27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

This week we continue with our study of Christian 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 prophet 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, an expression of profound grief or sorrow (a literary and song form used often in the Hebrew scriptures).  This particular lament from Isaiah 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 asking 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.  We must never separate God’s wrath from God’s infinite mercy.

Our Gospel from Matthew takes a similar tact as we continue 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 also be included in the gospels by both Mark and Luke.  In this passage, 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.

While these readings may fill us 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.

This is also why we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  No matter how hard we may try, we don’t always get it right.  And often times there is no one “right answer.”  Christ came so that God could understand us better and through Christ he gives us mercy and forgiveness.