8 October 2017
First reading
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Isaiah 5:1-7
|
Let me sing to my friend
the song of his love for his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug the soil, cleared it of stones
and planted choice vines in it.
In the middle he built a tower,
he dug a press there too.
He expected it to yield grapes,
but sour grapes were all that it gave.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
I ask you to judge
between my vineyard and me.
What could I have done for my vineyard
that I have not done?
I expected it to yield grapes.
Why did it yield sour grapes instead?
Very well, I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on,
and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.
I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug;
overgrown by the briar and the thorn.
I will command the clouds
to rain no rain on it.
Yes, the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the House of Israel,
and the men of Judah
that chosen plant.
He expected justice, but found bloodshed,
integrity, but only a cry of distress.
the song of his love for his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
He dug the soil, cleared it of stones
and planted choice vines in it.
In the middle he built a tower,
he dug a press there too.
He expected it to yield grapes,
but sour grapes were all that it gave.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
I ask you to judge
between my vineyard and me.
What could I have done for my vineyard
that I have not done?
I expected it to yield grapes.
Why did it yield sour grapes instead?
Very well, I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on,
and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.
I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug;
overgrown by the briar and the thorn.
I will command the clouds
to rain no rain on it.
Yes, the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the House of Israel,
and the men of Judah
that chosen plant.
He expected justice, but found bloodshed,
integrity, but only a cry of distress.
Second reading
|
Philippians 4:6-9
|
There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel
|
Matthew 21:33-43
|
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘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. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. 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.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ 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 when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
Reflection
by Ma. Rosalina S. Flores
I have this colleague in the Ministry of Lectors and Commentators who always reminds me that proclaiming the Word of God during Mass should never be considered as me serving the Lord, but rather, the other way around. Raising eyebrows, by now? I also raised mine, the first time he told me that. How come, it is the Lord serving me while I am the one who is on the lectern proclaiming His Word in front of the people? Do my preparations of going through the readings beforehand, practicing, and getting up early especially when my schedule is 7:00 o' clock in the morning cannot be considered as service?
The statement of my fellow lector drove me to an in-depth reflection. It took me a while to realize that my mere ability will never bring me to the ministry. But with God's grace, it was made possible. He made me a tenant of the Word. God was, is, and will forever serve me as He mercifully guides me in my life journey.
That has become the problem of the tenants in today’s gospel. They thought they deserve more because they were the ones who worked at the vineyard. They were justifying their efforts up to the extent of grabbing the ownership from the original owner. They did not mind abusing their fellow tenants or even killing the heir to get what they want.
We can be like the wicked tenants mentioned in the gospel if we continue to abuse the free will given to us by the Father. Oftentimes, we may think we are the captains of our ships. But in reality, we are just the passengers waiting to set our feet on the ground. We may choose to forget that all we have are blessings from the Lord. We want the credit for ourselves that sometimes lead us to claiming the recognition of others.
In the present world where ownership is an issue, let us be reminded that we own nothing. God is the true owner of everything. We owe our lives to Him.
The statement of my fellow lector drove me to an in-depth reflection. It took me a while to realize that my mere ability will never bring me to the ministry. But with God's grace, it was made possible. He made me a tenant of the Word. God was, is, and will forever serve me as He mercifully guides me in my life journey.
That has become the problem of the tenants in today’s gospel. They thought they deserve more because they were the ones who worked at the vineyard. They were justifying their efforts up to the extent of grabbing the ownership from the original owner. They did not mind abusing their fellow tenants or even killing the heir to get what they want.
We can be like the wicked tenants mentioned in the gospel if we continue to abuse the free will given to us by the Father. Oftentimes, we may think we are the captains of our ships. But in reality, we are just the passengers waiting to set our feet on the ground. We may choose to forget that all we have are blessings from the Lord. We want the credit for ourselves that sometimes lead us to claiming the recognition of others.
In the present world where ownership is an issue, let us be reminded that we own nothing. God is the true owner of everything. We owe our lives to Him.
Father, thank You for Your unending generosity. We don’t deserved to be served by You and yet You continue to shower us with Your abundant blessings, with Your mercy. We can’t thank You enough. May we live our life giving glory to Your name. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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