27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2026
What is my contribution to the work of God’s vineyard?
GOSPEL
Matthew 21:33-43
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."
REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL
Commentary from Pluscarden Abbey, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery in Scotland
For the third week running we have a parable about a vineyard. Each one of these parables has been aimed against the Jewish Priests, Elders, Scribes and Pharisees who reject Jesus. Like the hired workers in the vineyard, they were envious of the divine generosity. Like the disobedient son of his Father, they professed themselves ready to do God’s will, but in fact they didn’t. And like the vineyard tenants, having rejected and murdered God’s servants the prophets, they were now planning to kill his only Son. Today’s parable, even more clearly than the others, evokes the song of Isaiah we heard in our first reading. There the vineyard is a figure of Israel. We can understand it also as a figure of God’s blessing on his chosen people, or even as this whole created world, or as the portion of life we have been allotted, given to us as the arena of blessing and salvation. God demands fruits of holiness from his vineyard; not indeed for his own benefit, but only for the benefit of his people. Yet, throughout their history, the Jews responded to the divine gift with disloyalty, and hard-hearted murmuring, and infidelity, and rebellion. According to Isaiah, a terrible punishment is to come upon the vineyard. That punishment is implicit also in the parable of Jesus. As a matter of historical fact, after the death of Jesus, a calamity befell the Jewish nation at the hands of the Romans, far greater than any that had occurred in Old Testament times. Yet this is not the only or even the chief moral of this parable. For the ways of God are not to be thwarted, and human wickedness cannot turn aside his plans of salvation. On the contrary. So the principal result of the infidelity of the Jewish leaders will be an explosion of grace and blessing. Because of their sin, gentiles and sinners who previously were outside the law will now be brought into God’s Kingdom. So our parable today is laden with irony. “Let us kill him”, say the tenants, “and take over the inheritance”. Yet killing Jesus is precisely rejecting what he came to give them. For the inheritance offered by God’s Son is not some paltry area of real estate: it’s the gift of divine life; a share in his own Sonship. “If we are Sons,” says St. Paul, “then we are also heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rm 8:17). Similarly: the great aim of the Jewish leaders was to keep the gentiles out of their Kingdom. Yet the gentiles would now be included, precisely as a result of Jesus’ saving death. The stone they had rejected became the head of the corner: Jesus is that stone which, according to the letter to the Ephesians, binds Jews and Gentiles together into one Temple for God (Eph 2:21). I tell you then, says Jesus, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Wrestling with the apparent harshness of this sentence, St. Paul sternly warns us gentiles not therefore to be proud; not to sit back in self-satisfied judgement on our elder brothers the Jews. We have great cause for humility, for we have inherited such a blessing as we had no right to expect, and could never have deserved. As for the Jews: if their loss has proved so great a gain to the gentiles, cries Paul, how much greater a gain will come when all is restored to them (Rm 11:12)! Meanwhile, we have the received the mission of producing the fruits of the Kingdom. But in comparison with the Jews of the Old Testament, the stakes for us have been considerably raised. The Jews had only Moses and the prophets to guide them. The owner of the vineyard left his instructions, then went away; for it often seemed to them as if God were absent. But we have Jesus; we have the Holy Spirit; we have the Sacraments of the Church; we have the promise of eternal life. Yet we too can take Jesus, if we want, and cast him out, and attempt to kill him. We can reduce him to a practical irrelevance in our lives; we can banish him from our hearts; we can flagrantly disobey his law. As for leaders in the Christian Church: throughout history there have been found some who have proved themselves unworthy of their high calling. How terrible it is when, by giving scandal, they lead the little ones astray! Sometimes they have acted in their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 2:21). Sometimes they have been guilty of financial or sexual misconduct. And sometimes they have watered down the wine of the Gospel, or even mingled a few drops of poison in with it, when succumbing to a perennial temptation, they have accommodated themselves to the spirit of their own age. In this centenary year of Fatima we are reminded that grave warnings of calamity as a result of sin are by no means out of date. Our Lady warned of terrible afflictions for the world, and she did not fail to point even to the ultimate calamity, which is the eternal punishment of hell. Yet our Lady of Fatima, ever faithful to her divine Son, did not come in the first place to threaten. Her mission, like his, was above all to announce a great blessing, to invite us once again to great intimacy with God, to call us all once again to great holiness. And as with the parable, so in our own day: we may be confident that the purposes of God will not ultimately be frustrated. In spite of all human wickedness, or all human frailty, the vineyard of the Lord will not fail to yield its fruit. The building of the Church will continue to be raised up; God will continue to be served, and loved, and both Gentiles and Jews will continue to be called, and gathered into the Kingdom together. Our grounds for this hope are based on the pattern of history established by Jesus. First there is sin and death. Then there is resurrection from the dead. Jesus seems to be defeated. But he rises again victorious. He seems to have been killed. Yet this very act of killing brings about the outpouring of his life. So for all its apparent harshness, today’s story does have, will have a happy ending. God’s purposes will be accomplished. And every detail of the story will ultimately be a means for the pouring out of God’s benefits: for our own good, and for his glory.
*************************
Commentary on Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
We have here a parable spoken to the unbelieving chief priests and elders of the people. It is the history of the Israelite people told in parable form. In fact, it is more of an allegory than a parable as each of the persons and incidents described point to real people and real events. Some scholars feel that what we have here is really an early Church document rather than something directly from Jesus. What seems more likely is that a parable spoken by Jesus has been modified in the light of later events. The owner of the vineyard is clearly God. The vineyard is the house of Israel, where God’s people are to be found. The tenants of the vineyard are the people of God. The servants sent to collect the harvest are abused in various ways – beaten, killed, stoned. The servants represent the prophets and other spokespersons sent by God to his people, many of whom were rejected, not listened to and even abused. Finally, the owner decides to send his son. “They will respect my son.” On the contrary, they saw that, if they got rid of the son, they could take over the whole vineyard for themselves. They could carry on without the owner. So they seized the son, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. A clear reference to Jesus being crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. And what will the king do then? Jesus asks. The leaders condemn themselves by answering the question: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end” as happened when the city of Jerusalem was totally destroyed in 70 AD. Instead, the vineyard is let out to new tenants – those Jews and Gentiles, the new people of God, who believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” (This is one of only two instances where Matthew uses the term ‘Kingdom of God’ rather than ‘Kingdom of Heaven’.) The Gentiles had for long been rejected as unbelievers and outsiders. Now, it is on them, together with those Jews who accepted Jesus, that the Kingdom will be built. The Gospel ends by commenting that Jesus’ hearers understood his message perfectly but, because of Jesus’ popularity with the people, they could do nothing in retaliation for the moment. Again and again it has happened in world history that fighters for truth and justice have been rejected, jailed, tortured and eventually found themselves the saviours of their people. Pavel in Czechoslovakia, Mandela in South Africa, Martin Luther King in the US, Gandhi in India. Let us make sure that we are listening to the right people, the people who have the message of truth, love and justice and that we follow them. Jesus our Saviour still speaks through his followers.
*************************
First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP
Have you ever seen a community garden? They pop up in poor neighborhoods. People with homes have backyards or can afford to buy what they need; but poor people don’t have backyards, nor can they always afford the nutritious food they need. I have preached in a Harlem parish five times. Harlem is a very dense neighborhood and, for the most part, still poor. There is a garden plot in Harlem that was a vegetable co-op – a community garden. For community gardens neighbors get together and clear the land of rubble and debris. They plant vegetables and flowers and take responsibility for attending the garden. Everyone gets to share whatever they agreed to plant. If every member is consistent and committed in their efforts, they all benefit and enjoy a shared harvest. If each does not perform their duties regularly and conscientiously the crops fail and it becomes just another weed-choked lot in the city. Community gardens: Scriptures use a similar image to communicate God’s truth to biblical people and to us. The “community garden” most mentioned in the Bible is a Vineyard – in both old/Hebrew and New Testaments. The prophet Isaiah speaks of God planting, caring for and protecting a vineyard. It is clear that the Vineyard is a symbol for the people of Israel. The Vineyard symbolizes God’s loving care for them. The people – the Vineyard – come to know God as: the Creator of all; the one who delivers them from slavery; their guide and protector in the desert – whether a real desert, or a time of spiritual testing. People also came to know God as Israel’s partner in a community garden the people came to call – “the promise land.” Israel is to cooperate with God’s graces and produce the fruits of faithfulness, justice, integrity and holiness. When the people don’t keep up their end of the bargain God sends them prophets, like Isaiah, guardians of the Vineyard, to remind them of what God has done; and what they should do in response to God’s gracious actions on their behalf. Today’s gospel picks up the familiar Old Testament theme of the Vineyard. The parable we hear today is an invitation to us to think about the quality of our efforts in the Vineyard. Initially, Jesus is challenging the religious leaders of his day for their failures as caretakers of the Vineyard – God’s people. The servants in the story were given much, a carefully planted and protected Vineyard. But the servants over reached in their desire to have it all. The owner provided all that was needed for a successful harvest: a protective hedge, a wine press, a tower for surveillance/security... And, as partner, asked for a share in the Vineyard. In their greed and laziness, the servants sought to make a claim on what was not theirs. Couldn’t the gospel story be applied now to our care of the planet? All creation is a gift from God, a gift God loves, has made beautiful for us. We are the privileged tenants. It’s not ours, we don’t own the planet. It has been entrusted to us, and we are privileged to use it and are to be responsible to take care of it. But our care of the planet has faltered. Resources are polluted and overused. For example, in Texas, over 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process to pump oil out of the ground, polluting underground streams in the process. Locals have had to buy bottled water. The Sunday Dallas Morning News attributed earthquake increases to fracking. Imagine earthquakes in Texas! God continues to send us modern day Isaiahs, who speak for the care of our community garden. Our Sister’s Congregations and Religious Orders are all too familiar with the stories of our misuse of the precious gifts God has given us in our environment. They and we have heard the bad news. Let’s celebrate how God has not given up on us and sent modern-day voices calling us to be better/responsible caretakers. Our religious sisters’ congregational webpages show their response the Church’s modern call to works of justice and their care for creation. (E.g).
One symbol that needs no words has moved me. In the Vatican Conference on Climate Change there is the picture of “the Blue Marble (I am sure you have seen it) – the photo taken of the earth during Apollo 17's Luna Mission in 1972. The picture speaks an eloquent message: how would we not want to take care of such a precious gift from our Creator? Karl Rahner’s appreciation of the divine goodness in creation moved him to his optimistic teaching that: salvation was for the unbaptized as well as the baptized of all ages. Sister Elizabeth Johnson commenting on that same image of the earth – the Blue Marble – called the network of living things on the planet “the community of creation”, that God created everything out of love. A word from our Dominican tradition: the mystic Meister Eckhart, who lived in the 13th century, taught that, “Every creature is a word of God.” In another place he says, “If we could have known God without creation, then God would never have created the universe. – So, the created universe is central to our understanding of God, a prime source of revelation. A sign of God’s patience and forgiveness is that God never ceases sending us prophets, calling us back to be responsible tenants in the Vineyard God has planted for us. Polluted resources; global warming; shrinking rainforests; ice caps melting, over consumption.... All from lack of stewardship. We have not been good partners with the owner of the Vineyard. So, few enjoy so much from over consumption; while so many hunger for even basic nutritional needs. The Earth is our “community garden.” We, the tenants in the Vineyard are partners with God, the gift has been given, and it is our responsibility to care for it. In the ordinary daily use of resources today what role will we play in preserving, or depleting the gifts God has given us? We pray at this Mass to be better caretakers of all God’s gifts. We celebrate the prophetic voices God continually sends to us, for God has not given up on us. Here our faith is fed through Word and Sacrament. Here our stewardship is challenged, and we are fed to fulfill our responsibilities as tenants in God’s Vineyard.
*************************
Quotable
“Care for creation therefore represents a true vocation for every human being.” — Pope Leo XIV, Homily for the Care of Creation, September 5, 2025.
*************************
Faith Book
Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.
From today’s first reading: (Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9)
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. Jesus himself is the clearest example: rejected, suffering, and crucified, yet raised by God and made the foundation of our faith. God can take what others dismiss, overlook, or consider useless and give it new purpose. This can give us hope when we feel rejected or when our efforts seem insignificant. God may be doing something wonderful in places and people we are tempted to overlook.
So, I ask:
Have I ever rejected someone whom God may be calling me to recognize and value?
Where might God be building something new in my life from what I have overlooked or rejected?
Can I trust God to bring something wonderful out of what seems small, broken, or unwanted?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you were the stone rejected, yet you became our cornerstone. Help me trust your work in my life, especially when I feel overlooked or rejected.
*************************
ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS
Preparation for the Session
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025
Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)
Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)
Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)
*************************
Opening Prayer
(Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits)
I consider what it is that I think I own, Lord, and consider how it is that all good comes from you hands. So I give thanks, Lord, Every one of us has been given a vineyard by you. Our families, our communities, our work, our church, our environment are all parts of our vineyard. You do not exclude anyone from their vineyard. We exclude ourselves but not tending the vineyard we have been given. I know I am called to produce good fruits in this vineyard. Help me to use the gifts you gave me to help others.
*************************
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?
*************************
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 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?
I am made to give glory to God, andI give thanks as I realize that the goodness of God can be seen in my life. But have I, like the tenants in the parable, sometimes prefeed to run things in my own way?
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?
How did Jesus deal with rejection by those who he came to save and by those he counted as his friends?
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?
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?
*************************
Closing Prayer
Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.
(Adapted from Thomas Merton, in New Seeds of Contemplation,pp.44-46)
Jesus, keep me from loving money, in which there is hatred, from avarice and ambition which suffocate my life. Stamp out the serpent covetousness that kills all joy; untie my hand and deliver my heart from envy. Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised as activity, when activity is not required of me, and from cowardice which follows the lead of others in order to escape discomfort. Give me the courage to stand firm in the face of popular opinion and help me to understand that in your will is my joy and peace.
*************************
For the Week Ahead
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.
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) [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 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?
