October 8
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”
Readings
Reflection
Our readings this week are about stewardship.
In the reading from Isaiah, it seems that the vineyard itself has gone bad, only yielding wild grapes which are not fit for use in either eating or wine making. The narrator of the reading takes the responsibility for the failure on himself asking the poignant question; “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?” At the conclusion of the reading, the vineyard is identified as the house of Israel, the people that God has chosen for his own and has treated with tender loving care, but has returned nothing but rejection for all he has done for them. His solution is to let it be trampled, which is what indeed happened to the Israelites, as they were subjected to deportation to Assyria and Babylon.
The Psalm repeats the idea of the House of Israel as the vineyard of the Lord. The Rabbis, Pharisees and Sadducees, leaders of the Israelites did not show good stewardship of the people that they are expected to lead toward God. St. Paul suggests that it is important to think about the things that are honorable and pure in order to obtain peace and contentment from our God.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls the chief priests and elders of the people to task for their refusal to give to the Father the just fruits of the vineyard he has blessed them with. He quotes Psalm 118 which predicts how he will become “the stone that the builders rejected which has become the cornerstone.” He casts the elders and chief priests as the wicked tenants and predicts that their pride and arrogance will lead to their downfall.
We are the tenants of the vineyard of the Lord today. We must take good care of both our earthly home and of the church we have inherited. Only through serving as good stewards of both can we hope to obtain the peace and joy of Heaven.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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