His Return on Investment - Fr. Gregory - September 6, 2020

Today on the 13th Sunday of Matthew Father Gregory shares with us a message of encouragement, that all things are given to us by God for His Glory. The Gospel lesson comes to us from Matthew 21:33-42. In this pericope we hear the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, who after being given everything needed to produce fruit as tenants chose to forget their place in the vineyard as stewards and even killed the heir. In the parable the landowner owns the vineyard, puts up all the investment and has all the legal and social power to enforce and expect a return on what is his, but is disappointed by the attitude of the tenants. Orthodox Christians should ask themselves these questions, “am I going to fall into the same trap as the wicked vinedressers?” Do I recognize that God is the owner of the vineyard and His possession is the Church, from which He expects fruit? Everything we have, our faith, time and money is given to us by God to treat as precious things and He entrusts these gifts to our care to enjoy, but He expects a return on His investment.