27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A – Green)
GOSPEL READING: (Luke 10:13-16)
JESUS said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
REFLECTION:
Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians is called “the epistle of joy.” It is an east read of only four chapters. The mood is light and easy, no censures or rebukes unlike in his other letters. Every line of this letter id dripping with appreciation and gratitude for the material support he received from the Christians in Philippi, a city in ancient Greece. But what is truly amazing is the fact that when Paul wrote this letter, it was the worst of times for this missionary apostle. Paul was in prison, at that time also beset by the opposition of other Christian workers and distressed by false teaching in the church at Philippi.
Paul’s missionary efforts are seriously threatened, but he does not sound beleaguered at all. In his epistle, Paul continues to exude peace, serenity, and joy. He exhorts Christians to persevere and to remain united in the true faith.
Paul’s experience on the Second Reading finds resonance in Isaiah’s prophecy about the vineyard that was the fruit of hard work and dedicated labor, but is now threatened by destruction. The vineyard owner cries out in exasperation: “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?”
In Matthew’s parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard, God as the true vineyard owner knows exactly what must be done to his vineyard, and to the tenants who murdered his messengers and his son. “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times” (Matthew 21:41).
Today’s Gospel (as transcribed above) is a call for accountability on all people chosen by God to be stewards of his creation. Human beings, of all God’s creatures, have received this unique and enormous responsibility. Do we respect human life and recognize the human person as the crown of creation? We are naturally disposed to respect human life among cute and cuddly babies or strong and productive adults, but the real challenge is to respect the dignity of the human person especially among the uncouth and derelict members of society.
It has been said that the true test of a civilized society is seen in how its people protect and empower the life of those who are weak and helpless like the unborn, or those differently abled, the mentally challenged, the infirm, and the dying. This measure can be applied as well to identify the good tenant farmer.
There is an outcry to protect the environment not only because we are already experiencing its wrath, but basically because nature is part of creation and we are called to protect and harness it, not exploit or destroy it. As tenant farmers of this planet, we are also called to protect the wildlife.
Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Sunday and also Extreme Poverty Day. The Church as People of God is setting aside this not to give empty platitudes to the poor, but to remind ourselves that we will remain weak and poor as well, as long as we turn a blind eye on the marginalized, especially on our indigenous kababayan (compatriots). We belong to one another by virtue of our common humanity, and so long as a part of the body suffers, we must continue feeling the pain.
By continuing to suffer the pain, we will be emboldened to work responsibly in God’s vineyard and strive to uplift one another’s lives. To choose otherwise is to choose our perdition.
THE GOSPEL and CARE FOR CREATION:
We need to realize that to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God. – Green Convergence
Gospel Reading and Reflections by Fr. Paul J. Marquez, SSP, taken from the October 8, 2017 edition of Sambuhay Missalette, printed in the Philippines by St. Paul’s Media Pastoral Ministry.
The Catholic Gospel Digest 