Sunday, October 8th, 2023 – Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80 “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel”, Phillipians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43

                             WHAT KIND OF WINE GROWERS ARE WE?
      Jesus explains the history of salvation for the third time in a row to the priests and Pharisees: a story of God's infinite love for his people and their stubborn unfaithfulness. Christ uses a parable to write an autobiography of his death and resurrection.
Brothers and Sisters:
     1. The owner of the vineyard sent his own Son to the tenants with the hope that they would at least respect and receive him. Yet, the temptation was irresistible: "Let us kill him and acquire his inheritance". Two thousand years ago they did just that when they killed the Son of God. They couldn't put up with him, and they believed that they could silence forever his extremely inconvenient words by killing him. They believed that if they could succeed in silencing him then they could live in peace and enjoy a privileged status. However, they were mistaken, for "the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone."
     Christ extends his Kingdom on earth through the mystery of his cross and Resurrection. A new people is arising destined to bear much fruit. The Church receives the inheritance due to the people of God.

     2. God continues sending messengers who call for action. The Pope, the missionaries, and the committed lay faithful are the conscience of the world through the testimony of their lives. Nonetheless, they are rejected and ignored because they don't go well with a materialistic or liberalistic way of life.
     The "good men" of Israel were those who outwardly fulfilled the Covenant by going to the synagogue and saying their prayers, but who neither fulfilled the spirit of the law nor accepted Christ. And what about us? The greatest scandal of our times is Christians who live mediocre and comfortable lives. They are the real enemy of the faith and the Church, since they undermine it from within its own ranks.

     3. In a certain sense, we all make up part of the band of murderous vineyard workers. We have killed the Son of God, and find ourselves in a world that sees thousands of men and women dying of hunger and thousands of children who never reach adulthood. We find ourselves amidst juvenile corruption and the exploitation of women. We encounter astrologers and magicians who say that they can tell the future through the constellations. This is the inheritance of a world which insists upon killing the Son of God.
     What would happen if we recovered the inheritance of the Son? His inheritance is aimed at happiness and the human person achieving fulfillment on the natural and spiritual levels. If only we could revive the image of Christ and faithfully transmit him to others through the testimony of our lives, then it is very likely that those around us would also take on the commitment to live a new lifestyle as children of God.     
      Brothers and Sisters, this parable was written for us. Is our behavior like that of the murderous tenants? Are we neglectful, unfaithful, barren workers who thwart the plans of God? Do we truly believe in Jesus Christ, accepting and making his ways our own? In the Eucharist, we celebrate the life of the Risen Christ, the "True Vine" that bore much fruit for his Father. Moreover, from this abundant harvest he has also made wine for us, so that we may drink it and then bear much fruit in him. Let us receive him fervently in Holy Communion. Amen.