By Katie Patrizio
In the parable of the evil tenants (Mt 21:33–46), Jesus tells of a landowner who leases his vineyard to tenants. When harvest time arrives, he sends servants to collect the fruit—his rightful share as owner. But one by one, the tenants beat and kill the servants. Finally, the landowner sends his son, saying, “They will respect my son.”
What happens next is fascinating. The tenants, recognizing the son, say to one another, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.” On the surface, it’s a bold and illogical claim, killing the heir to gain the estate. And yet, in a mysterious twist, it foreshadows a deeper truth. Though the tenants’ act is wicked, the inheritance of the Son is given—just not as they imagined. It is not earned by violence but bestowed by the Father’s mercy. The vineyard is handed on, not through murder, but through the Son’s willing sacrifice.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says of the Holy Spirit: “He will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Though humanity committed deicide at Calvary, the Father responded not with vengeance, but with a torrent of grace. Through the death of Christ, we receive what we could never steal or deserve: a share in divine life. We become sons in the Son, drawn into the very life of the Trinity, the eternal communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.