Breaking Open the Word
October 4 - 27th Sunday Ordinary Time
Introduction
Is God calling you? What is your answer…TODAY?
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43
Gospel Explained
Interesting start to the gospel – Jesus is directing His instruction to the chief priests and elders. Now, those folks did not take a shine to being instructed by the son of a carpenter so the discussion must have been rather heated. And the discussion was being held in Jerusalem, so those listening were the elite of the Jews.
The parable Jesus is teaching was a common practice. A landowner builds the infrastructure – those things necessary for him to carry on his business, but he lacks the employees to actually get things done. The landowner gives over what he has created to tenants who were supposed to farm the land and produce a bountiful harvest upon his return. The vineyard is a reference to our Church and everything and everyone in it.
In the parable, the landowner is God, the vineyard is Jerusalem, the tenants are the chief priests, elders, and scribes. The servants are the prophets of the Old Testament. The son is Jesus, who will be mistreated and killed, and as a result God will put those who kill the son to their own death. God will then entrust the New Covenant that is established by Jesus to a new Jerusalem.
In the bible, when we see references to Jerusalem it generally is taken to mean the Church established by Jesus. In this case, God will entrust his New Covenant to the Catholic Church. In Matthew 21:42-43, Jesus identifies Himself as the cornerstone rejected by the builders, in this case the builders would be those who will put Him to death. God will hand His church to a new leadership of those who follow Him and take it away from the chief priests and elders.
Today's Theme
Theme: The Church Is A Vibrant Vineyard
A key element to our gospel this week is the acceptance of Jesus and the Church, in gospel that is accepting the cornerstone and the vineyard. In that acceptance we are committing to carrying forth the mission of Christ through the Church. A vineyard is not much of a vineyard if the grapes rot on the vine. Carrying forth the mission of Christ means God looks to us to do the work.
One of the issues Jesus had with the elders of the Jewish people was that they were placing burdens on people to comply with the Mosaic Law for the sake of complying. Their understanding was that simply by complying, people were ensuring their place in God’s favor. Jesus came along and taught something different. The Mosaic Law was there to enhance their relationship with God.
Now, the work God is calling us to carry out can’t take second place to anything in this world. We can get caught up in the things of this world and get distracted just the Israelites had done at the time our reading from Isaiah was written. People knew what God was calling them to do, they just did not do it. And the things they were doing was decimating their relationship with God.
We need to hold the Church as precious, as it is the vineyard. What we do with it matters. What we do with our faith matters. It is sad when someone walks away from the Church. It is down right dangerous for one’s soul to walk away from Jesus in the Eucharist.
Theme in our Life Today
The Church & Vineyard In Our Life Today
Let’s bring them back! Looking around at our Masses, we can see plenty of empty seats. Looking around through your neighborhood, you likely see many who should be at Mass but they are more concerned with sleep, or their yard, or the couch in the family room.
So very many people miss the great things the Church does. All they see is the dramatic stuff the drama loving media, social network, and Hollywood wants to place their focus upon. What they miss is that the Church is not the Pope, bishops, priests, etc. that work within an administrative structure sending out rules about this that and the other thing simply to make life difficult. The Church is you and me, and every person who has been baptized into the Catholic church.
We are doing some incredible stuff. There are countless stories of the wonderful things Catholics are doing to touch the lives of those in need – whether it be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. So very many of us have made the decision to accept the work in the vineyard and make a bountiful harvest.
The question for all of us: are we doing enough? Helping people return to the Church is a wonderful experience. Helping them understand who the Eucharist is, learning the beautiful words of God in scripture, reading the lives of the saints, digging into the early Church fathers, seeing the incredible charitable works done worldwide and especially in our backyard…that is something that can excite people. Let’s share it with them so we have more vineyard workers!
Prepare for Sunday
To Prepare for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word, consider the following:
1. Spend time at the Adoration Chapel reflecting and listing out the top ten things you value. And be honest, where does the Church fit into that?
2. Consider joining one of the ministries at our parish.
3. Identify one person who has fallen away from the Church and invite them back.