TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
8 OCTOBER 2023
In
his last week before his crucifixion, Jesus is in the temple and tells this
parable to the chief priests and elders of the people. They are the religious leaders in charge of
temple worship. They are skeptical of his
teaching authority. They understand the
context of this parable. They know that
Israel is often pictured as God’s vineyard.
They would pray the same psalm which we just prayed, thanking God for transplanting
his vine from Egypt to the Promised Land.
They would know the song which Isaiah sang as our first reading: that God planted his people on a fertile
hillside and did all the work for the vineyard to produce good grapes. They would agree with Isaiah about the reason
for the wild grapes. Their ancestors had
been unfaithful to the Covenant mediated by Moses at Mount Sinai in the Exodus. They would see the destruction of the Kingdom
of Israel by the Assyrians as the result of their infidelity.
But Jesus
is not talking about their ancestors. He
is addressing this parable to them. In
the parable, he reminds them that God has sent prophets through the centuries to
speak the truth to Israel, the tenants of the vineyard. But their ancestors had ignored the true
prophets and killed many of them. Now,
he speaks of God sending his own son to the vineyard to obtain its
produce. When they agree that the
tenants should be put to a wretched death, Jesus quotes Psalm 118 and points
out that he is the stone rejected by the builders. He is the cornerstone. Because they refuse to listen to him, the
kingdom of God will be taken away from them and given to a people that will
produce good fruit.
We can
easily make the same mistake that the chief priests and elders made. We can say, “Wow, those religious leaders
really blew it. They were blind to the
message of Jesus. We are glad that the
kingdom is given to us.” But Jesus is
addressing this parable to us. This is
the living Word of God. We are the current
tenants of the vineyard, of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus challenges us to see whether we are producing good fruit.
This month
of October is dedicated to the respect for human life. It might provide some questions about how we
are tending the Lord’s vineyard. How are
we helping mothers to make the decision to give life to their unborn
children? In what ways do we support
families who are raising children with disabilities? What are we doing to welcome the immigrant
fleeing from oppression? How do we make
sure that elderly people are not alone in bearing their burdens? How do we support the terminally ill and give
them the courage to face death with faith?
These are
just a few ways we can bear fruit in a culture which does not put much value on
the sanctity of human life. We live in a
polarized society that is often hostile to faith and discourages genuine
dialogue and respect for each other. In
the first century, the community of faith in Philippi faced similar challenges. Saint Paul gives them and us good
advice. He says that worry and anxiety
are wastes of time and energy. They
drain the hope of believers. Instead, he
tells us to engage in prayer and petition, giving thanks for all that has been
given to us. When we follow his advice,
then we can see the Kingdom of God already present more firmly in our
midst. With eyes of faith, we can
embrace what is true and honorable, what is just and pure, what is lovely and
gracious.
Unlike the
listeners of the parables of Isaiah and Jesus, we can listen to the Word of God
proclaimed and change our ways. The Lord
has carefully planted faith, hope, and love in our midst. He is looking for good fruit. And our culture needs the fruit that we can
provide.
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