Each time I read these verses, I think about the state of the Earth which God put into our stewardship. I tell my own students in class that simply picking up their own messes is no longer enough in this world. We need to make the world a better place for our presence.
Yet, somehow, this has become a political issue, with people staring at the mess we have made and either saying that it is not our fault or, worse, that there is no mess to begin with. We are to be better tenants than this. While the readings from today are also allegorical for the followers of God and the state of their souls, we should not ignore the responsibility placed upon us.
We need to clean up our mess, lest the vineyard be taken away from us.