Disappointed by sin and rebellion
The message of God for us today comes in two related stories. In the first one from Isaiah, the owner of a vineyard invests every meticulous care on his vineyards hoping to find grapes at harvest time. But there was no yield. In the second one from the pen of Matthew, the Lord Jesus relates the parable of a man who entrusts his vineyard to his laborers hoping to get a share of his harvest. But the workers treacherously claim all the harvest and even kill the owner’s only son. The message is clear: the owner of the vineyard is disappointed at his vines and at his workers!
Disappointment is a serious feeling. You generously endow a person with love and care, hoping that your kindness will be reciprocated or your expectations will be met. But in the end, the person you love betrays your trust. Disappointment is crushing and self-defeating.
How many times have we been disappointed with a person we love or trust? My friend was the apple of the eye in his family, the only one who was given the opportunity to go to college and hopefully, bring hope to the family. In the end, he wasted his chance and thought only about his own pleasure. His father suffered sickness after sickness until he died with a heavy heart and downcast spirit. Disappointment destroys the people who love us and trust in us.
The gospel goes beyond mere human experience and invites us to imagine God in relation to us. God is the owner of the vines, the master of the vineyard, the father of my young friend. Isn’t it that God truly loves us with a love beyond imagining? How many chances has he given us each time we fall and commit our many mistakes? How carefully has he prepared a great future for all of us his children?
But the story of disappointment continues as we ignore the love of God for us. Consider the way we cling to our habitual sins. Take notice of your attitudes that harm and injure others. We who have received so much love reciprocates with cold indifference and neglect of our responsibilities to God and neighbor.
The good news is that God is love! God loves us continuously even in the midst of our sins and faults. The message of today’s reading starts with the Lord’s disappointment at our sins. But the message continues with love and about love. Our God remains faithful to his commitment to prepare for us that which is great and beneficial for our future.
How do you cure a disappointment heart? By changing your ways and returning love for love. Once we hear about God’s undying love and realize how we have hurt the One who loves us most, the only other thing to do is return to his embrace through prayer, sacrifice, acts of love and specially, the Sacrament of Confession. Once you know God, you cannot help but love him and live for him.
Let’s break the cycle of disappointment and start making the Lord proud of us his children.
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