Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 139
A Reading from the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 21:33-43
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."
Salesian Sunday Reflection
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God will be given to those who live the Lord’s way of truth and sacred love. St. Francis de Sales expands on this:
How happy we shall be if we love this divine Goodness that has prepared such favors and blessings for us! God became one of us so that we might become like God. Our Savior gave us His life not only to heal the sick, work miracles, and teach us what we must do to have a life-giving, healthy life. He also used his entire life choosing to shape His cross by enduring insults from those for whom He was doing so much good. He chose to give up His life for His people who rejected Him.
To live in our world, and live contrary to the cultural values that stress material things, selfish ambition and power is to go against the current of the river of this life. Yet, we can let go of these disordered passions by practicing interior gentleness, simplicity, humility, and above all, sacred love. To let go of all that is not of God in us is to strive to live an authentic human life of truth and holy love. As no human can live this way without God’s help, such a life is a continual going out of ourselves to embrace God’s goodness for us. The person who chooses God’s divine love lives beyond his or her selfish desires: They no longer live for themselves, but in and for their Savior.
Bees are first larvae but forsake this stage to become flying bees. We do the same. If we live a graced life, we live a new loftier human life than the life we lived before we accepted God’s love. Our new life is in God with Jesus Christ who gives it. This new life of heavenly love vivifies and animates our soul. With God’s help then, we are capable of using our life to walk in the way of this divine love. As God’s most dear children, we are able to generously produce the fruit of truth and holy love found in God’s Kingdom.
