27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 4, 2020

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Gospel: Matthew 21:33–43

Theme: What are we doing to/for the vineyard of God?

Matthew 21:33–43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.

“When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way.

“Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

“Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.”

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Jesus, you were thrown out and killed.
But you took no revenge.
Instead you excused your torturers and by your love you reconciled everyone with God.
You showed what divine love is like.
You love me totally, no matter what I do.
May I always wish others well, and pray for them instead of taking revenge on them when they hurt me.

Companions for the Journey

Adapted from “First Impressions” 2020, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

We read scripture through our own cultural and religious biases, and we particularly interpret parables according to those biases. For centuries in the Christian church, the prevailing interpretation of this passage was a stinging indictment of the Jews who failed to recognize Jesus and the Jesus movement. It goes like this: the vineyard is the world and in this world, God made the Jews His special people, but they strayed from God’s will, and neglected to cultivate “the vineyard” the way God wanted. So God sent prophets down to shape them up. This did not go well. Finally, in desperation, God sent Jesus to set them straight, and those Jews killed Jesus as well. God has no use for them as a people. This somewhat anti-Semitic interpretation of Matthew’s passage had its beginnings as far back as the early days of the Church, when Rome attempted to quash all of the unrest about religion in this part of the world by destroying the Jerusalem temple in 70AD. The non-Christian Jews blamed the Christian Jews for this disaster, and later that year, in Jamnia, the Jewish leaders evicted the Christians from Judaism. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of bad feelings on both sides. Throughout the intervening 2000 years, this interpretation of the parable by Christians sometimes caused or explained away the feelings of resentment against the Jews in their midst, culminating in the elimination of over six million Jews in WWII.

There are several problems with this interpretation, not the least of which is the lingering anti-Semitism still present in many places and in many hearts. The other problem is our own understanding of this parable as not having anything to do with us and our behavior. If this is only about the Jews and Jewish leaders, then we and our religious leaders are off the hook. However, if we look at the parable as just punishment for a loss of justice and righteousness in a community of God, then we need to look at where we are as a people and as individuals in this regard. This parable is illuminated by the passage from Isaiah this week. In Isaiah, justice means fair and equitable relationships in a community that has, as its base, the justice of God.  This justice is expressed through honest dealings with one another; it fails when a more powerful class of people takes advantage of the weaker. If we are in good relationship with God, then from that relationship will come fidelity in doing the works God expects of us:  works of justice in the community.  The prophet suggests that failure of justice/righteousness will lead to disaster for God’s people. This section from Isaiah ends with a powerful indictment its audience must apply to itself.  It stops short of actually pronouncing the judgment, implying there still is time to change and conform to God’s ways.  As always, you can hear the God of love, who raised up a people out of slavery, reminding the people what is expected of them if they are truly to be God’s people.  They must be a just people, unlike the people of other gods. In their midst the poor are to be cared for and justice is to prevail—a sure sign that this nation has a different kind of God who sees to the needs of the poor, the orphaned and the widowed. We have our modern Isaiahs, powerful prophetic voices to lead us in God’s ways.  Notice, for example, how frequently our Pope and bishops have spoken out against violence in the world, the arms trade, on behalf of the poor, for the care of creation, etc. For example, as we draw closer to the national elections here is a statement made by the American Catholic bishops at their national meeting in 1998:

As citizens in the world’s leading democracy, Catholics in the United States have special responsibilities to protect human life and dignity and to stand with those who are poor and vulnerable.  We are called to welcome the stranger, to combat discrimination, to pursue peace and to promote the common good.  Catholic social teaching calls us to practice civic virtues and offers us principles to shape participation in public life.  We cannot be indifferent to or cynical about the obligations of citizenship.  Our political choices should not reflect simply our own interests, partisan preferences or ideological agendas, but should be shaped by the principles of our faith and our commitment to justice, especially to the weak and vulnerable.

We church members call ourselves “God’s people,” the “vineyard of the Lord of hosts.”  The Isaian parable and the Matthean parable should certainly speak and challenge us.  We trace our faith life to its origins in God, who planted the seed of the Christ-life in us; nourished it by the scriptures and sacraments; and gave us prophetic witnesses, parents and teachers.  God has also protected that life within us when it was stressed and tested; renewed it when we wandered and caused it to grow at the most unexpected times.  So, the first thing we do today is remember with gratitude all God has done for us as individuals and as a community. But we have to ask the Isaian question too.  After all God has done for us, what fruits will God find at vintage time?  “God looks for judgment, but sees bloodshed!  For justice, but hark the outcry.”  We call ourselves the people of God, but in our society do our poor receive preferential option; is there discrimination in our assemblies against the aged, disabled, gays, women, the undocumented, etc?  Are our laity involved in decision making?  Is there open disclosure of financial matters?  Are the home-bound made to feel part of our community?  Do we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned? The life of Jesus is given to us today to form us into a community that puts the usual ways of judging aside.  We have to be sure to practice in our lives what we profess. We have to ask ourselves what we are doing to nurture the vineyard of God which is this world, and what we are requiring of our religious and political leaders. What needs to change and how can I make that happen? What more needs to be done, and what can I do?

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

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.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Do I realize that this parable is not just about those from long ago who rejected Jesus, but also about me?
    How am I behaving as a tenant of God’s vineyard?
  • From “First Impressions,” a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
    Where is our place in the vineyard?
    How is the labor going?
    Does God enter into our decision making?
    Do we see the places we serve as “owned” by God?
  • Which parts of this parable do I find unrealistic? Assuming the details were put there for a reason, what does this story tell me about God? (for example, what kind of Father sends his son into certain danger?)
  • Do I see in this parable a message that God has entrusted me with His vineyard (the kingdom) and it is my job to make it increase, but using my own talents and experience to do so?
  • Do I see in this parable a story of God’s deep down love for me and for all his creation, or do I only see God’s vengeance against those who have done wrong?
  • Who are the modern day prophets for truth and justice have been have been rejected, jailed, tortured, maybe even been killed, but eventually recognized as saviors of the people?
  • How did Jesus deal with rejection by those who he came to save and by those he counted as his friends?
  • We often want to live our own lives as we like, make our personal decisions in our own interest. Where does our pride and our selfishness blind us to the job we were commissioned to do?
  • Have I ever had an experience having a project I lovingly developed fall apart because those entrusted to make it happen lost interest or even sabotaged it? What did I do?
  • What have I done to further the kingdom of God in this world?
    How have I treated anyone who called me to account?
  • From “First Impressions”:
    Has there ever been someone in my life who has been a persistent voice urging me to change?
    Is it possible in that person’s persistence, God is telling me to make the necessary changes in my life?
  • How do we make sure we are listening to the right people, the people who have the message of truth, love and justice?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions

Many people experience God as a Deus Absconditus—a God who has deliberately hidden himself from humanity, a God who is not present in our everyday lives, in our everyday troubles, our everyday pain and sorrow. We have become a “post-religious” world, that is, we seem to function as a society without reference to our creator, our redeemer, our sustainer. How hard is it for you to maintain a relationship with a largely silent God? How do you do so? Where do you find God—in the natural world? In art or music? In the people people you love? In innocent children? Have you ever had a time in your life when your distinctly felt God’s presence? God’s absence? How did you deal with the experience? What do you think is your role in bringing an awareness of God’s grace and presence into the lives of others? Why is it that when people try to bring God into the conversation, it is usually as a corrective for another’s behavior? What does that tell me about our image of God in our own minds and hearts? How can we enlarge those minds hearts to imagine the kind of God who cares so much for the Kingdom that he would send his own Son to us?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Taken from Sacred Space:

Every one of us has been given a vineyard by God. Our families, our communities, our work, our church, our environment are all parts of our vineyard. God does not exclude anyone from their vineyard. People exclude themselves by failing to tend the vineyard they have been given.

I am called by God to produce good fruits in this vineyard. In this time of pandemic, how am I using the gifts he gave me to help others? What more can I do?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

From “First Impressions” 2020:

JUSTICE BULLETIN BOARD

“[The Lord of Hosts] looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry” (Isaiah 5:7)

In Isaiah 5, the vine is a metaphor for the people of Judah and because of their social injustice, they clearly failed God’s intention and threaten its destruction. Fast forward eight centuries to Jesus’ time and Matthew writes of another vineyard where God expects a harvest of righteous fruits and will not tolerate injustice. Jesus is speaking to the chief priests and elders and, through the story, tells them because of their injustice the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and “given to a people that will produce its fruit" (Matthew 21:43).

Fast forward again to the present time. The 2019 U.N. Human Development Report argues that the unrest and protests in the world are about more than disparities in income and wealth, but are driven, also, by inequalities in opportunity and power that leads to lack of access to jobs, healthcare, education and social mobility. Pope Francis has identified inequality as a moral problem, saying in Evangelii Gaudium, “Inequality is the root of social ills.” The vineyard again is in danger of being destroyed because of social injustice. Now, is the time of reckoning. The Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church #83 says that the human conscience is called to recognize and fulfill the obligations of justice and charity in society. But, more is needed than just fulfilling obligations. Pope Francis provides this wisdom, “In every age, humanity experiences injustices, moments of conflict and inequality among peoples. In our own day these difficulties seem to be especially pronounced. Even though society has made great progress technologically, and people throughout the world are increasingly aware of their common humanity and destiny, the wounds of conflict, poverty and oppression persist, and create new divisions. In the face of these challenges, we must never grow resigned… we know that there is a way forward, a way that leads to healing, mutual understanding and respect. A way based on compassion and loving kindness” (11/29/17). When you come to the vineyard to clear the social injustice that has grown there, bring all of your gifts and your love.

To learn more about inequality around the world and what can be done to narrow the staggering economic inequality that so afflicts us in almost every aspect of our lives, explore inequality.org, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.

—Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director,
Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

Poetic Reflection:

How does this poem from Thomas Merton capture our need to listen for the voice of God in our vineyard?:

“In Silence”

Be still
Listen to the stones of the wall.
Be silent, they try
To speak your

name.
Listen
To the living walls.
Who are you?
Who Are you? Whose
Silence are you?

Who (be quiet)
Are you (as these stones
Are quiet). So not
Think of what you are
Still less of What you may one day be
Rather
Be what you are (but who?) be
The unthinkable one
You do not know

O be still, while
you are still alive
And all things live around you
Speaking (I do not hear)
To you own being,
Speaking by the Unknown
That is in you and in themselves.

I will try, like them
To be my own silence:
And this is difficult. The whole
World is secretly on fire, The stones
Burn, even the stones
They burn me, How can a man be still or
Listen to all things burning? How can he dare
To sit with them when
All their silence
Is on fire?