Sunday, October 8, 2023

TWENTY-SEVENTH ORDINARY SUNDAY

(Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43)

The first reading and the gospel in Sunday mass are almost always related. Today the relationship is readily seen. The prophet Isaiah describes the nation of Israel as a vineyard that despite God's great efforts yields bitter grapes. In the gospel parable Jesus speaks of the vineyard as the Kingdom of God and the workers in it as the Jewish leaders. He shows how the leaders fail to give God his due and will eventually kill Jesus for denouncing their infidelity. As a result, in both cases God punishes the wicked severely.

I want to suggest another way to interpret the readings. Instead of thinking of the vineyard as the nation of Israel or the Kingdom of God, let us think of it as our individual lives. God has given each of us a life to do the best we can with it. Unfortunately we sometimes fail to produce much that is good.

Perhaps some of us have trouble imagining his or her life as belonging to God. They think their life is the only thing they have for sure. But it is God who lends us our life and takes it from us according to His will. Thus we are dependent on God for our life and also responsible to him for what we do with it. For this reason in both readings the people must produce good grapes for the owner of the vineyard.

Because God lends us our life, we should take good care of it. We have to attend to the needs of the soul and body. We know the body's needs, although we may not always meet them. Eating and drinking wisely, exercising regularly and resting for more or less seven hours daily are not secrets among the elite but general knowledge.

Likewise, the soul needs nutrition. We should associate with people who strive to stay close to the Lord and seek counsel from those who are truly wise. Equally important is that we do not ingest anything toxic to the soul such as erotic films and ideologies that emphasize our rights and forget about our responsibilities to others.

The fruit of our efforts to care for our soul and body is found in good works. We take care of our families and cultivate satisfying friendships. We practice citizenship not only by adhering to the law but also by cooperating in community projects. No matter that it costs us, we do acts of charity.

A Polish family that did a great work of charity has recently been beatified. The family of nine, parents and seven children, was martyred during World War II for sheltering eight Jews in their home. They were farmers committed to loving God and neighbor. When they were reported to the Nazi authorities, German officers came to their farm. They shot first the Jews, then the parents of the family, Josef and Wiktoria Ulma, and finally the six oldest children. In her martyrdom Wictoria Ulma gave birth to her seventh child. The Vatican proclaimed this baby a martyr as well. It reasoned that the baby received a baptism of blood by giving testimony to God with its life.

It is difficult to think of ourselves as martyrs. Thank God it is not likely that executioners will come to take our lives. However, we might ask, if it were a crime to do good deeds in our society, would there be enough evidence to convict us? If we cannot answer “yes,” our vineyard is not yielding good fruit.