Chris Campbell (Robert) (Copy 01)

He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Luke 20:16

Beloved in the body of Christ,

Our Gospel reading for today is a painful one that I would like to believe is untrue, or at least exaggerated. Jesus delivers a parable describing what has come before him, what will become of him, and what the result will be.

You may be familiar with this parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus speaks of a vineyard owner who sends his slave to gather rent from his tenants, but they beat the slave and throw him away. The landowner then tries again, to the same result. Finally, he decides to send his son, thinking the tenants will respect him. The tenants then decide to kill the son in an attempt to gain his inheritance. However, Jesus says that the Father "will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others."

Just as his parable describes, prophets came before the Son and were tossed aside, and when the Son came he was crucified. But what has yet to come, the final judgment, this is the most disturbing to my weak constitution. That those who throw aside the prophets, who by their own choice kill the Son, will one day be completely and utterly destroyed is difficult to conceptualize for me.

Both as a Christian and as a human being the notion seems wrong that there is anyone who would not fall under the boundless mercy of God. However, God is Justice herself. Thus we assume that there must be recompense, but this destruction—damnation—is eternal and, as humans, we are meant to change, are we not?

Dante describes many souls in his “Comedy” but a few come to mind here. The first is Capaneus, who is trapped with the blasphemers. He cries out that the gods will never break his will, even with the fires of Hell. This sight causes Virgil to scream at Capaneus that his own vanity is what keeps him in eternal torment. The next are Piccarda and Constance who are in the sphere of the Moon. A conversation occurs between them and Dante that seems to tie everything together for me.

"...But tell me: all you souls so happy here, do you yearn for a higher post in Heaven, to see more, to become more loved by Him?

...If we desired to be higher up, then our desires would not be in accord with His will Who assigns us to this sphere; think carefully what love is and you'll see such discord has no place within these rounds, since to be here is to exist in Love…”

Every day we choose how we live our lives. We either submit to sin or attempt to live as God created us to be. It appears to be our vanity, our hubris, our unwillingness to follow God's will that lead us astray.

How do I want to live? How do you? By our own will, or the will of God? When I choose poorly, as I inevitably will, I will seek forgiveness from Christ and give my life, my will, my soul to Him.

May you live in Truth, Peace, and Love,

Chris Campbell