifying.  His sister has been evacuated four times in the last two years!

It’s hard to image the horror of watching fire creep towards your home year after year.

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These wildfires – along with hurricanes, floods, and higher temperatures – are part of the extreme weather ravaging our planet. 

I wonder, is this extreme weather a sign of what’s to come?

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In April of this year, National Geographic published an entire issue of their magazine addressing this question: What will our planet look like in 50 years?

They offered two starkly different scenarios.

In the worst-case scenario, we’ll see an increase in extreme weather, making vast parts of the planet uninhabitable, leading to large-scale migration, food shortages, and even war as nations fight for limited resources.

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In the best-case scenario, we can undo some of the damage we’ve done. 

But nations must work together to find sustainable ways to feed ourselves; to reduce carbon emissions; to clean our rivers, lakes, and oceans; and to reimagine the way we design our homes and cities.

In order to thrive, we must be good stewards of our planet.

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That’s also what the heart of today’s Gospel is about: stewardship. 

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Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who entrusts his vineyard to a group of tenants. 

The landowner gives them everything they need: he plants the choicest vines, puts a hedge around the vineyard, digs a wine press, and builds a tower. Then he hands the keys over to his tenants.

When the owner sends his servants to collect the wine, the tenants kill them. So, the landowner sends more of his servants. One by one, they’re slaughtered. The tenants even kill the landowner’s son.

Understandably, when the owner arrives, he puts these wicked tenants to death.

They reaped what they sowed.

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Jesus tells this parable to directly indict the religious leaders of his day. Like the wicked tenants, they were corrupt and short-sighted; sour stewards in the vineyard.

The Lord entrusted everything to them – his Law, the prophets, and his message of universal salvation – but they didn’t bear good fruit. They were wicked.

For this reason, their honor and privileged place in God’s kingdom was taken away from them and given to the Gentiles.

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So, what does this parable mean for us?

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God holds us accountable.

We’re stewards of creation, much like the tenants were stewards of the vineyard. The direction of our planet rests in our hands. God created the world, but he leaves us to care for it.

This has been a consistent message from Pope Francis, who calls upon us to care for creation; to share our resources with the most vulnerable; and to plan for future generations.

We’re stewards – not owners – of the earth.

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Think about what else we’re stewards of.

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We’re stewards of our democracy.

As Americans, it’s imperative to vote, to pay our taxes, and to participate in all forms of civic life.

Silence isn’t service.

We care for our nation by making our voices heard. The health of our nation depends upon active participation. 

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We’re stewards of the Church, and stewards of the faith.

It’s why we attend Mass, why we pray together, why so many of us contributed to the restoration of the church, and the building of our new pastoral center. 

The Lord depends upon us to hand on our faith from one generation to the next. Being present weekly and contributing to a safe and beautiful place to worship is part of being a good steward.

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Look at the world around us.

How am I a steward of creation?

How am I a steward of democracy? 

How am I a steward of the Church? And the faith?

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Occasionally, we need to contemplate some of these deeper questions, because we’re accountable for what happens in our world, from climate change to the Church.

Like the tenants in the Gospel, we reap what we sow.

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