Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80, Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43.
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.
Today is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. The readings of today invite us to a sober reflection.
The first reading is the story of a vineyard with many advantages. The vineyard belonged to a very loving person, it was on a fertile hillside, the ground was carefully prepared, it was planted with good stock, it was protected, provision was made for the fruits to be processed.
Considering the great advantages and opportunities this vineyard had, the owner justly expected good fruits, the vineyard instead yielded poisonous, unprofitable, worthless and noxious fruits.
All the care, love, work and investment had no result. The owner of the vineyard left nothing undone but he was disappointed.
The vineyard is a symbol representing the people of God, the house of Israel but most particularly, you and I?
Dear friends, the message of today is very clear. Every one of us is a huge divine investment, God has shown us so much love, care, mercy, He has deposited so much grace in us, and He has spared nothing necessary for us to be fruitful. He gave us the Holy Spirit as our teacher, helper and guide, He has given us His Word and sacraments to strengthen us in holiness, He gives us His promises, He is very patient with us, the question is “what kind of fruits are we bearing?”
In the second reading, St Paul says, “there is no need to worry…” God expects trust and faith from us; do we bear the fruit of worry and lack of trust?
In the Gospel, we have another parable of some wicked tenants who reciprocated the kindness of their master with ingratitude and cruelty, for God’s goodness to us, do we bear the fruit of ingratitude, complaint and unkindness to others?
Let’s dig deeper, where God expects holiness from me, do I bear the fruit of sinfulness or unrighteousness? Where God expects love of others, do I bear fruit of hatred or indifference? Do I bear ignorance instead of knowledge? Hardness of heart instead of repentance?
St Paul admonishes us in 2 Corinthians 6:1 not to receive the grace of God in vain.
I pray that all the care, love and privileges that we have enjoyed from God will not be in vain, may we not be wasters of divine privileges, may we not be a disappointment to God.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka Gukena Okami on October 4, 2020.