Monday of the Ninth Week
in Ordinary Time
(II Peter 1:2-7; Mark 12:1-12)
Global warming is a fact.
No one should deny that temperatures have been increasing steadily for
thirty years. But there have always been cycles of warm and cold temperatures for
ages. The critical debate concerns human
responsibility for higher temperatures. Are
artificial pollutants sealing warm air in the atmosphere? Today’s gospel can shed
some light on the moral dimension of the issue.
Jesus is locked in a battle of wits with the religious
establishment of his place. He sees its
leaders as hampering God’s freeing the people of injustice. For him they are like the vineyard that
produces sour grapes in the Book of Isaiah.
His parable implies that like the leaders’ ancestors killed the prophets,
they will murder him.
The vineyard in Jesus’ parable may also be taken as the
environment. The wicked farmers then are
those who wantonly contaminate it for profit.
Whether or not the result is rising temperatures, leaders of industry are
polluting the earth. As a result, common
people – especially the poor – suffer. Often
the biggest culprits do not stop at murder in pursuing their aims.
Everyone should take care in treating the environment. Although we may not have many resources to manage, we
still can improve it. Using fewer
disposable items is something all might do.
Disposing hazardous wastes in designated places also
assures a safer earth.
