27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm 79

Philippians 4:6-9

Matthew 21:33-43

A DISAPPOINTED VINEYARD OWNER

The readings of today echo the drama of the love and trust of God misconstrued and betrayed by man. The first reading expresses the disappointment of God who did everything possible to make his vine bear good fruits. Yet, it bore sour ones: God expected his people, the house of Israel, to bear fruit of justice and righteousness, but rather it bore fruits of wickedness, crime and injustices. As such, this cherished vineyard would be exposed to perils, because it deserved no more attention and care (Is. 5:1-7).

In the Gospel reading, Jesus gives the parable of the wicked tenants. Here the problem is not about an unfruitful vineyard, but about the disappointing attitude of the tenants. They refused to deliver the fruits to the owner. Thus, the story of the trust of the owner turned into a drama of homicide whereby the tenants murdered the servants and the heir of the master of the vineyard so as to take it over. In this drama, Jesus denounces the attitudes of the religious leaders of God’s people throughout the salvation history. They persecuted the prophets, killed some of them. Finally, they would persecute and hand himself, the Son of God, over to be crucified outside of Jerusalem (Matt. 21:33-43).

Behind these metaphors that express the relationship between God and his chosen people is hidden the story of each one of us: we have disappointed and betrayed the love and trust of God in many ways. God trusts us. He loves us. He does everything to help us grow. For instance, in the Church, we have his Word, the Sacraments and the Sacramentals that accompany us throughout our life. But what are the fruits we have yielded so far? How often have we not failed to live up to expectation? How often have we not turned to be God-murders?

Fortunately, our story has not come to an end yet. We still have the opportunity to bear fruits if we take seriously Jesus’ call to repentance and the advice of St Paul. For St Paul in the second reading, we should pray and remain faithful to what has been handed onto us; and the God of peace will be with us. He also invites us to pursue whatever is true, honourable, just and right. By so doing, we will bear fruits that befit our calling. May God help us in this regard. 

Amen