Jesus said, "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times."

Even though future Iron Man, Tony Stark, the genius responsible for the weaponry of Stark Industries, came to understand the evil of his inventions and wanted to do something about them, those who made money because of his company were not of the same mind. Those who wanted otherwise, in particular, Stark's right-hand man Obidiah Stane, refused to understand Stark's point of view. In their mind, making the money justified their products, no matter to whom they were sold. As the movie "Iron Man" progresses, one can see how the power of evil will never let up. Once evil has entered into the situation, it will be dominant, even if those who do not want it are strong. Evil will continue, and must be dealt with in a substantial way every moment of every day.

Jesus' story about the tenant farmers is a story of selfish people who wanted material goods without wanting to pay for them. If they were good stewards, they would have easily seen that they owed the owner of the vineyard, and they would be given their fair share once they paid him back. But they were greedy: they wanted everything for themselves. Such evil will not be satisfied. It led the tenant farmers to mistreat the servants of the owner, then kill them. And it even led them to kill the owner's only son. As Jesus told the story, he no doubt had himself in mind, since he knew that evil people would kill him, and the point is made that evil will not let up. Evil must be attacked, or it will overcome every situation. In Jesus' story, the evil people were killed, and it was the only way that good could be restored.

In today's world, once the evil of money or power has become a stronghold in people's lives, it tends to dominate. Of course, not every desire for money or power is evil, but if people give into the desire to have more of it even if it causes harm, then it becomes evil, and such evil will not let up. Our human natures want more and more. As we study Obidiah Stane in "Iron Man," we see why he did what he did--he wanted the money and the power that was within his reach, and he would take it no matter who was hurt in the process. And the evil would not let up: it dominated his life.

We usually do not possess the genius to use technology to gain immense money or power, but within our own little worlds, we often find ourselves craving more money and power than we have. Our human natures are tempted to use every means possible to gain such money and power, even if the means is illegal or immoral. Such evil will conquer us if we are not aware of what is happening because it will not let up unless we do something. We must recognize the evil that surrounds us, the evil that could dominate us. If we manage to understand that we are only using what has been given to us and that we must give back to God in some way, we will be able to understand the evil and conquer it, no matter how strong it is.                

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we are well aware of evil around us. Sometimes the evil becomes part of us because our human desires always want more and more. Give us the grace to address whatever is evil in our lives. Be with us, we pray. 

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America