Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 139
Reading 1
Let me now sing of my friend,
my friend's song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes,
but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,
did it bring forth wild grapes?
Now, I will let you know
what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!
Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to send rain upon it.
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry!
Responsorial Psalm
PS 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of
Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The
vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The
vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The
vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The
vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"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."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The Christian Way of Life is a beautiful and wonderful thing. To shape ourselves in the image of Jesus Christ; being selfless and giving in all of our thoughts, actions and modeling our conduct by the teachings of God can produce no negative results but only a life the way God intended us to live. When we face trials and tribulations they are confronted with the knowledge that God is on our side and that, whatever is faced, we will be stronger as a result. It is understood that suffering is a part of being Christian because we are going against a society that is permeated by evil and Christ suffered for us to overcome this evil. To walk with Christ means we too must suffer using Him as an example to be united with Him so as to overcome the evil. In the end good will always triumph over evil because God is the good. This is the Christian Story. This is our story.
The shaping that we go through is not directed by ourselves alone but by God. If we permit Him to do the work He wants to do we can then feel this happen every moment of our lives. God tells us through the Prophet Isaiah: He is the potter and we are the clay. If we truly stop resisting God and let him form and mold us into a new creation beautiful things will happen to us. We are all a part of God’s Vineyard which is representative of His entire creation. He has nurtured it, cared for it, and loved it. He continues to do so today and will for eternity. As we grow we can easily respond to this love or reject it. If there is acceptance we have the opportunity to flourish and grow while being tended to. If there is rejection that means that we become a sort of infection that can spread wildly and causes discord throughout the vineyard. Working with God and listening to him equals living in communion with His creation while working against God causes us to actually working against His creation.
We can also be seen as being workers in God’s vineyard as well as being part of the vineyard. When we are shaped and formed then we are the grapes and the fruits of His creation. When we go forth and do good works in His name and evangelize the faith; building up The Kingdom of God here on this earth we then become workers in the vineyard as we too care for the soil and what is produced therein. God works through us and we go forward in His name moved by the Holy Spirit. Others are then capable of witnessing Jesus Christ through us as we become their source of nourishment and strength. When we act as the workers our responsibilities become greater and our conduct becomes all the more important. Other people will be listening to us and watching us more closely than before. When we work in the vineyard we are bringing Jesus Christ to them and the messenger needs to be a vessel well prepared for its cargo.
That is not to say we have to be perfect. No one is perfect but if we are to be workers and witnesses for Jesus Christ then the workings of the Holy Spirit need to be seen clearly in us so that what we are preaching can have credence and strength. If what we are saying and what we are testifying to, which is from God, is going to have any impact on anyone else the product of a right relationship with God must be evident within ourselves. Sin is rebellion against God. If we are in a rebellious state while spreading the Good News then we are actually promoting discord through our own conduct instead of the message God wants us to promote. Our own sins have the capability of overshadowing what is being said and done in His name. It says in Sacred Scripture that what comes out of a man’s mouth is a reflection of what is in his heart. Our words and actions do have consequences; especially when we are doing God’s work. When we are working in the vineyard and when we are being nurtured by God we have to be ever-mindful of what we are doing wrong and where we have gone wrong. We can then make the necessary corrections and benefit as a result. Our own development is never done. The work that we do in the name of God is never done.
The Apostle Paul encourages us in the reading from his letter to the Philippians. We are all told to continue doing what is right and what is good. All these things come from God. We are instructed to dismiss all negative thoughts and emotions. These things come from Satan and our imperfections; not from God. Not coming from God means these things have no value and no place in the Christian Way of life. They cause doubt and discord. Instead we should focus on the good things that come from God which make us develop and grow into better people. We all are wise enough to know what is good and what is bad for us. The challenge is not to make excuses to justify us doing the bad things that have and always will hurt us. Instead we should commit to a better way of living that includes and does not exclude God. This better way can then be used to reveal God to other people; all peoples that we interact with. This offers us and those we come in contact with an opportunity to be nourished and to grow; all the while producing good fruit from all of the abundant works.
Deacon Tom
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
We all dwell within the vineyard together. Jesus Christ has opened the gates wide and offers entrance to anyone who wishes to work, live, and rejoice in His name. There is no price to pay. There are no requirements and there is no cost for admission. There only needs to be a desire to leave the wasteland that is a life without Jesus and enter into an existence with Him. The work that we then do and the life that we live becomes one that is inseparable from Jesus Christ. The land that we find ourselves living in is one that is owned by the Father. So, as tenants in the vineyard, we belong to Him and are encouraged to listen to what He has to say. The Landowner knows His land the best and He knows how He wants it tended to and harvested. He also knows how to bring forth the highest yield of grapes which will then in nurture us and satisfy our thirst and hunger for something better.
In one way, the vineyard in the Parable of the Tenants represents Israel and the tenants the People of Israel. God, as the landowner, sends forth his servants (the prophets) to encourage these people to return to Him with love. The response is to reject the prophets and continue their ways of disobedience. Jesus then indicates that they will also do this to Him (the son). Even though this is the case, it is through Jesus Christ and the Incarnation that the message of salvation is revealed to the entire world. What was initially revealed to a Chosen People was now opened up to the entire world.
This is such beautiful imagery. Even though we are not perfect and tend to pursue of own needs and wants, God is so loving that He keeps calling us to return to Him so that He may love us. There is no limit to this love, demonstrated by the fact that He sent His only son into the world to suffer and be crucified so that we may obtain eternal life. He did not have to do this. He wanted to do this. When we are receptive to this love, we are transformed by it: we want to do good works, we want to love one another as we are loved, and we want to live a good Christian Life.
The landowner did not have to send his servants. He did not have to send others to follow. And he certainly did not have to risk his only son. He did it because he wanted to give the tenants an opportunity to do the right thing. God does the same thing. Time and time again we are given chance after chance to accept Him into our lives. So many times we have failed to respond to Him and there will be times in the future when these same actions are repeated. Yet, God is always there willing to forgive and love.
Upon the acceptance of Jesus Christ, the vineyard becomes a paradise. It represents our relationship with God. It will feed us and provide for our needs physically, mentally, and above all spiritually. We are guided and protected by the landowner who is God. Paul tells us in his letter today to have, “no anxiety at all.” All will be provided for through prayer and petition. As long as Jesus Christ is central in our lives then all obstacles, trials, and tribulations can be overcome. Continuous prayer leads to a continuous relationship with Jesus. We will then be able to conduct ourselves and develop all of our relationships through the lens of Jesus Christ.
And as Paul says,
“Keep
on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.”
Deacon Tom
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
Saint Paul tells us today in the second reading, from the Letter to the Philippians: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” The other two readings, the first one from the Prophet Isaiah and the Gospel from Saint Matthew, speak of God’s love for us that is so intense that it is expressed in images of destruction for those who will not listen to His love and respond to it.
Surely we must be mature enough to understand that Scripture uses images. There is no way that our loving God is going to try to destroy us or even try to harm us in any way. The images that are used in Scripture sometimes leave us with a sense that God is just waiting to judge us and throw us in Hell. But that is because we misunderstand the words and images of Scripture. We take them as an accurate image of God. Instead, the words of Scripture are the words of men, reflecting in some Divine Way, the reality of God.
We have to know that images that depict God as angry reflect the way that we feel at times when nothing goes the way we want it to go, even when we are trying to be good. We also have to recognize that bad actions on our own part will bring bad results in our lives—not because of God wanting to do something bad to us but because our life will reflect the way that we live. If we live dishonestly, it will destroy us eventually. If we live just according to the lusts of the flesh, that also will eventually destroy any deep relationships what we might have. If we live only seeking power, we will at some point lose power and realize that what we sought was worth nothing.
It is our own actions that actually end up condemning us and making our lives to be a mess—not God. So many of the great theologians and saints have said in their writings that God condemns no one. Rather we condemn ourselves by the choices that we make.
The images today in the first reading and the Gospel are about what we humans do with our lives, both personally and as a people or as a community. We mess things up and we reject God and His ways. The image used to show that God sees what is happening is that of God’s anger—but we must remember that it is God who is upset with us for choosing against Him. God always loves us unconditionally and even accepts our rejection of Him. God cannot change us unless we choose to let God change us. Sometimes when our lives are a mess, all we can do is ask God: “Help me.” That is enough. But when we blame the mess on God and reject God, then God cannot help us unless we have some openness to Him.
So the message of the readings today is very clear: choose God and pray to God with a complete confidence. If we reject God, he cannot go against our own free will which He gave us. God’s choice is always love! Our choice is up to us.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip
Readings & Reflections for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
·
- First Reading: Isaiah
5:1-7
Commentary:
The story in this first reading foreshadows the parable Jesus shares in today?s Gospel reading. Here God is speaking and illustrating the situation of His people, the Israelites. God had prepared a promised land for them, and given them the holy city of Jerusalem. As the passage explains, ?The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant.? God planted His people in the promised land to bear good fruit, but all that came about was wild grapes. In other words, although God did everything correctly in preparing, planting, and tending His vineyard, good fruit was not yielded. Why? Because the people of Israel were hard-hearted and resistant. They rejected God?s grace and did not allow themselves to bear good fruit. As a result, God promises to destroy the vineyard. He will let it become overgrown and lay in ruin. This may seem harsh, but will make more sense when we read the Gospel reading. This passage from Isaiah ultimately points forward to the time of Christ when the leaders of Israel will reject God?s own son, resulting in their ruin and a new beginning in God?s vineyard.
Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9
Commentary:
Can you imagine a life with no anxiety? That?s what the Apostle Paul calls us to in today?s reading, and he indicates that it is, in fact, possible. Anxiety results from a lack of trust in God. But if we bring our requests, our needs, our petitions, to God and bathe everything in prayer and thanksgiving, then we can be relieved of anxieties and have peace. The peace that God offers is not merely circumstantial, fleeting peace, based on feelings, but it is true peace that goes deeper than emotion and surpasses our situations, offering us security throughout any challenges we may face. How do we find this peace? It comes through a loving personal relationship with God. We can invite Him into our whole lives and entrust all that we are and all that we have to Him. Paul calls us, in particular, to fill our minds with everything true, good, and beautiful. We can so easily get distracted and caught up in things that are harmful to our souls. But if we think about ?whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, etc.,? we welcome God?s peaceful presence in our lives.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:33-43
Commentary:
Like in the first reading, in this parable, Jesus speaks of a vineyard. The landowner here represents God, and the vineyard represents the kingdom of God and the city of Jerusalem, in particular. Like in the first reading, God prepared everything in the vineyard. He then leased it to tenants, who represent the leaders of Israel. They were given charge of God?s kingdom and called to be good stewards in order to bring about good fruit. But they were hard-hearted and rejected God?s messengers. The servants who were sent represent the prophets of the Old Testament, who were persecuted and even killed for warning the Israelites of their sins. The son, then, represents Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. The leaders of Israel not only rejected God?s prophets but rejected His son, the Messiah. Jesus? parable, in fact, foreshadows His own crucifixion. Jesus, the son, would be seized, thrown out of the city of Jerusalem, and crucified outside its gates. As a result, Jesus says that the kingdom of God will be taken from the Israelite leaders and given to another people, who are the leaders of the Church, to tend it and bear good fruit.
Taking it Home: - In what areas of your life do you struggle to trust God? Reflect on how this prevents you from bearing good fruit. Then, bring any anxiety you are struggling with to God in prayer, asking Him to bring you ?the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.? Finally, take time to meditate on and thank God for the many blessings you have been given.
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