Parish of Our Lady & Saint David, Cwmbran

“He will lease the vineyard to other tenants.”

Today we focus on the vineyard: frequently we see the vineyard as an image or parable of the Kingdom of God. A vineyard takes a great deal of work, throughout the year; it must be tended, watered, pruned, cared for if there is to be any fruit – there are no quick results with vines. So the financial and labour investments made would create high expectations for a good crop. How heartbreaking when the fruit is as sour as vinegar! So it was with God and his people: he invested immense care and love on them, tending then and giving them what they needed – but the fruit was rotten and sour. What can God do? Hand the vineyard over to some tenants who will bring in a harvest. That is us, the new people of Israel: but what sort of harvest will we produce?

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7.

Res: The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel

Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9.

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43

Once a sinner, always a sinner.” That seems to be the attitude of the self-righteous in the first reading and the Gospel; they object that God is unjust, because he gives sinners another chance. But God tells them quite clearly that such attitudes are the real injustice – to allow prejudice and hardness of heart to come between repentance and forgiveness. The words of Christ in the Gospel must have struck a chill into the hard hearts of the so-called righteous chief priests – even today they can make us stop and think: “Prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.” All our outward show matters little, if it does not correspond with what is deep in our hearts; all our words are meaningless, if they do not correspond with the way we live our lives.

First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28.

Res: Remember your mercy, Lord

Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

Gospel: Matthew 21:28.32

We can never hope fully to understand God: especially God’s generosity. We are very good at working out who is deserving of good fortune and who is not – unfortunately for us, God’s gifts go to those God chooses, not those we choose. An example is forgiveness: those who have done the most wrong are those who receive the greatest forgiveness when they turn to God – perhaps at times we begrudge this gift. Today’s lesson is simply this: God’s ways are not our ways, God’s thought are not our thoughts.

First Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9

Res: The Lord is close to all who call him

Second Reading: Philippians 1:20-24,27

Gospel: Matthew 20:-16

We will sometimes interrupt our usual cycle of Sundays for this Feast, which therefore also interrupts the usual pattern of readings. Today all the readings harmonise with the central theme, which is, of course, the cross. There are many ways of looking at the cross: as an instrument of torture and shame, as an emblem of death and defeat. But in the Church there has always been a way of looking at the cross which the world cannot under­stand: it is to see it as a sign of victory, of triumph, as a banner or standard of the forces of good and light as Jesus defeats the prince of this world by his death. The early Church depicted the cross as a richly jewelled emblem of victory; when the faithful looked at this jewelled cross, they knew that it was the sign of God’s love and the Victory over sin and death that had been won for them.

First Reading: Numbers 21: 4-9

Res: Never forget the deeds of the Lord

Second Reading: Philippians 2: 6-11

Gospel: John 3: 13-17

If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

No man is an island…” How true this is for those who follow Christ: each of us has responsibilities towards each other, based on our ‘debt of mutual love’. When we see wickedness and wrongdoing, then because of our privileged position of following the Lord Jesus, we have a duty to speak out. This will not always be easy – remember the prophet Jeremiah last week – but this was the mission of the Lord Jesus himself, and as his followers, it is our mission too. As with everything, love is ‘the answer to every one of the commandments.’

First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9

Res: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-10

Gospel: Matthew 18: 15-20

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself.

A quick glance at last week’s Gospel reveals the interesting development of the story: last week, we heard Peter proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, and being given authority as a result. This week, Peter gets it wrong: he is rebuked by the Lord because he does not understand who the Messiah is. The Messiah is the one who will give everything for his people – even his own life. To be a follower of Jesus demands an understanding and acceptance of this fact, and a willingness to take up the cross as Jesus did. Our introduction to this is the prophet Jeremiah – also persecuted for doing and saying what was right. Have a look at the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where this twinning of Jeremiah and prophecy of persecution also appears.

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-9

Res: For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-2

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27

There is a very simple theme to this Sunday’s readings: it is the principle of authority in the community of the Church: we are introduced to the idea that God gives authority to someone in the first reading, where Shebna is dismissed by God and replaced. This is a prelude to the Gospel story of Peter being given authority: not because he is powerful or wise in the world’s sense, but because he was able to profess his faith in the one sent by the Father. This is the principle of all authority in the Church: it is to spring only from God and our faith in God, professed by our way of life and rooted only in Christ, for ‘to him all authority, in heaven and on earth, has been given.’

First Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23.

Res: Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hand

Second Reading: Romans 11:33-36.

Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-20

 
Today is one of those occasions when, even though the second reading is not chosen to correspond to the theme of the Gospel and first reading, it does in fact fit very well. Indeed, much of the letter to the Romans is explained in this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word: the whole theme is summed up in this: the Messiah came first of all to the people of Israel, to whom the promises were made in the past – but it could not remain there. The good news had to be taken to the ends of the earth, so that all peoples, indeed the whole of creation could welcome the Messiah and take a place in the Kingdom of God. All nations are welcome on God’s holy mountain: “Let all the peoples praise you, O God!”

First Reading: Isaiah 56: 1, 6-7

Res: Let the people praise, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

Second Reading: Romans 11: 13-15, 29-32

Gospel: Matthew 15: 21-28

How does God reveal himself to us? Most of the time, in precisely the way we do not expect! This is what happened to Elijah: we expect God – all-powerful, almighty – to appear in dramatic effects of nature; but no, God is in a gentle breeze. Similarly in the Gospel: the disciples do not expect Jesus to come towards them walking on the lake – but he does. And when God is revealed in the unexpected, he gives courage and strength: Elijah was afraid when he went to Horeb, but was strengthened by his encounter with God to continue his mission; in the same way the disciples are given courage and faith by the Lord who walks to them on the waters.

First Reading: Kings 19: 9, 11-13

Res: Let us see, O Lord your mercy and give us your saving help.

Second Reading: Romans 9: 1-5

Gospel: Matthew 14: 22-23

They all ate as much as they wanted

Divine providence is a wonderful thing: God is so generous with his creation (it is human greed that denies some their rightful share). The Kingdom of God is the time and place when this vision will be fully realised, when all who wish may ‘come to the water’, when all who are hungry may ‘eat as much as they want’, when what is left over is still enough for all the twelve tribes of Israel. Our contemplation of the kingdom of God, through the parables and miracles of Jesus, should stir us up to build this kingdom here and now. The miracle of Divine providence is allowed to work when human greed and selfishness give way to the power of the Spirit working within us, and we share all we have with those in need. Our hearts are set on the kingdom of God, where there is corn and wine and milk in abundance.

First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3

Res: You open wide your hand, O Lord, you grant our desires

Second Reading: Romans 8: 35,37-39

Gospel: Matthew 14: 13-21