The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’? - Matthew 21:42

Today's gospel talks how someone planted a vineyard. After, he put a fence around it, built a tower, and before going away, he leased it to his tenants expecting them to grow produce to collect. When the produce is to be collected, the owner sends his servant to collect what is owed, but they beat him and send him away with nothing. The owner sends more servants, who are treated the same way—some of them are even killed.  Finally, the owner sends his own son. And unfortunately, they kill him, assuming they'll receive his inheritance.

We could relate the gospel to our lives in a way that the owner of the vineyard is God, the beloved son sent by the owner is Jesus, the vineyard is our lives in the world and the tenants are us. There is mention of a cornerstone is the gospel also. What is a cornerstone? A cornerstone is a stone that forms the base of the building, joining two walls. A foundation of some sort. In more ways than one, love could be our cornerstone. Be it love for your sister, for your other half, or even love for what you do, whatever it is for, love is love. And this love could be the foundation for the days that come our way. The greatest love that has ever been given to us, much greater than the love we could think of at the top of our heads, is the love that Jesus has for us.

In the gospel, he is ceased, killed and thrown out of the vineyard. We have all experienced this at one point or another. Not being killed and thrown out of a vineyard (haha), but having been rejected by others. At one point or another, we have all felt that the world has never been on our side. We have all felt that everything was on our shoulders and all we could do is sit in a corner having endless thoughts on the things that happened to us that were far from right.

If there's one thing that this has taught me, is that even the most important people experience rejection. Yes, rejection makes us feel alone, but in the end, rejection makes us stronger. We are now able to pick ourselves up from the pit we are in and keep moving forward. In our lives, the love we have for Jesus could be our cornerstone. Our foundation. He is the one that will take care of our own vineyards. Similar to the gospel, some will kill him, but in reality, some will also follow him and some of us are a little bit in between. As tenants, we will have to answer to God, delivering the produce expected of us. Let us return everything to God, the fruits of God’s vineyard- our life and our love. God sent his own son into the trap of human life not because life is perfect, but because love is.


-Nicole Aquino

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