27th Week of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 5:1–7
Psalm 80:9, 12, 13–14, 15–16, 19–20
Philippians 4:6–9
Matthew 21:33–43
The land of Israel was parceled out to the tribes. Each family had its own portion. God’s portion was the whole people: “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”
Planting a vineyard and building a winepress represented stability and growth. When a family committed to the land this way, oversight and daily labor were required. If the family did not do its own work, the land was not sold but leased out to others with the provision that the fruits of the land belonged to the family. Payment was a share in the produce and a place to live.
God’s intention for His people is to live in the Promised Land, possessing a share in the fruits that come from life in the kingdom. Jesus’ parable is an invitation to us to commit to “work the land” and to be open in our sharing, just as God is with us. We can miss the import of the parable if we make the mistake of seeing it as applying only to others.
When Jesus seems to be offering a critique of a particular group, there are always three “publics” in mind.
First are the bystanders, those who hear the parable and realize that Jesus has indicated that God is for them as well as for those who already claim to know Him. Second are the ones to whom the critique is given. They are invited to learn a new way of thinking and to open their hearts to God’s true desire to share the fruits of the kingdom with all.
The third public is found among those reading and hearing the parable today – we ourselves, who have the same invitation as the first two publics.
Where we are tempted to think that we are in the kingdom and that the land is ours, we must remember that it belongs to God. Failing to share the fruits of the Gospel with all, we do not put into action the way of life that has been offered.
God is patient with us. He tells us again and again that we belong to Him. He reminds us of the riches of the kingdom. He invites us to accept the simple truth that the kingdom bears fruit in us and that such fruit is destined for all.
God allows us to experience the consequences of our rejection. When we return to our senses, we can pray, as Israel prays in the Psalm: “O Lord, God of hosts, restore us; if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.”
When Jesus reveals us to ourselves, we can choose to react or to respond. Rejection of the one who presents us with a difficult piece of news is a common human experience. “Don’t kill the messenger.”
With a touch of irony, Jesus tells this parable as a prophecy of His own suffering yet to be endured. The messenger will be cruelly put to death. The son of the owner of the vineyard is being rejected even as the parable is being told.
The Son of God invites us to become a people who recognize that all that we are comes from Him. He knows our failures and our past unwillingness to allow the Gospel way of thinking to change our hearts and to be put into practice. Nonetheless, He offers us mercy. The Living God still claims us as His vineyard.
A free response to this message involves two steps. First, we must look in the mirror. We have to admit our complicity in the darkness that surrounds us. We have failed to stand up for the truth. We have compromised our values, becoming complacent rather than welcoming the truth.
Then, we must repent, changing our way of approaching everything, seeing ourselves as responsible, accepting the offer of the owner of the vineyard to welcome His Son into our lives.
Acceptance of our role as stewards and an openness to sharing the fruits of the kingdom prove to be a “better way” to live. St. Paul encourages the Philippians: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.”