Skip to main content

27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

By
This week we continue with our series on morality.  While our readings give us examples of what could be considered “bad behavior”, the focus is not so much on the behavior but the consequences of that behavior.  Bad consequences for bad behavior is indeed a motivation for right behavior, but it is not, and should not, be the only motivator for taking the right path.  God wants us to see the right path, but we sometimes miss the opportunities that are right in front of us...


The Word for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time:
Isaiah 5:1-78
Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 16-16, 19-20
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43

We open with a lament from early Isaiah.  Remember that Isaiah is known as one of the greatest prophets, and is the most quoted in the New Testament.  His prophetic book, by at least three different authors, takes us from a time before the Assyrian uprising, through the Babylonian uprising, through the great Babylonian Exile, and all the way to the Israelites return to Jerusalem.  In this week’s passage, Isaiah sings a lament, a expression of profound grief or sorrow (used often in the Hebrew scriptures).  This particular lament is similar to the parables we see in the Gospels.  Here we have a song about a landowner and his vineyard, which we equate to the people of Israel, but then he poses the question back to us, as if we are the Lord and what should we do with these “wild grapes.”  His song is a lament…of sadness and confusion over what to do.  Our Psalm reflects this same story, only this time we also asking  for God’s mercy.

Our Gospel from Matthew takes a similar tact as we continue on from where we left off last week where Jesus is telling parables to the Chief Priests and Elders.  While last week’s parable was unique to Matthew’s Gospel, this week’s story is profound enough to be included in both Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels.  Jesus, still talking with the chief priests and the elders, gives them another parable, this time  about another landowner and his tenant farmers.  The story starts from a familiar place, keeping in mind that both Jesus’ audience and Matthew’s are quite familiar with the story we heard from Isaiah, only this time Jesus is equating the behavior of the tenant farmers to that of the Temple elders.  Jesus warns them explicitly that if they can’t produce fruit in the Lord’s vineyard, it will be taken away and given to others that will.  A stern warning that is just the beginning of the end for Jesus in Jerusalem.

Least these readings fill us also with dread and lament, our second reading should provide us with some hope, and a natural counterbalance to the warnings given by Isiah and Matthew.  Continuing our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he starts the closing to his letter by telling us to “have no anxiety at all,”  Reminding them that if they continue to follow what they have been taught, “Then the God of peace will be with you.”  Like our Psalm, we need to remember that no matter how dire the situation, we can always turn back to the Lord for mercy and salvation.

Final thoughts:
If our readings for this week make it seem like God is frustrated with us and is ready to brush us aside, you would be correct.  That lesson, however, must always be counterbalanced with God’s infinite mercy and forgiveness.  As Paul reminds us, if we do what is right, God’s peace will be with us.  With God there is hope.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

By
February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  When a significant feast day falls on a Sunday, the Church sets aside the readings for that normal week to celebrate the feast with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-43 Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord .  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year, a tradition still followed in some parish communities.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused...
Post a Comment
Read more

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

By
As with last week’s readings, our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are usually passed over for other feast days, but since Easter is somewhat late this year, we get to finish out this stretch of Ordinary Time with some readings we rarely get to hear during Sunday Mass: The Word for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45 Our first reading comes from the book of Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, a great sage from Jerusalem who embraced the Wisdom tradition.  The work was originally finished around 175 BCE and was later translated into Greek by the author’s grandson sometime after 117 BCE during the Jewish diaspora that flourished in the later Ancient Greek Empire.  Since our earliest manuscripts for this book were found in Greek, it does not hold the same canonical status for Jews and Protestants, but more recent archeological finds have verified its Hebrew origins.  Like all Wisdo...
Post a Comment
Read more