TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
4 OCTOBER 2020
In
recent Sundays, Saint Matthew has been helping us to understand the conflicts
which Jesus has been having with the religious leaders of the people. After he had thrown out the money changers
from the Temple, he tries to help the chief priests and elders of the people
that he has the ultimate authority over the temple. But they refuse to listen to the words of
John the Baptist calling them to repent.
They are like the second son in last Sunday’s parable.
Today, he
tells them another parable. They are
familiar with Isaiah’s song of the vineyard.
In that song, Isaiah used a vineyard as an image for the people of
Israel. Echoing the words of Psalm 80,
he pointed out that God had transplanted them from Egypt and established them
with great care and love. But, they
turned away from the Covenant and put their trust in false gods. Despite God’s care and love, they had
produced wild grapes. As a result, God
allowed his people to be overrun by the Babylonians.
Jesus draws
the chief priests and elders of the people into his parable. He tells them about the servants who had been
badly treated. Then he tells them about
the owner’s son. He asks how the tenants
should be treated. When they agree that
they should be punished, he clearly tells them that he is that Son. He reminds the chief priests and leaders of
the people that they are the current tenants of God’s vineyard. Just as their ancestors had badly treated the
prophets, they are the ones who will take the Son of God outside the vineyard
and kill him.
Then Jesus switches metaphors. He speaks this parable in the temple, which
had been undergoing a complete renovation for fifty years. Just as the builders are choosing the ideal
cornerstones to hold the structure together and rejecting those that do not
fit, he identifies himself as the cornerstone.
He has been rejected by the builders and will form a new temple and
invite those who embrace his message to become human stones being built into a
magnificent structure.
Jesus
addresses this same parable to us today.
We are the current tenants of the vineyard. We live at a time when so much of what we use
is disposable. All our goods are
designed to be used for a short time and discarded. The “state of the art” technology purchased
in 2008 for our Parish Education Center is already out of date. I have gone through at least three disposable
printers for my computer since then.
Unfortunately, our culture has this same attitude toward human life. Instead of regarding all human life with the
dignity that comes from believing that humans are created in the image of God,
our culture regards human life as disposable.
Unborn
children have no protection as human persons under our current laws. Too often, euthanasia and assisted suicide
are seen as solutions to difficult problems of aging and disability. Human embryos are being destroyed in the name
of research. The death penalty is being
used to combat crime. And we are too quick
to resort to war to address international disputes.
We are
tempted to believe that we can do nothing about the state of affairs in today’s
vineyard. Focusing our attention and
prayers on life issues during this Respect Life month can give us the hope that
comes from our union with Jesus Christ, the stone rejected by the builders. We can study the Bishops’ guide to forming
consciences for Faithful Citizenship as a way of growing in our understanding
of Church teachings on life issues. We
can take another look at all the opportunities offered by Barb Williams and our
parish pro-life activities. We can
support the effective work of the Women’s Care Center in reaching out to
expectant mothers. In a time of division
and loss of objective truth, we can make more a difference than we think. We must remain on the firm foundation
established by Jesus Christ, the stone rejected by the builders.
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