Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson
Long before laptops and smartphones ruled our days and our data, any delightfully special, happy, or remarkably memorable day was called a “red letter day.” It referred to any momentous occasion that stood out in your life, such as your birthday, graduation, wedding, or a major career milestone.
The phrase dates back to the Middle Ages. Priests and monks creating Church calendars and illuminated manuscripts used black ink for ordinary weekdays. To make important holy days, saints’ feast days, and other festivals stand out, they highlighted them in bright red ink.
Over time, the term “red letter day” deteriorated into cynicism and therefore came to describe a very bad day. For the nation of ancient Israel, that would certainly include the Day of the Lord, or Judgment Day. In the context of today’s parable, that would happen in 70 A.D., when the Romans destroyed their one Temple in the storied City of Jerusalem. Not joyful at all and very much the destruction of a great nation.
The parable Our Lord tells us today is all about how destruction of any kind happens. The Jews thought of it in the context of both their personal and national lives. For us, it is mainly personal, involving how our future will turn out, based on our faithfulness to God here and now.
That is more than a fit subject for reflection. To do it right, we have to shut down, as much as we can, all those distractions that fill our waking hours. Things like our phones. A good time to do it would be at night, just before or right after we turn off our bedside lamp. Imagining a video of our day, were we faithful to our common calling as disciples of Jesus? In less electronic imagery, would our day be printed in black or red ink? Black for an average return to God for His love. Red for a special heartfelt version by way of something we said or did for someone else.
The wicked farmers in Our Lord’s story thought it was perfectly moral to steal the vineyard from its rightful owner, even if the job required his murder. One suspects their nighttime “replay” would have been upsetting, at least, if not frightening. But that’s not our worry. The personal is.
Here is an exaggerated illustration of what can happen to a widowed lady who evidently rarely examined her conscience and apparently never had a red letter day:
Surprised to see an empty seat at the Super Bowl stadium, a die-hard fan remarked about it to the woman seated nearby. “It was my husband’s,” the woman explained. “But he died.”
“I’m very sorry,” said the man. “Yet I’m really surprised that another relative or friend didn’t jump at the chance to take the seat reserved for him.”
“Beats me,” she said. “They all insisted on going to the funeral.”
God love you and make good choices this week.
Rev. Peterson’s Reading & Gospel Summary
Reading 1: Isaiah 5:1-7
“The Song of the Vineyard” is a parable that condemns Israel for resisting the Lord’s will. God’s attention to His people was ignored.
Reading II: Philippians 4: 6-9
Paul insists that if we pray about our problems rather than worry about them, God will post a guard around our minds to protect them from destructive doubts.
The Gospel: Matthew 21: 33-43
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants is an allegory, which means that each detail in the story is symbolic. For example, the householder is God. The vineyard is Jerusalem and the servants are the Old Testament prophets. Jesus is the cornerstone.