The Fifth Sunday in Lent dwells more strongly on the theme of Christ's Passion, and the Gospel for the day from Luke 20:9-20 emphasizes this theme, The parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, also known as the parable of the Wicked Tenants, points to the growing tension between Jesus and the Jerusalem establishment. In this story form, our Lord presents His claim to divine Sonship and predicts the response of wicked unfaithful people. They will reject Him, kill Him, and will face the consequences of rebelling against their true master. The religious leaders understand Christ's meaning, and they accelerate their plots to eliminate Him.
The last two weeks of Lent emphasize a major theme of the Christian message. That theme is that human rebellion against God leads to Christ's suffering and death. If unrepented, it also leads to divine wrath. Sinful people oppose Jesus Christ most directly when they recognize and despise His claim to be God's Son. This warning applies to all of us. As we move toward the commemoration of Christ's Cross, let us be aware that we too share in the rebellion against God. We just like people in the first century have been disloyal and selfish tenants of our divine master. So we are called to repent. We should also seek to be more appreciative of Christ's sufferings for our sake. And in gratitude for Jesus' redemptive work, we should turn to Him in faith and love.
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