Readings: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28; Ps 104:16-21; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Some time ago there was a debate in Europe about whether a proposed Constitution for the whole European Union should include a reference to God or to the Christian values that have long been part of this continent’s heritage. The course of the debate showed that many were of the opinion that Europe’s affairs could be managed perfectly well without any such reference and so ignored those who tried to argue differently.Today’s Gospel narrates the parable of the landowner who, deciding to go off abroad, leased his vineyard to tenants. The tenants were given the freedom to look after the vineyard as best they could. However, they soon viewed the vineyard as their own property and set about attacking the representatives of the landowner when they arrived to claim his due. Jesus warns his listeners that those who pay no heed to the landowner risk being stripped of the gift with which they have been entrusted.
Today, more than ever, we need to learn that this world is a gift from God given to us for a while that we might attend it with care. In contrast to much of today’s political and economic agenda, which seems obsessed with ideas of progress and competition, we need to remind ourselves that life is not about the survival of the fittest. Rather, each person, created in God’s image, has a dignity that needs to be defended from the very beginning of life to its very end. So whether or not God gets a mention in the European constitution or other documents of that kind, it is important that there are still people prepared to risk everything and go out into the vineyard to preach the truths of our faith.
I have mixed feelings about whether God needs to be included in the EU Constitution. Better that God be in the hearts of all in the EU. Everyday, my students recite our Constitution and we say that we are ‘one nation Under God.’ Too often our nation’s leaders thrust God’s name before them as a rationale, a shield, to fulfill their misguided objectives. Too often God is used as an excuse to hurt others who do not believe as we do. It seems to make little matter how often God is mentioned; it is only when His word is believed that matters.
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