Isaiah 5:1-7 / Philippians 4:6-9 / Matthew 21:33-43
When we look at the world, and when we look around us, we may wonder what is wrong with the world, and what is wrong with humanity.
Human beings are polluting the Earth and heading towards an ecological meltdown.
There are wars, hostilities and violence, and there is also much bloodshed.
And with nuclear power, the scale of destruction can turn the earth into a huge fireball.
Even smaller issues like cheating and stealing have risen to mega levels.
Scammers are no longer small-time conmen, because they are so high tech, so quick and so convincing.
With emails, SMS and social media platforms, the scammers will brutally and ruthlessly empty out the bank accounts of those who fall into their scams.
These scammers can even come knocking on the front doors of our homes.
So, our security, in all forms and in all areas, are being threatened and violated.
So, we are gripped with fear, and we want to lock our doors and hide inside, and it is difficult to trust anyone.
Such is the sad and sorry state of our world, of humanity and of our lives.
And we may wonder, why is God letting the world and humanity continue like this.
Why must the good and innocent people be subjected and suffer such injustice and evil?
And we are tempted, and may have even asked God to unleash punishment on the bad and evil people.
Yes, we would advocate punishment to teach the bad and evil people an unforgettable lesson.
Even in the gospel parable, when Jesus asked the chief priests and the elders, what will the owner of the vineyard do to the bad and evil tenants, their reply was that the owner will bring those wretches to a wretched end.
That is also what we may like to think.
But God's ways are not man's ways, and God's thoughts are not man's thoughts.
If God withholds punishment, it is because He is thinking of salvation.
We may think that salvation is for those who are good, and punishment is for those who are bad.
But that would mean that the way we, Christians think is no different from the way the world thinks.
We need to reflect and ponder on what Jesus said in the gospel:
It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. That was the Lord's doing and it is wonderful to see.
As Church we must know what this keystone is.
It may be so obvious that we may have taken it for granted.
The keystone that God wants us to look at is salvation.
With that comes along mercy and compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation.
That is why God sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world.
No matter how bad or evil human beings have become, God still wants to forgive and save them from their sins.
In the gospel parable, there is greed, violence and even murder. That is also the reality in life.
But sin and evil do not have the last word or the final say.
God has the last word, and salvation is the final end.
The Church in Singapore has a ministry called Roman Catholic Prison Ministry (RCPM).
The members of RCPM minister to the prisoners to bring them God's Word of mercy and forgiveness, and also the Good News of salvation.
Jesus chose them to be His messengers, and Jesus is also calling out to us to be messengers of the Good News of salvation, love and forgiveness.
Let us remember that sin and evil can only spread when we Christians, when we who are disciples of Jesus, do nothing about it.
Let us respond to sin and evil with goodness and kindness.
Then there will be hope for humanity and for the world.
Because God's love will be the keystone that will save humanity, and it will be wonderful to see.