Sunday, October 02, 2011 (Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Know that the experience of pain is something so noble and precious that the Divine Word, who enjoyed the abundant riches of Paradise, yet, because He was not clothed with this ornament of sorrow, came down from Heaven to seek it upon the earth.

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7
(The Song of the Vineyard)1 Listen while I sing you this song, a song of my friend and his vineyard: My friend had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;
he planted the finest vines. He built a tower to guard them, dug a pit for treading the grapes. He waited for the grapes to ripen, but every grape was sour.
3 So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.
4 Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?
5 “Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.
6 I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
7 Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty; the people of Judah are the vines he planted. He expected them to do what was good, but instead they committed murder.
He expected them to do what was right, but their victims cried out for justice. Psalms: Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20
9 You cleared a place for it to grow; its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land. 
12 Why did you break down the fences around it? Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes;
13 wild hogs trample it down, and wild animals feed on it.
14 Turn to us, Almighty God! Look down from heaven at us; come and save your people!
15 Come and save this grapevine that you planted, this young vine you made grow so strong!
16 Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down; look at them in anger and destroy them!
19 Bring us back, Lord God Almighty. Show us your mercy, and we will be saved. 
Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9
6 Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.
7 And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
8 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.
9 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43
(The Parable of the Tenants in the Vineyard)
33 “Listen to another parable,” Jesus said. “There was once a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press, and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to tenants and left home on a trip.
34 When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest.
35 The tenants grabbed his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.
37 Last of all he sent his son to them. ‘Surely they will respect my son,’ he said.
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!’
39 So they grabbed him, 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?” Jesus asked.
41 “He will certainly kill those evil men,” they answered, “and rent the vineyard out to other tenants, who will give him his share of the harvest at the right time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? ‘The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!’
43 “And so I tell you,” added Jesus, “the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”