Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, October 8, 2023. Gospel of St. Matthew 21:33-43. Theme: Looking Backward & Forward in the Vineyard
I find it very odd that a verse which actually puts today’s parable into context has not been included in the gospel reading! The missing verse is found after the parable and it says: “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them….” It’s no secret, then, just who Jesus is referring to and what this parable means. But like all parables, it goes beyond the literal and has application for our own lives today. This means that today’s parable looks backward and it looks forward.
First, we’ll look backward. The parable was originally intended for the chief priests and Pharisees. Both groups were foundational to Jewish daily life. The Pharisees oversaw proper ritual behavior (even in one's home and private life) while the chief priests exercised authority over the people and acted as intermediaries between Israel and Rome. Both groups arose in the centuries before Christ to become caretakers of God’s people (the vineyard in today’s parable). Both groups ended up opposing the servants who were sent to the vineyard (the prophets of Israel). And lastly, both violently opposed even the son (Jesus) of the Landowner (God) when he came to set things straight.
So, how did the chief priests and Pharisees end up being in opposition to God and failing in proper care of His people? The answer is really quite simple and quite ancient. As a matter of fact it's as old as the human race. It was sin, or more specifically, the illusions and delusions that are the fruit of sin. This is what made Adam and Eve think that they could become like God. This is what led the chief priests and Pharisees to think that they were not just tenant-managers but really the owners and rulers of the vineyard. And it is what ultimately brought Jesus to his death.
Sin can make any of us fall into delusions and illusions as well. This is because all sin is fundamentally an expression of pride, which is an exaggerated unrealistic opinion of oneself. Pride makes us think that we are so vital in our personal world that things would fall apart without us. Pride fools us into thinking that we know best when it comes to setting moral standards in our lives, so who needs to pay attention to the Word of God? And, yes, pride still tempts those in religious leadership today into thinking that they are the owners of the vineyard instead of its tenant-managers when it comes to shepherding and serving the Lord’s people.
And this is where the parable looks forward to us. Jesus says that new tenant-managers are being sent to oversee the vineyard. He is talking about His disciples, about you and me. This means that we are to see to the proper care and feeding of God’s people. Not just those who form the Body of Christ which is his Church, but all people for all belong to God in some way, shape or form. We are to do our best to “produce good fruit” which means living in a right and just relationship with God ourselves and helping others to do the same. To enable us to do this Christ has given us three special supernatural gifts: faith, hope and love. These garden tools of the vineyard help us to avoid the pitfalls of the chief priests and Pharisees.
Faith means living in a dynamic personal relationship with God. It defeats the pride of Adam and Eve who forgot that they were but creatures and sought instead to become like the Creator. Faith reminds us of just who we are and Who God is. It enables us to maintain this sense of proper relationship as stewards and managers who are answerable to the Divine Landowner.
Hope is the confident trust that God doesn’t judge us by externals but looks instead at our hearts and understands our weaknesses. It defeats the pride of the chief priests and Pharisees who were self-righteous, believing that scrupulous observance of the Law made them holy. Hope teaches us that God saves and blesses and reaches out to us freely and simply out of love and not because we have done something to earn it. Hope sets us free from the impossible burden and task of trying to be our own saviors.
Love, which is the greatest of the three gifts, enables us to forget ourselves, showing compassion and mercy to all whom we encounter. It defeats pride by doing away with the delusions and illusions of exaggerated self-importance and reminds us that we are simply servants of God Who is love. It is the greatest of Jesus’ commandments and He told us to exercise love in the proper order: God first, others second and ourselves last.
Faith, hope and love, then, are indispensable for the successful care of the Lord’s Vineyard. But they can only grow within us if we water them frequently with the grace of prayer and the sacraments. They blossom and produce fruit only if we prune away the dead branches of selfishness in our lives. They enable us to become faithful servants and trustworthy tenant-managers who will bring joy to the Landowner and will receive a reward from His Son when it comes time for the final harvest.
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