The Olympic Games in Beijing produced emotions and made us proud because of the British team. We rejoiced in the gold, silver and bronze medals. They represented very special moments for those men and women, who prepared themselves for many years. But within a few days, some sportsmen were accused of  using a forbidden drug. Some were disqualified and their medals went to another people. It must have been a very unpleasant situation.

The parable told by Jesus concerns, in the literal sense, the Chosen Nation, Israel. It’s a metaphoric story of choosing, consecration and rejection. God took away the tribes of Israel from among the other nations to make them a consecrated people, freed from idolatry and pagan religious practices. Israel, who gained knowledge of the one and true God, should become the leader for other nations, leading them to learn about God. But Israel failed. The people of Israel despised pagan nations and in the same time rejected God’s admonitions, brought by the prophets and finally by the Son of God. So, Jesus announced that God’s kingdom will be taken away from them and given to another people. We, Christians, are those "other people", called the new chosen nation. This is the literal meaning of the parable.

I pondered over the words spoken by Jesus at the end of today’s gospel. Listen again: "Kingdom of God will be [...] given to a people, who will produce its fruit". They sound like a warning. Being a chosen nation doesn’t mean it must last forever. It might last forever, but under one condition: producing fruit of the kingdom of God”. So, a question arises: "What is the fruit?"

We can find the answer in the letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5,22). The answer seems very simple and appealing. Who doesn’t want that life? But we know from our own experience, it’s not easy to live our lives like that. Contrary to our desire and effort, the opposite fruits are present too often in ordinary life. "In fact, it seems to be the rule, that every single time I want to do good it is something evil that comes to hand”. If this is your own experience, don’t worry too much; you are in a good company, with Saint Paul, who’s words I’ve just quoted. Producing good fruits demands effort and commitment. Only evil comes easy.

I think we are sometimes exhausted, discouraged and helpless because of evil, present in our behaviour despite our efforts. I’m pretty sure this happens when we try to gain these good fruits just through our own endeavours. Let’s listen to Jesus: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me [...] bears fruit in plenty, for cut off from me you can do nothing" (J 15,5). We are able to produce the fruit of the kingdom of God, if we cooperate with Jesus, being in him. We remain in him, when we pray and receive the sacraments with living faith, when we treat the gospel message seriously. This is why we are here this evening, this is why we attend mass every Sunday, why we confess our sins, why we pray every day. Because by doing these things we become a nation, producing the fruit of the kingdom of God.