27th Sunday
Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 21: 33-43
- First reading Isaiah 5:1-7
Let me sing to my friend
the song of his love for his vineyard. - Second reading Philippians 4:6-9
Brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. - Gospel Matthew 21:33-43
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
hat became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today’s Gospel follows directly after last Sunday’s Gospel in which Jesus was questioned by Jewish religious leaders about the source of his teaching authority. After refusing to answer their questions, Jesus tells the parable of the two sons and then criticizes the priests and elders for their lack of belief in John the Baptist.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus once again speaks to the priests and elders with a parable. In this parable, the landowner leases his vineyard to tenants and sends his servants to collect the portion of the harvest that the tenants owe to him. Several times the servants are sent to collect payment, and each time they are beaten and killed by the tenants. Finally, the landowner sends his son to collect his rent. The tenants, believing that they will inherit the vineyard if the landowner dies without an heir, plot together and kill the landowner’s son.
After telling the parable, Jesus questions the chief priests and elders about what the landowner will do to the wicked tenants. They all agree that the landowner will kill the wicked tenants and give the land to new tenants who will pay the rent.
In telling the parable, Jesus is clearly drawing upon Isaiah 5:1-7, which is today’s first reading and one that the priests and elders would have known well. Jesus doesn’t, therefore, have to explain the symbolism of the parable; the Pharisees would have understood that the vineyard represented Israel, the landowner represented God, the servants represented the prophets, and the bad tenants represented the religious leaders. Yet Jesus nonetheless explains the meaning of the parable for his audience: the Kingdom of God will be taken from the unbelieving and given to the faithful. The chief priests and elders have condemned themselves with their answer to Jesus’ question.
Today’s Gospel has a parallel in Mark 12:1-12. There are some notable differences, however. In Matthew’s version, the religious leaders condemn themselves; in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus answers his own question. Matthew names the religious leaders as Pharisees and chief priests. Clearly this Gospel shows the tension that was mounting between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders who thought that his message was dangerous. Matthew’s Gospel was written about 70 years after Jesus’ death and reflects the conflicts and tensions found in the Christian community for whom Matthew was writing. Many biblical scholars believe that the tension between Matthew’s community and their Jewish neighbors can also be heard in today’s reading.
This Gospel reminds us of the importance of listening to God’s word. God speaks to us in many ways—through Scripture, through our Church tradition, in our Church’s teaching, and through modern-day prophets. Are we attentive and receptive to God’s word to us through these messengers?
The new wine of God’s vineyard
Pope Francis
This narrative allegorically illustrates the reproaches of the prophets in the story of Israel. It is a history that belongs to us. It is about the Covenant which God wished to establish with mankind and in which he also called us to participate. Like any other love story, this story of the Covenant has its positive moments too, but it is also marked by betrayal and rejection. In order to make us understand how God the Father responds to the rejection of his love and his proposal of an alliance, the Gospel passage puts a question on the lips of the owner of the vineyard: “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” (v. 40). This question emphasizes that God’s disappointment at the wicked behaviour of mankind is not the last word! This is the great novelty of Christianity: a God who, even though disappointed by our mistakes and our sins, does not fail to keep his Word, does not give up and, most of all, does not seek vengeance!
My brothers and sisters, God does not avenge himself. God loves, he does not avenge himself. He waits for us to forgive us, to embrace us. Through the “rejected stones” — and Christ is the first stone that the builders rejected — through situations of weakness and sin, God continues to circulate “the new wine” of his vineyard, namely mercy. This is the new wine of the Lord’s vineyard: mercy. There is only one obstacle to the tenacious and tender will of God: our arrogance and our conceit which, at times also becomes violence! Faced with these attitudes where no fruit is produced, the Word of God retains all its power to reprimand and reproach: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it” (v. 43).
The urgency of replying with good fruits to the call of the Lord, who asks us to become his vineyard, helps us understand what is new and original about the Christian faith. It is not so much the sum of precepts and moral norms but rather, it is first and foremost a proposal of love which God makes through Jesus and continues to make with mankind. It is an invitation to enter into this love story, by becoming a lively and open vine, rich in fruits and hope for everyone. A closed vineyard can become wild and produce wild grapes. We are called to leave this vineyard to put ourselves at the service of our brothers and sisters who are not with us, in order to shake each other and encourage each other, to remind ourselves that we must be the Lord’s vineyard in every environment, even the more distant and challenging ones.
Angelus 8/10/2023
To reinvigorate the faith and promote the fruits of the Mission
Romeo Ballan, MCCJ
The vineyard has its poet. The prophet Isaiah, called “the Shakespeare of the Bible”, dedicates one of his most passionate poetical canticles to the vineyard of his friend (1st Reading). It is a vineyard planted with love, tended and cared for with joy and hope. The vineyard of the Lord is His people (see v.7 and the Responsorial Psalm). Sadly, the vineyard – the people – proved unfaithful when the time came to gather the crop, and expectations are turned into delusion and bitterness: sour grapes instead of grapes. Instead of the fruits of justice and integrity, the people have produced blood and oppression (v.7). In fact, the calamity of that vineyard turns into tragedy in Jesus’ parable (Gospel). The tenants, besides taking the crop for themselves, become murderers: they beat, stone and kill not only the servants sent by the owner, but even his Son (v. 35-39). The application to the events of the death of Jesus is direct (v.39). But God’s love for his people overcomes any wickedness. God, who has embedded himself in history, gives a new meaning to the human events: recuperates the stone – Jesus – rejected by the builders, and makes it the keystone (v.42) of salvation, for all nations. Now is clear: those who refuse God condemn themselves to fruitlessness; only those who accept and remain in Him bear much fruit, because apart from Him we can do nothing (cf. Jn.15:5). And so God obstinately wants our good and, therefore, does not give up, does not give way to delusion, tries again after every rebuff, does not renounce the crop. He tries again every time people turn away and offers the same Saviour to other peoples so that, united with Him, they may bear fruits of salvation (vv. 31, 41, 43).
The history of the Missions records the succession of events and of the peoples who, in successive ages, welcome or refuse the proclamation of the Gospel with the relative consequences of good or evil. Certainly, no people can define itself as better than the others or evangelised once and for all. The fact that many Christian communities were born, flourished and then disappeared in various parts of the world calls for serious missionary reflection. Of numerous and thriving Christian communities in North Africa and in Asia Minor, though founded by the Apostles and guided by the Fathers of the Church, now remain only the names, a few archaeological ruins or very little else. In the meantime, other nations and continents have opened up to the Gospel and are still bearing fruit (in Africa, America, Oceania…); yet other populations of the Christian West, which once were strong in their faith, are now experiencing weariness and decline, with little to show. I the heart of individuals and in the culture of people there are areas that remain shrouded in mystery. How can freshness and vigour of faith be recuperated? This is the great challenge to an effective missionary pastoral approach.
In the letter to the Philippians (2nd Reading) Paul writes to a community that once produced good fruits. He enumerates eight fruits to be cultivated and sought: whatever is true, noble, good and pure, loveable, honoured, virtuous, praiseworthy (v.8), as the guarantee of peace with God and with others (v.8-9). They are values that encourage positive thoughts and form the basis for the directions the Mission must take in the world: dialogue with other religions, inculturation, ecumenical dialogue, fostering of justice, integrity of creation, etc.
Paul recommends these fruits and values to the Christians of Philippi, the first Christian community that he founded in Europe during his second Missionary Journey (AD 49-50); a community with which he had a particularly affectionate relationship. The origins of this community give us some interesting missionary considerations. Following the Council in Jerusalem, Paul had revisited the communities in Asia Minor, leaving people in charge and looking for more areas to evangelise (Acts 16:6-7). While he was in Troas, one night the vision of a Macedonian opened to him the way to a new world: “Come across to Macedonia and help us!” (Acts 16:9-10). The stretch of sea to be crossed was quite narrow, but that step was really significant: for Paul and his companions it was the entrance into Europe. Paul’s gaze was already turning towards Rome, capital of the Roman Empire. The beginnings of the community in Philippi and the call of the Macedonian (Come across… help us) are like an emblem and a missionary reminder to all Church communities of every time and place to be attentive to the call, whether loud or silent, of the countless Macedonians of their “today” (persons, nations, events, situations…), especially on the occasion of World Mission Sunday.
Christ: the stone that shatters our idols
Fernando Armellini
Introduction
The last verse of (Ps 137—the famous song of exiles—is always carefully ignored.After the poignant reminder of the tears of the exiles along the rivers of Babylon, the poet, addressing the bloody city, exclaims: “Happy is he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” (Ps 137:9). The concluding verse of today’s Gospel raises an embarrassment. It is not carried in the lectionary text. Referring to Christ—the stone which the builders rejected—the evangelist comments: “Whoever falls on this stone, he will be broken to pieces; on whomever this stone falls, he will be ground to dust” (Mt 21:44).
These images are upsetting. They suddenly illumine each other if we catch their reference to the scene described in the book of Daniel: a stone—not driven by human hands—comes off from the top and hits a colossal, beautiful-looking, but a terrible statuethat collapses and falls apart (Dn 2:31-35). It is the idol that, in his foolishness, the manhimself built and from its slavery, he can no longer free himself. It is the unjust, corruptand inhuman society the person created and of which he remains a victim.
Christ and his Gospel are ‘the stone’ hurled by God against this monstrous structure. They are ‘the stone’ that shatters the logic of this world, the tricks, the cunning and above all, the foolish images people made for themselves of God. The stone is intended to shatter the plans of the wicked and smash their children. The wicked will not have offspring, will remain without posterity, and have no future because God will vanish all doers of iniquity. This is the good news.
The great of this world—the builders of the new ‘Tower of Babel’—discard this stonebecause it does not fit their plans; it messes up their dreams, destroys their kingdoms. They tried to eliminate it, but God chose it as the rock of salvation. Whoever makes it thefoundation of his life will not be disappointed.
First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7
“In the last days …nations will not raise sword against nation…one will sit in peace and freedom under a fig tree or a vine of his own and none shall make them afraid“ (Mic 4:1-4). With this lovely bucolic image, Micah describes the peaceful and happy life every Israelite sought. The vineyard was a symbol of peace, family union, joy and feast. The beloved of the Song of Songs dreamed of running between the rows, hand in hand with herbeloved in a cool spring morning: “Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the buds have opened and the pomegranates have blossomed. There I will give you my love” (Song 7:13). The bride of the man blessed by God is “like a vine, will bear fruits in your home” (Ps128:3).
In this cultural context, in which the vineyard is associated with the call to love, the poem proposed to us today is born. It is rightly counted among the masterpieces of the world’s literature. It describes a farmer’s passion for his vineyard, a yearning affection, like that of a lover for the woman of his life. At home, on the street, with friends, he speaks of no one but her.
The poet imagines himself to be the friend of this ‘bridegroom’ and says: “My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside …” (v. 1). An excellent vineyard, grapes purchased from abroad, chosen strains favored among thousands. It had been planted on a sunnyslope, the ideal place to get those clusters that already in July are tinged with violet, a grape’s sign of exquisite flavor and a harbinger of good and robust wine. The land was freed of thorns and weeds, with the stones gathered at the edge of the field. They made up the wall and the tower of protection against thieves and wild beasts.
No care, no concern, no effort had been spared. The tenderness of the belovedtranspires even by the insistence with which he keeps repeating the expression ‘my vineyard’: “Now inhabitants of Jerusalem, judge between me and my vineyard. What was more there to do that I have not done for my vineyard? Now I will let you know what I am going to do with my vineyard” (vv. 3-5).
At this point, the reader is anxious to know the result of the story. What will the lavishly cared for vineyard produce? In the second stanza (vv. 3-4), the dramatic surprise of the peasant is told: He is expecting a yield of excellent grapes. Instead, it yields only wild, bitter, inedible grapes (v. 4). As in the betrayed and dismayed heart of the lover, love turns into disappointment, resentment and anger. The farmer decides to inflict a terriblepunishment on his vineyard: he will break down the wall, let the wayfarers enter to trample on it, wild animals to devastate it, the brambles and briers to invade it until she chokes. Hewill neither prune nor hoe it. He will command the clouds not to send the beneficial rain and dew on it (vv. 5-6).
The last verse (v. 7) explains the image’s meaning: the vineyard is Israel; she is thechoice and precious vine that God has acquired in Egypt. A few years before, the prophet Hosea had said: “Israel was a spreading vine, rich in fruit” (Hosea 10:1).
The author of (Ps 80 develops the details of the removal of the ‘stones’—the peoplewho occupied Palestine before the arrival of the Israelites—a detail that is only hinted at in our poem: “You had a vine you brought from Egypt. You drove the nations out to plant it in their land. On the ground that you cleared it took root and filled the land” (Ps 80:9-10).
The tower of protection was the dynasty of David.
Israel responded with infidelity and rebellion against the love lavished on it. The fruit(the good and sweet grape) that the Lord was waiting for was fidelity to the covenant, social justice, help for the poor, the orphan and the widow. What did he find? Instead, he found cries of the oppressed and exploited people, lies in court, hatred, bloodshed, areligion of processions, pilgrimages to the temple, and rites, which did not correspond tothe conversion of the heart.
There is a curious play on words in the original text: justice and righteousness (that God expected of his people) are terms similar to bloodshed and cries of the oppressed(which is what Israel produces). Hearing them pronounced may even confuse them (mishpat = righteousness and mishpah = bloodshed; tzedakah = justice and tze’aqah = cries of the oppressed). At first sight, the wild grape may seem good, but only in appearance.
In the allegory of the vineyard, there are two opposing attitudes: that of God who manifests a concrete love (he prepares the soil, plants choicest vines, protects it with a tower, digs a wine press) and the people who, neglecting justice, are satisfied with exterior rites and devout prayers (cf. Is 1:11-17).
The severe denunciation of Isaiah is presented again to the Christians of today. The danger of the illusion of being right with God because they are flawless in the execution ofreligious practices is incumbent upon them. Because of her infidelity, Israel has gone to meet a national disaster. It was invaded by foreign peoples (Assyrians, Babylonians…) who devastated “the vineyard of the Lord” and reduced Jerusalem to “a hut in a melon field”(Is 1:8). This destruction symbolizes the sterility of one who ignores mistakes and neglectsthe attention and kindness that God has for him.
Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9
In the reading’s first verses (vv. 6-7), Paul says that nothing can destroy the peace andjoy of a Christian. Nothing can distress him if he remains united to God in prayer.
In the second part (v. 8), Christians are encouraged to cultivate a list of human virtuesin their lives. It is about the quality and behavior that is appreciated by everyone, everywhere. What makes a person admirable, lovely, honored and respected, must be practiced by every Christian. We cannot claim to be a disciple of Christ if we are not loyal, honest, integral and respectable.
Without fear of contradiction, Paul, putting aside false modesty, dares to stand as amodel of this behavior (v. 9). His recommendation is an invitation to today’s Christians toshow sweet, friendly, respectful traits towards everyone, especially non-believers.
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43
Like the prophet Isaiah, Jesus also uses the image of the vineyard to describe the work of God and people’s response. However, the scene is quite different. The personages change: in the foreground, God and the vineyard that produces bitter and inedible grapes are not there, but there is the owner, God, and his dependents, identified as the high priests and the spiritual guides of the people to whom the parable is directed (Mt 21:23). Then thevineyard is not sterile; it seems to bear fruit, but they are not delivered. Finally, the conclusion is different: there is no abandonment, devastation of the vineyard, but a new beginning, an intervention of salvation, a replacement of the inept workers.
We come to the parable. A master plants a vineyard with a hedge around it, digs a millthere, builds a tower, entrusts it to tenants and goes. When the time of harvest arrived, he sent his servants to collect the produce, but here’s the surprise: the farmers do not want to deliver the benefits. The first hypothesis that comes to mind is that they want to keep the produce for themselves. There is another possibility, perhaps more likely, they have nofruit to present. They may not have worked. They may have spent their time in drunken carousing or have performed badly.
Some of them began to make fun of the master’s envoys, then the insults, beatings,and finally the killing of some servants. The landlord does not give up; he loves his vineyard too much. He sends other servants, more numerous than the first, but even thesehave no luck. As a final attempt, he sends his son, but the workers in the vineyard hunt him out and kill him. They are convinced of being able to be masters of the field that has beenentrusted to them.
As in the First Reading, all the details of the Gospel story have a symbolic meaning.The master is the Lord who has lavished so much care and expressed an immense love for his people (v. 33). The hedge is the Torah, the law that God has revealed to his people, to protect them from enemies, that is, from the proposals of a senseless life that would lead to ruin. The tenants are the chiefs, religious and political leaders, whose task is to place the people in ideal conditions to produce the fruit that the owner expects. The first reading identifies the fruit. It is the works of love for the neighbor and social justice.
The two groups of envoys are the prophets who, before and after the exile, were sent, always more numerous, to warn Israel to be faithful to the covenant. That is how Godexpresses himself through the mouth of Jeremiah: “From the time I brought their forebears out of Egypt until this day I have continually sent them my servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no attention and were worse than their forebears” (Jer 7:25-26). The fate of these men was dramatic: beatings, stoning (2 Chr 24:21), fetters and chains (Jeremiah 20:2), death by the sword (Jeremiah 26:23). They should not expect anything else: they were the mouthpiece of God and his wisdom, too far from the absurd and unacceptable thoughts of men. That is why the tenants want to take possession of the field, claim to manage the ‘vineyard’ by themselves. They representthose who want to do without God and consider His gifts right to be appropriated.
The son is Jesus. The time of harvest is the time of God’s judgment that—this must bekept in mind—should not be understood as the ‘day of reckoning,’ but as an intervention of salvation. Let me explain. At the end of the parable, Jesus involves his audience and asks their opinion on what behavior to suggest to the owner. They convincingly respond:“The master will bring those evil men to an evil end” (v. 41).
This severe image results from the effervescent oriental fantasy that—as we have repeatedly pointed out—is pleased to paint pictures with solid colors. But Jesus follows a different logic. Instead of approving the words of threat and destruction handed down byhis hearers (v. 41), he suggests the action of God. The Lord will not react by destroyingevil and not pretend that evil was not committed. This remains; it cannot be reset. God intervenes to make it serve the good, making it yield a masterpiece of salvation. You may remember what Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him to the Egyptians: “You intended to do me harm but God intended to turn it to good to bring about what is happening today—the survival of many people” (Gen 50:20).
Verses 39,42-43 form the central part of the parable describing the death and resurrection of Jesus. The leaders of the people take the Son and throw him out of the vineyard. This is what happened to Jesus. He was deemed a blasphemer, impure, and for this, he was brought out of the city walls and was executed. But God, in raising him, glorified him and made him Lord, the cornerstone of a new building.
The result of the intervention of the master is the delivery of the vineyard to otherworkers who will make it produce fruit. This is not about the master’s annoyed reaction buthis gesture of love and salvation. Not even the rejection and murder of his son can make him an enemy of humanity.
In narrating this parable, the evangelist Matthew certainly thought of the infidelity of the leaders of his people and their rejection of the Messiah of God. But not only them; he also thought of his community and the entire world: every person is a vine-grower from which the Lord expects delivery of the fruit. The happy news which concludes the Gospel(v. 43) is that, despite all the refusals of people, in the end, God always finds a way toachieve his purpose and to obtain the excellent fruit he wants.
READ: Once again, Jesus conveys his teaching by way of a parable: the parable of the owner and his tenants. The unacceptable behavior of the tenants and their violence against the owner’s son mirrors the stature of the chief priests and the elders in front of God. They indicted themselves by their own judgment on what to do with the wicked tenants.
REFLECT: How disheartening it is to receive ingratitude and hate in return for doing good? It has been the fate of many good men and women who pledged their lives in the service of others. However, many of them continued to do good despite adversetreatment because their hearts were filled with whatever is truthful, holy, just, pure, lovely, and noble, and they had the peace of God. How do you compare with them?
PRAY: God has invested himself so much in us. We must give him a just accounting.We pray that the peace of God may reign in our hearts.
ACT: Let us be transparent and accountable today as good and faithful stewards with our words and actions. Let us do an act of good without expecting gratitude or favors.
