DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Sunday, October 05, 2014 27th Week in Ordinary Time - Psalter 2 (White) Readings: Is 5:1-7; Ps 80:9-20; Phil 4:6-9; Mt 21:33-43 Response: The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel. Rosary: Glorious Mysteries Verse Highlight: The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Faustina Kowalska Birth: 1905 - Death: 1938 Beatified and Canonized by: St. Pope John Paul II Saint Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in a small village west of Lodz, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was almost twenty, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women. The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added, of the Most Blessed Sacrament, as was permitted by her congregations custom. In the 1930s, Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of Gods mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing Gods plan of mercy for the world. It was not a glamorous prospect. Her entire life, in imitation of Christs, was to be a sacrifice - a life lived for others. At the Divine Lords request, she willingly offered her personal sufferings in union with Him to atone for the sins of others; in her daily life she was to become a doer of mercy, bringing joy and peace to others, and by writing about Gods mercy, she was to encourage others to trust in Him and thus prepare the world for His coming again. Her special devotion to Mary Immaculate and to the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation gave her the strength to bear all her sufferings as an offering to God on behalf of the Church and those in special need, especially great sinners and the dying. She wrote and suffered in secret, with only her spiritual director and some of her superiors aware that anything special was taking place in her life. After her death from tuberculosis in 1938, even her closest associates were amazed as they began to discover what great sufferings and deep mystical experiences had been given to this Sister of theirs, who had always been so cheerful and humble. She had taken deeply into her heart, Gods gospel command to be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful as well as her confessors directive that she should act in such a way that everyone who came in contact with her would go away joyful. The message of mercy that Sister Faustina received is now being spread throughout the world; her diary, Divine Mercy in my Soul, has become the handbook for devotion to the Divine Mercy. READINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Isaiah 5:1-7 1 Let me sing my beloved the song of my friend for his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it, cleared it of stones, and planted it with red grapes. In the middle he built a tower, he hewed a press there too. He expected it to yield fine grapes: wild grapes were all it yielded. 3 And now, citizens of Jerusalem and people of Judah, I ask you to judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done? Why, when I expected it to yield fine grapes, has it yielded wild ones? 5 Very well, I shall tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I shall take away its hedge, for it to be grazed on, and knock down its wall, for it to be trampled on. 6 I shall let it go to waste, unpruned, undug, overgrown by brambles and thorn-bushes, and I shall command the clouds to rain no rain on it. 7 Now, the vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the House of Israel, and the people of Judah the plant he cherished. He expected fair judgement, but found injustice, uprightness, but found cries of distress. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20 9 you cleared a space for it, it took root and filled the whole country. 12 Why have you broken down its fences? Every passer-by plucks its grapes, 13 boars from the forest tear at it, wild beasts feed on it. 14 God Sabaoth, come back, we pray, look down from heaven and see, visit this vine; 15 protect what your own hand has planted. 16 They have thrown it on the fire like dung, the frown of your rebuke will destroy them. 19 God Sabaoth, bring us back, let your face shine on us and we shall be safe. READING 2, Philippians 4:6-9 6 Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, 7 and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire -- with whatever is good and praiseworthy. 9 Keep doing everything you learnt from me and were told by me and have heard or seen me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. GOSPEL, Matthew 21:33-43 33 Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. 34 When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. 36 Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them thinking, They will respect my son. 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance. 39 So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? 41 They answered, He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time. 42 Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this is the Lords doing and we marvel at it? 43 I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Lord, this Sunday I wish to pray with one of the most beautiful images of the Old Testament: “do not forsake the vineyard your right hand planted”. Continue to cultivate and enrich it with your favoured love. May your Word in this Sundays liturgy be hope and consolation for me. May I meditate them and let them resonate in my heart even to the end of my life. May my humanity be the fertile womb wherein the force of your word may sprout. Amen. ON READING 1: Isaiah 5:1-7 (The song of the vineyard) The song of the vineyard is a masterpiece of Hebrew poetry, full of symbolism and carrying an important message. In the figure of heartbroken farmer, we can see our Lord Jesus Christ and his sorrow at finding that his people yield such a poor crop of righteousness. In vv. 1-2 the author assumes the role of Gods friend; in vv. 3-6 the lover speaks, describing all the care he has taken of his people, and then in v. 7 the author speaks again. It is a simple story that does not take long to tell; to begin with, the author keeps us in suspense as to what he is getting at (rather as Nathan does, in the parable he tells David: cf. 2 Sam 12: 1-15), but then he tells us: the vineyard is the house of Israel (v. 7); despite all the care God has taken of it, it failed to yield the expected fruit, giving wild grapes instead. Israel needs to admit its fault. So, the lyrical tone now ceases, and a series of woes follows. The song contains many plays on words, impossible to render in translation. The prophet Hosea, earlier, used the simile of a vine to describe Israel (Hos 10:1). Isaiah himself will use it again (27:2-5) and it recurs in Jeremiah (2:21; 5:10; 6:9; 12:10) and in Ezekiel (Ezek 15:1-8; 17:3-10; 19:10,14); and there are traces of it in Psalm 80:8-18 and in the Song of Moses (Deut 32:32-33). For his part, Sirach compares divine wisdom to a vine (cf. Sir 24:23-30). Finally, it appears in our Lords parable of the wicked tenants of a vineyard, a parable that is a kind of compendium of salvation history, including his own experiences with the Jewish authorities (Mt 21:33-46; Mk 12:1-12; Lk 20:9-19). As the heir of ancient Israel, the Church, too, is prefigured in the story of the vineyard. The Second Vatican Council remarks on this when it comments on the metaphors that the Bible uses for the Church: The Church is a piece of land to be cultivated, the field of God (1 Cor 3:9). On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were the patriarchs and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about (Rom 11: 13-26). That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly Husbandman (Mt 21:33-43 and par.: cf. Is 5:1-7). The true vine is Christ who gives life, and the power to bear abundant fruit, to the branches, that is, to us, who through the Church remains in Christ, without whom we can do nothing (Jn 15:1-5) (Lumen Gentium, 6). ON READING 2: Philippians 4:6-9 (Exhortation to Perseverance and Joy - Continuation) The Lord is at hand: the Apostle reminds the faithful of the nearness of our Lord; he wants to encourage them to rejoice and to be understanding towards one another. These words must surely have brought to their minds the exclamation Marana tha (Come, Lord), which was often in the lips at liturgical celebrations (cf. note on 1 Cor 16:21-24). In the sort of hostile environment that many of them lived in, they needed to put their hope in their Savior, Jesus Christ, who will come from heaven to judge the living and the dead (cf. Phil 3:20; 1 Thess 4:16ff; 2 Thess 1:5). St. Paul does not mean to specify when the Parousia or second coming of Christ will take place (cf. Introduction to St Pauls Epistles to the Thessalonians in The Navarre Bible: Thessalonians; EB, 414-461; note on Mt 24:36). Like the first Christians, we should make sure it does not catch us unprepared. Besides, the Lord is always near us, always caring for us in his providence (cf. Ps 119:151). There is no reason for us to feel ill at ease. He is our Father, he is near to all who call on him ( cf. Ps 145:18 ) ; he listens to our prayers, ever ready to instruct us and to give us whatever we need to overcome difficulties that arise. All that he asks is that we trustingly tell him our situation, speaking to him with the simplicity of a child. Constant dialogue with God in prayer is, as St Paul suggests, a good way to prevent anything robbing us of peace of soul, for prayer regulates our our affections, St. Bernard teaches, directs our actions, corrects our faults, guides our conduct, beautifies and orders our life; it brings with it knowledge of things divine and things human also. It determines what we ought to do and reflects on what we have done, in such a way that our heart never becomes wanton or in need of discipline (Book of Consideration, I, 7). The Christians soul is never closed or indifferent to noble human aspirations. Redeemed by Christ and made a new creature by the Holy Spirit, man can, indeed he must, love the things of Gods creation: it is from God that he has received them, and it is as flowing from Gods hand that he looks upon them and reveres them. Man thanks his divine benefactor for all these things, he uses them and enjoys them in a spirit of poverty and freedom: thus he is brought to a true possession of the world, as having nothing yet possessing everything: All [things] are yours; and you are Christs; and Christ is Gods (1 Cor 3:22-23) (Vatican II, Gaudium Et Spes, 37). The Second Vatican Council has highlighted the permanent relevance of St Pauls teaching in this and in other passages: In the pursuit of this aim priests will be helped by cultivating those virtues which are rightly held in high esteem in human relations. Such qualities are goodness of heart, sincerity, strength and constance of mind, careful attention to justice, courtesy and others which the apostle Paul recommends (Phil 4:8) (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 3). In the same connection, in a passage where it is encouraging the apostolate of the laity the Council says: Catholics should strive to cooperate with all men of good will in the promotion of all that is true, just, holy, all that is worthy of love (cf. Phil 4:8) (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 14). Earthly realities and the noble things of this world have a divine value; they are good; they help man to reach God. For, as St. Irenaeus wrote, through the Word of God, everything comes under the influence of the work of Redemption; the Son of God has been crucified on behalf of all, and has traced the sign of the cross on all things (Proof of the Apostolic Preaching). We cannot say that here are things -- good, noble or indifferent -- which are exclusively worldly. This cannot be after the Word of God has lived among the children of men, felt hunger and thirst, worked with his hands, experienced friendship and obedience and suffering and death (St. J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 112). Therefore, your daily encounter with Christ takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind (St. J. Escriva, Conversations, 113). ON THE GOSPEL: Matthew 21:33-43 (The Parable of the Wicked Tenants) Matthew frames the parable of the murderous labourers between two other parables: the one of the two sons (21:28-32) and that of the wedding banquet (22:1-14). All three parables contain a negative reply: that of the son to his father, that of some peasants to the master of the vineyard and that of some invited guests to the king who is celebrating the wedding of his son. All three parables tend to point to one single point, that is, those who, because they have not accepted the preaching and baptism of John, are now unanimous in refusing the final invitation of God in the person of Jesus. The introduction to the first parable in 21:28-33 should also be considered as the introduction to the parable of the murderous labourers: After Jesus had entered the temple precincts, and while he was teaching, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him and said: On what authority do you do these things? Who has given you this power? It is the priestly and secular aristocracy that goes to Jesus when he was in the temple. They are worried by Jesus’ popularity and ask him questions to know two things: what authority he attributes to himself in doing whatever he does and the origin of this authority. In fact the answer to the second question also gives the answer to the first question. The high priests and leaders of the people demand a juridical proof, they forget that the prophets had authority directly from God. a) An invitation to listen: The parable begins with an invitation to listen: Listen to another parable (v.33). Jesus seems to draw the attention of the leaders of the people to the parable he is about to proclaim. This is an imperative, «listen», which does not exclude a certain menace (Gnilka) if we look at the way the parable ends: « I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit» (v.43). On the other hand, Jesus explains the parable of the sower to his disciples without any sign of reproach (Mt 13:18). What is the explanation of this invitation to listen, which is a little menacing? The answer is to be sought in the economic conditions of Palestine in the 1st century A.D. Big lots of land belonged to liberal foreigners who rented land in groups. The renting agreement provided that part of the harvest would go to the owner, who carried out his right by sending stewards to collect his share. In such a situation one can understand that the feelings of peasants were sorely tried: they felt greatly disheartened and this sometimes led to revolt. In his parable, Jesus refers to this concrete situation but takes it to a higher level of understanding, that is, the situation becomes a compendium of the story of God and his people. Matthew invites the reader to read the parable in a symbolic sense: behind the “owner” is the figure of God; behind the vineyard is Israel. This very important parable completes the previous one. The parable of the two sons simply identifies the indocility of Israel; that of the wicked tenants focuses on the punishment to come. Our Lord compares Israel to a choice vineyard, specially fenced, with a watchtower, where a keeper is on the look-out to protect it from thieves and foxes. God has spared no effort to cultivate and embellish His vineyard. The vineyard is in the charge of tenant farmers; the householder is God, and the vineyard, Israel (Isaiah 5:3-5: Jeremiah 2:21; Joel 1:7). The tenants to whom God has given the care of His people are the priests, scribes and elders. The owners absence makes it clear that God really did entrust Israel to its leaders; hence their responsibility and the account He demands of them. The owner used to send his servants from time to time to collect the fruit; this was the mission of the prophets. The second dispatch of servants to claim what is owing to the owner -- who meet the same fate as the first -- refers to the way Gods prophets were ill-treated by the kings and priests of Israel (Matthew 23:37; Acts 7:42; Hebrews 11:36-38 ). Finally he sent his son to them, thinking that they would have more respect for him; here we can see the difference between Jesus and the prophets, who were servants, not the Son: the parable indicates singular, transcendental sonship, expressing the divinity of Jesus Christ. The malicious purpose of the tenants in murdering the son and heir to keep the inheritance for themselves is the madness of the leaders in expecting to become undisputed masters of Israel by putting Christ to death (Matthew 12:14; 26:4). Their ambition blinds them to the punishment that awaits them. Then they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him: a reference to Christs crucifixion, which took place outside the walls of Jerusalem. Jesus prophesies the punishment God will inflict on the evildoers: He will put them to death and rent the vineyard to others. This is a very significant prophecy. St. Peter later repeats to the Sanhedrin: This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:4). The stone is Jesus of Nazareth, but the architects of Israel, who build up and rule the people, have chosen not to use it in the building. Because of their unfaithfulness the Kingdom of God will be turned over to another people, the Gentiles, who WILL give God the fruit He expects His vineyard to yield (cf. Matthew 3:8-10; Galatians 6:16). For the building to be well-built, it needs to rest on this stone. Woe to him who trips over it! (cf. Matthew 12:30; Luke 2:34), as first Jews and later the enemies of Christ and His Church will discover through bitter experience (cf. Isaiah 8:14-15). Christians in all ages should see this parable as exhorting them to build faithfully upon Christ and make sure they do not fall into the sin of this Jewish generation. We should also be filled with hope and a sense of security; for, although the building -- the Church -- at some times seem to be breaking up, its sound construc- tion, with Christ as its cornerstone, is assured. The careful care of the owner for his vineyard (v.33): First there is the initiative of an owner who plants a vineyard. Matthew uses five verbs to describe this attention and care: planted... fenced... dug... built... leased. After he had planted the vineyard, the owner leases it to those concerned and then goes abroad. The many attempts of the owner to retrieve the fruits of the vineyard (vv.34-36): In the second scene, the owner twice sends his servants who, charged with the task of retrieving the produce of the vineyard, are ill treated and murdered. This aggressive and violent action is described with three verbs: thrashed... killed... stoned... (v.35). By sending many more servants and by intensifying the ill treatment suffered, Matthew means to allude to the history of the prophets who were also similarly ill treated. We recall some of these: Uriah is killed by a sword (Jer 26:23); Jeremiah was fettered (Jer 20:2); Zachary was stoned (2 Chr 24:21. We may find a resume of this part of history of the prophets in Nehemiah 9:26: «they have killed your prophets...» Finally he sent his son: The reader is invited to recognise in the son, who is sent “finally”, the one sent by God to whom respect is due and to whom the produce of the vineyard is to be delivered. This is the owner’s last attempt. The term «finally» defines the son as the Messiah. Besides, it is possible that this project of eliminating the son may be modelled on another story from the OT: Joseph’s brothers who say: «Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here!» (Gen 37:20). The parable reaches its dramatic peak with the outcome of the son’s mission who is killed by the leasing vinedressers so that they may take over the vineyard and usurp the inheritance. Jesus’ fate is set side by side with that of the prophets, but as son and heir, superior to them. Such Christological comparisons may be found in the Letter to the Hebrews, where, however, the superiority of Christ as son and heir of the universe is placed in evidence: «In times past, God spoke in many and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he made heir of all things…» (vv.1-2). There is a detail at the end of this parable that we must not overlook: by placing side by side the words, «they threw him out» followed by, «they killed him», Matthew decidedly alludes to the passion of Jesus where he is taken out to be crucified. Leasing the vineyard to other peasants (v.42-43): The end of the parable confirms the loss of the kingdom of God and the giving of the kingdom to another people capable of bearing fruit, that is, capable of a living an active faith and a practical love. The expressions «I tell you, then...will be taken…and will be given...» show the solemnity of God’s action marking the history of ancient Israel and of the new people. Meditations for ecclesial practice: The symbol of the vineyard is for us a mirror where we can see reflected the personal and communitarian history of our relationship with God. Today, it is the church, this great vineyard that the Lord cultivates and cares for and that is entrusted to us, the vinedressers (= collaborators), who has the task of continuing the mission started by him. This is certainly a tall order. Nevertheless, as church, we are aware of the tension that exists and that the church may experience between fidelity and infidelity, between refusal and welcoming. This Sunday’s Gospel tells us that, notwithstanding the difficulties and seeming fragility, nothing can stop the love of God for us, not even the elimination of his Son, and, in fact, it is this sacrifice that gains salvation for all. We are called to stay with Jesus and continue his mission of helping men and women to meet him and to be saved; to struggle every day to contain the forces of evil and fulfil the desire to do good and promote justice. As church we are called to learn, after the example of Jesus, to experience conflict and be able to bear difficulties in our commitment to evangelisation. FINAL PRAYERS: Lord, how many times is love repaid with darkest ingratitude? Nothing is more destructive than to feel betrayed and made a fool of, to know that one has been deceived. Even more difficult is to realise that so many acts of kindness, generosity, openness, tolerance and sincerity, and of commitment to solidarity have come to nothing. Lord, you have experienced the ingratitude of many. You have been patient with those who assailed you. You, who have always been merciful and meek, help us fight our inflexible hardness towards others. With the Psalmist, we too pray, «Do not forsake the vineyard you have planted». After this encounter with your Word, may our prayer become an ever more penetrating plea so that it may touch your heart: «Raise us up again Lord, show us your face and we shall be saved». Lord, we have great need of your mercy and as long as there is the desire in our hearts to seek your face, the way of salvation remains open to us. Lord, open my eyes to see you standing with me in all life’s circumstances, both good and bad. Guard my heart that it may remain true and faithful in all things. And daily renew my spirit and my mind that I may affirm life’s trials and stresses as faith-moments to proclaim, “I know my redeemer lives!” Amen! It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world. -- Pope Francis Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:57:23 +0000
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