The Gift of the Reign of God

10-04-2020Weekly Reflection

Matthew’s Gospel today expands on Isaiah’s ballad considerably. A comparison with the same story in Mark’s Gospel clearly shows us that here the author is busy teaching this community of Jewish Christians: “This is a story about Israel a long time ago; this is also a story about Jesus and the skeptical leaders.”

Jesus as much as told these Jewish leaders that they were the tenants who first stoned their own prophets. And he told the leaders they were the tenants who would soon even dispose of him— Jesus—and, in doing so, would forfeit their privileged place of presenting to the world the promised Messiah.

“And this,” says Matthew’s Gospel, “is a story about you, the inheritors of what was first offered to Israel.” The reign of God was first opened to Israel and is now given to the whole world, but it must be received as a gift. The first Christians are the new tenants in the vineyard. The deeper reality of the reign or kingdom of God is that it is available to everyone on the face of the earth—Israel included.