Cycle A - Year 1:

8 October 2017: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7

Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9

Gospel:Please Read Matthew 21:33-43

We must bear fruits!

Is there such a thing as "sound of silence"? Is it now a contradiction in terms?

In the popular song of "Sound of Silence" there is wisdom in part of its lyrics that says: People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening.

In our society today everyone wants to talk and speak out their minds. But how many are listening, or want to listen?

So, in such a noisy environment, can we still hear the voice of God? Do we have time to listen to Him? Is God's word relevant at all?

The truth is that God never stops to talk to us in many ways in every generation. Often we cannot hear Him, or perhaps we do not want to hear what He says, especially if they are not to our liking.

Even during the time of our Lord Jesus, people turned a deaf ear to His preaching because it challenged them to change their ways away from the comfort zones. So Jesus used parables that depict every day life situations to catch their attention and impart the truths of God's kingdom.

We hear another such parable in today's Gospel. Although it was specifically intended for the Chief Priests and elders of the Jews it also contains a stern warning for Christians in every generation.

The gist of the parable story: A landowner entrusts his vineyard to his laborers or tenants as he went on a journey. But the laborers become greedy and violent. At harvest time, they kill the "servants" sent to collect the landowner's share of the harvest. Finally, the landowner decided to send his "son" to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants killed even the son, so they could take possession of the vineyard all for themselves.

What is the message of this parable of the vineyard?

The parable richly conveys some important truths about God. For example, it tells of God's generosity and trust. The vineyard is well-equipped with everything the laborers need to produce good and bountiful harvest. The owner went away and left the vineyards in the hands of the laborers and tenants. Likewise, God trusts us enough to give us freedom to run our life as we choose. He has endowed us with natural life in birth, bestowed on us spiritual life as well through our Lord Jesus Christ, and made available to us all the means necessary to maintain and nurture both the natural and spiritual lives. But the Lord expects from us fruits in the form of good and meaningful lives.

But we cannot assume that just because we are the new Chosen People by grace, that we have a stranglehold on salvation. Because it is not enough to claim Christ in faith; our lives must reflect interior conversion and produce the fruits of God's kingdom by our good works, good examples, and obedience to God's law of love.

There is also the danger that we can mislead ourselves to think that as long as we avoid sin, we will be saved. The parable makes it clear that it is not enough to merely avoid sinful acts. Th landowner (God) expects us to produce the fruits. Because producing the fruits does not come about by merely avoiding sin. Rather, we must grow in virtue that produces the fruits of God's vineyard.

In sum, today's Gospel is really a call for accountability on all of us chosen People of God as stewards of His creation. Let us pray that we may be worthy of the good things that the Lord has done for us by becoming productive and faithful laborers or tenants, fully aware that the vineyard is on loan to us so long as we render the expected harvest. We are not the owner of the vineyard --only tenants of the most merciful and just Landowner, God Almighty. Amen.

Today is also Indigenous Peoples" Sunday and Extreme Poverty Day. Let us also pray for grace, to listen to the plight of our needy brothers and sisters, have the courage to lessen their burdens and fight for their rights and dignity.

A blessed Sunday to us all. and thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!