by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
Jesus said … ‘… I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. … whoever obeys and teaches these Commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'”
“Jesus said to His Disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. … You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. …'”
“… ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’…”
“‘Who are My mother and my brothers?’ … ‘whoever does the Will of God is My brother and sister and mother.'”
“… they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers …. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His Mother kept all these things in her heart.”
“… One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked … ‘Which is the first of all the Commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other Commandment greater than these.’ …”
“… Jesus said … ‘When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the Angels in Heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead but of the living. …'”
“… Jesus said to them, ‘Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’ …”
In a 2011 Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI addressed Jesus’ Parable of the Unfaithful Tenants, including the need to Bear Fruit for the Kingdom of God. Christ is the Stone Rejected by the Builders Who Became the Cornerstone, and Bearing Fruit means doing so being Faithful to Christ:
“… a particularly severe warning from Jesus … ‘The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it’ … These are words that call to mind the great responsibility of those in every epoch who are called to work in the Lord’s vineyard, especially in roles of authority, and they press for a renewal of full fidelity to Christ.’ … ‘the very Stone which the builders rejected’ … He Himself, rejected and crucified, is Risen, to become the ‘corner stone’ on which the foundations of every human life and of the whole world may rest in total safety.”
Pope Benedict XVI explained that the owner of the vineyard represents God Himself, with the Vineyard representing God’s People and the Life that He gives us:
“… The Owner of the Vineyard symbolizes God Himself, while the Vineyard symbolizes His People, as well as the Life He Gives, so that with His Grace and our hard work, we may do good. … God has a Project for His friends, but unfortunately the human response is often oriented to infidelity …. Pride and selfishness prevent us from recognizing and welcoming even God’s most precious gift: His Only-Begotten Son. … Firmly anchored in Faith to the Cornerstone which is Christ, let us abide in Him, like the branch that can bear no Fruit unless it remains attached to the Vine. The Church, the People of the New Covenant, is built only in Him, for Him and with Him. …'”
“… ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. … He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ …”