Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
I Expected Sweet Grapes
Our Care of God’s Vineyard
Greeting (See Second Reading)
May the peace of God,
which is so much greater than we can understand,
guard your hearts and your thoughts
in Christ Jesus.
May his peace be always with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
1. I Expected Sweet Grapes
Church, people of God of today, the Lord asks an answer from us: look at all the good things he has given us: our faith, the people around us, his own kingdom lovingly entrusted to us, and what have we done with all this? Have we cared for his trusting love? Let us ask Jesus in this Eucharist that from now on we may give with Jesus an eager and generous answer to our Father in heaven.
2. Our Care Of God’s Vineyard
A good farmer, even one who rents the land, takes care of his fields and crops even more than a trader of his business. For he loves all that grows and bears fruit; there is life in it, he can see it grow. God loves his people, the vineyard he has planted and surrounded with loving care. His Son died for us, his people, that it might live and grow. God has entrusted this vineyard to us, leaders and people together, not as a privilege but as a field to work in, so that it can bear rich fruits of justice and love. Where are these fruits?
Penitential Act
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord
whether we have been responsible Christians.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us
this earth as a beautiful vineyard.
We have neglected it.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you have entrusted to us
people to care for with love.
We have often remained indifferent to them.
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you have entrusted to us
our faith as a plant to grow.
We have cared little for it.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Merciful and tender God,
forgive us all our sins
through the sacrifice of your Son
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray the Lord keeps surrounding us
with his care, till we bear rich fruit
(pause)
Lord God, our Father,
you ask of us today:
My people, answer me:
What more could I have done for you?
Teach and help us to respond with our whole being
to your daily forgiveness and patience,
to the riches of life brought us by Jesus,
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
that we may be a people that bears lasting fruits.
May we bring to all a justice animated by love,
may we learn to share as you do with us.
Show us your mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Is 5:1-7): God’s People Is His Vineyard
God’s people are like a vineyard which he planted and tended with loving care. Yet his people do not respond to God’s love.
Reading 1: Is 5:1-7
Let me now sing of my friend,
my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes,
but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,
did it bring forth wild grapes?
Now, I will let you know
what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!
Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to send rain upon it.
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but saw bloodshed!
for justice, but hark the outcry!
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Second Reading (Phil 4:6-9): Christian Living Opens Us to God’s Grace
Paul invites his Christians to live in union with God and to integrate all human values. A good Christian is a good person and lives in God’s peace.
Reading 2: Phil 4:6-9
Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
Alleluia: Cf. Jn 15:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel (Mt 21:33-43): Are We Faithful Caretakers?
God has entrusted his kingdom to us. We are his caretakers and must produce fruits of Christian living. Otherwise the kingdom will be taken away from us.
“Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
They answered him,
“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.”
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
Intercessions
United with our Lord Jesus Christ as branches of the life-giving vine, let us pray to the Father for everything that the Church and the world need and let us say: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For the Church, which we are together, that it may always remain young and faithful and inspire its members and the whole world with a sense of hope and deep love, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For the whole Christian people, that we may show patience and compassion to people who go astray, to those who disappoint us, and accept them as the Lord accepts us, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For those who offend the rights of others, that they may return to the Lord, and that all of us may be just and fair to all and even enrich our justice with love, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– For all those, Christians and others, who in honesty and with courage keep trying to bring happiness and goodness to the people around them, especially the poor, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
– And for all of us in our Christian community here, that we may be grateful that the Lord has made us the vineyard and the tenants from whom he expects much, and that we may respond to his expectations, we pray: R/ Lord, hear the people you love.
God our Father, may we really become what you have called us to be: your vineyard, your holy people, who respond to your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Faithful God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate how you have made
with us, your chosen people,
a new and everlasting covenant
through the death and rising of your Son.
Do not allow us to become proud
of being the people you love,
but help us to be worthy of your trust
and to give you a response
of deep faith expressed in service.
Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With our praise and thanks, let us bring before our Father in heaven our willingness to bear fruits of honesty, goodness and justice.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer (See Second Reading)
Let us pray in the words of Jesus
to our heavenly Father
to present our needs to him
in petitions full of gratitude. R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us (See Second Reading)
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil,
above all from the evil of sin.
Grant us peace in our day,
peace among nations and in our homes,
above all your own peace
which surpasses all understanding.
Direct our thoughts to all that is true,
all that is honest, beautiful, and good,
as we prepare for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation to Communion
Because there is one bread,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all share in the one loaf and the one cup.
This is Jesus our Lord;
he is our bread of unity. R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
Lord, mighty God,
in this Eucharist your Son has been
your encouraging word and our food of strength
for building up your kingdom among your people.
Deepen our trust that Christ will stay with us
and that he is the foundation on which we build.
Make us inventive and creative
in sharing the Good News we have received
with all who are willing to listen.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
The message of today called attention
to our great responsibility as Christians.
We are God’s cherished people.
We are answerable to God and sent by him
to make his Good News known to all
by our words and our deeds,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace, and let your life be
a song of gratitude to the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
Vineyard, murder, work, and redemption
The liturgy of the Word today begins with the reading from Isaiah concerning a relative’s vineyard located in a fruitful location, and “fruitful” is the key word here. There is adequate soil, seed, and location, and the Lord personally attends and cares for the vineyard.
This fruit represents the people of Israel, who are closely linked to one another as sweet grape bunches are… but this is not the kind of fruit the vine is producing after much care and attention, but rather wild sour grapes. Isn’t it unfair? Isn’t it a waste of time? In what ways would you dispose of an investment that takes up your time, your land, your water… but produces no useful return, no real benefit to you?
Moreover, the Gospel goes a step further when the tenant of the vineyard commits murder in order to take the vineyard from its rightful owner. As a Church, we can’t forget who the owner of the vineyard is. Those of us who serve as ministers in the church do so not because we enjoy the gratifications of power and influence, but rather because we recognize that a vine that produces the right fruit is what the Lord deserves, all for his glory. A vine that produces sour grapes, on the other hand, is a useless plant.
Once the fruit is ripe, it is harvested and the cycle begins anew, the purpose of the vine is to produce good fruit that can be harvested for use as a source of nutrition, an instrument of life. As a Church, it is our mission to bear fruit, and to respond to the Lord’s attention.
It is interesting that we prefer the static image of a flock of sheep in a sheepfold to the more dynamic one of a vine producing abundant fruit for the Church. Two important warnings are given at the end of the Gospel: one is to beware of becoming tepid because God does not like waste and may decide to take over the vineyard and give it to others who really value it. Second, we must change our perspective and see the world through God’s eyes: that stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.