OMELIE / Omelie EN

26/6/2016

08/10/2017 – 27 Sunday of O.T - Year A

08/10/2017 – 27 Sunday of O.T - Year A

1 reading.  Isaiah 5,1-7  from Psalm 79/80  2^nd reading Philippians 4,6-9  Gospel Matthew 21,33-43

Isaiah tells us about God’s love for his people, a chosen and carefully educated people in order to become a model of justice and communion for all the other peoples. The image used by the prophet is that of the vineyard again, dig and cropped without sparing efforts by an owner, who, naturally, expects plenty of fine grapes from it. Jesus too will use this image in order to help us recognise Him as the vine that carries good fruits through His disciples.

So, God is asking: “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?” “Now, the vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the House of Israel, … he expected fair judgement, but found cries of distress”. The Jewish people, instead of listening to God’s teachings and becoming in this way an example of faithfulness, has been corrupted and, following man’s selfishness and vices, started behaving like the pagan peoples that do not know God! Jesus is aware of it: He Himself, who with abundance of signs gave proofs to be who has been promised by the prophets and who has in Him the fullness of the divine love, is judged and rejected. The leaders of the people cannot recognise Him, on the contrary often they refuse to face the facts and they are already planning to eliminate Him. Here he is, full of love, bringing this lie to light, both to facilitate the possible conversion of someone, and to avoid the leaders’ choices becoming an obstacle to the faith in Him for the little and the simple ones. This is the reason why he tells a parable. He uses the images already used by Isaiah, talking about a vineyard that is the object of the attentive care of its owner. The vineyard is a good one, but the tenants, evil, act out of self-interest and they do not recognise the owner’s rights. The latter tries many times to persuade them dealing gently with them, but with no result. He sends faithful servants, but they hurt or kill them. At last he sends his own son, being sure that, even if they were evil, they would respect him. Now we understand that Jesus is talking about Himself, He is revealing His duty and His own identity, but He is also anticipating His own violent death by the hand of those God has benefitted.

The leaders of Israel, that have their own worldly interests in mind, are not able to recognise their role any more, they do not even want to depend from God, who they think not able to take part in history: of the latter they would like to be outright owners. Jesus foresees then their ruin: they are rejecting the one who has been chosen by God, and then God will take their authority away from them. This will be given “to other tenants”: another people, that Jesus started getting “planted”, choosing and building its columns in the persons of His apostles.

The people who will glorify God bringing in the World his “justice” is the Church: it itself however will have to be careful to live always united to the Son of God! Saint Paul gives us some directions in order to be good builder inside the Church and not to think that we can cheat God Himself. First of all, we will not think ourselves self-sufficient, but we will turn to God with our prayers, those of request and those of thanksgiving. In this way He will have the possibility to build always a new heart in us, a heart that desires everything that is “true, honourable, upright and pure, whatever is good and praiseworthy”. This is the example set by the Saints, even more, by he himself, the apostle that endured countless difficulties for his faith: we will always remember those humble, gentle and strong examples set by our brothers and sisters that already have God’s approval!

The core of today’s readings is therefore our welcoming Jesus. Even if rejected by the leaders of His people, like the stone set aside and forgotten by the workmen, he was chosen by God to be the foundation of His building, where he reunites and loves his children. Since the Father gave Him unconditional approval rising Him from the dead, will we not listen to Him, we sinners and in need of teachings? And we will welcome Him even if we see Him humiliated and in pain: even better, we will try to follow His example with our humility in the life of communion with our brothers in the Church. This is our daily place in which we exercise our faith, is the place where everybody afterwards, even those that do not believe, will be able to see and enjoy the presence of the Lord whose has given Himself up. Indeed we will have “your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus”: so, we ourselves will have inner peace, being witnesses of the Lord’s salvation.