Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
1. I Expected Sweet Grapes 2. Our Care of God's Vineyard
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Commentary By Fr Fernando Armellini:
Matthew 21:33-43 – 27 Sunday Ordinary Time Year A – English Voice over
Greeting (See Second Reading)
May the peace of God,
which is so much greater than we can understand,
guard your hearts and your thoughts
in Christ Jesus.
May his peace be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
1. I Expected Sweet Grapes
Church, people of God of today, the Lord asks an answer from us: look at all the good things he has given us: our faith, the people around us, his own kingdom lovingly entrusted to us, and what have we done with all this? Have we cared for his trusting love? Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist that from now on we may give with Jesus an eager and generous answer to our Father in heaven.
2. Our Care Of God’s Vineyard
A good farmer, even one who rents the land, takes care of his fields and crops even more than a trader of his business. For he loves all that grows and bears fruit; there is life in it, he can see it grow. God loves his people, the vineyard he has planted and surrounded with loving care. His Son died for us, his people, that it might live and grow. God has entrusted this vineyard to us, leaders and people together, not as a privilege but as a field to work in, so that it can bear rich fruits of justice and love. Where are these fruits?
Penitential Act
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord
whether we have been responsible Christians.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us
this earth as a beautiful vineyard.
We have neglected it.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you have entrusted to us
people to care for with love.
We have often remained indifferent to them.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us
our faith as a plant to grow.
We have cared little for it.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Merciful and tender God,
forgive us all our sins
through the sacrifice of your Son
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray the Lord to keep surrounding us
with his care, till we bear rich fruit
(pause)
Lord God, our Father,
you ask of us today:
My people, answer me:
What more could I have done for you?
Teach and help us to respond with our whole being
to your daily forgiveness and patience,
to the riches of life brought us by Jesus,
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
that we may be a people that bears lasting fruits.
May we bring to all a justice animated by love,
may we learn to share as you do with us.
Show us your mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
God’s People Is His Vineyard: God’s people are like a vineyard which he planted and tended with loving care. Yet his people do not respond to God’s love.
The Song of the Vineyard
Let me sing for my beloved my love song about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up, cleared the stones, and planted the choicest vines. He built there a watchtower and hewed out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
What more was there to do that I have not done for my vineyard? Good grapes were the yield I expected. Why did it yield only sour grapes?
Now I will let you know what I am going to do with my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be burned; I will break down its wall and it will be trampled on.
I will make it a wasteland, I will neither prune nor hoe it, and briers and thorns will grow there. I command the clouds, as well, not to send rain on it.
The vineyard of the Lord Sabaoth is the people of Israel; and the people of Judah are his pleasant vine. He looked for justice, but found bloodshed. He looked for righteousness but heard cries of distress.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted,
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Second Reading
Christian Living Opens Us to God’s Grace: Paul invites his Christians to live in union with God and to integrate all human values. A good Christian is a good person and lives in God’s peace.
do not be anxious about anything. In everything, bring your requests to God through prayer and supplication, along with thanksgiving.
Then, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and admirable. Pay attention to anything worth praise and admiration.
Put into action what you have learned from me, what I have shared with you, what you heard from me, or saw me do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Are We Faithful Caretakers?: God has entrusted his kingdom to us. We are his caretakers and must produce fruits of Christian living. Otherwise, the kingdom will be taken away from us.
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
Listen to another example: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country.
When harvest time arrived, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his portion of the harvest.
But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Once more, the owner sent additional servants, but they were treated the same way.
Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Now, what will the vineyard owner do with the tenants when he comes?
They told him:
“He will bring those wicked men to a wicked end and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.”
And Jesus replied:
“Have you never read what the Scriptures say?
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This was the LORD’s doing,
and we marvel at it.
Therefore, I tell you: the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Prayers of the Faithful
United with our Lord Jesus Christ as branches of the life-giving vine, let us pray to the Father for everything that the Church and the world need, and let us say: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For the Church, which we are together, that it may always remain young and faithful and inspire its members and the whole world with a sense of hope and deep love, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For the whole Christian people, that we may show patience and compassion to people who go astray, to those who disappoint us, and accept them as the Lord accepts us, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For those who offend the rights of others, that they may return to the Lord, and that all of us may be just and fair to all and even enrich our justice with love, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For all those, Christian and others, who in honesty and with courage keep trying to bring happiness and goodness to the people around them, especially the poor, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– And for all of us in our Christian community here, that we may be grateful that the Lord has made us the vineyard and the tenants from whom he expects much, and that we may respond to his expectations, we pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
God our Father, may we really become what you have called us to be: your vineyard, your holy people, who respond to your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Faithful God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate how you have made
with us, your chosen people,
a new and everlasting covenant
through the death and rising of your Son.
Do not allow us to become proud
of being the people you love,
but help us to be worthy of your trust
and to give you a response
of deep faith expressed in service.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With our praise and thanks, let us bring before our Father in heaven our willingness to bear fruits of honesty, goodness and justice.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer (See Second Reading)
Let us pray in the words of Jesus
to our heavenly Father
to present our needs to him
in petitions full of gratitude. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us (See Second Reading)
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
above all from the evil of sin.
Grant us peace in our day,
peace among nations and in our homes,
above all your own peace
which surpasses all understanding.
Direct our thoughts to all that is true,
all that is honest, beautiful and good,
as we prepare for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
Because there is one bread,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all share in the one loaf and the one cup.
This is Jesus our Lord;
he is our bread of unity. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord, mighty God,
in this Eucharist your Son has been
your encouraging word and our food of strength
for building up your kingdom among your people.
Deepen our trust that Christ will stay with us
and that he is the foundation on which we build.
Make us inventive and creative
in sharing the Good News we have received
with all who are willing to listen.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
The message of today called attention
to our great responsibility as Christians.
We are God’s cherished people.
We are answerable to God and sent by him
for making his Good News known to all
by our words and our deeds,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace, and let your life be
a song of gratitude to the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 21: 33-43
Vineyard, murder, work and redemption
The liturgy of the Word today begins with the reading from Isaiah about a vineyard in a fruitful place, and "fruitful" is the key word here. There is adequate soil, seed, and location, and the Lord personally attends and cares for the vineyard.
This fruit represents the people of Israel, who are closely linked to one another as sweet grape bunches are... but this is not the kind of fruit the vine is producing after much care and attention, but rather wild sour grapes. Isn’t it unfair? Isn’t it a waste of time? In what ways would you dispose of an investment that takes up your time, your land, your water... but produces no useful return, no real benefit to you?
Moreover, the Gospel goes a step further when the tenant of the vineyard commits murder in order to take the vineyard from its rightful owner. As a Church we can’t forget who the owner of the vineyard is? Those of us who serve as ministers in the church do so not because we enjoy the gratifications of power and influence, but rather because we recognize that a vine that produces the right fruit is what the Lord deserves, all for his glory. A vine that produces sour grapes, on the other hand, is a useless plant.
Once the fruit is ripe, it is harvested and the cycle begins anew, the purpose of the vine is to produce good fruit that can be harvested for use as a source of nutrition, an instrument of life. As a Church, it is our mission to bear fruit, to respond to the Lord's attention.
It is interesting that we prefer the static image of a flock of sheep in a sheepfold to the more dynamic one of a vine producing abundant fruit for the Church. Two important warnings are given at the end of the Gospel: one is to beware of becoming tepid, because God does not like waste and may decide to take over the vineyard and give it to others who really value it. Second, we must change our perspective and see the world through God's eyes: that stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.