27th Sunday In Ordinary Time
02 October 2011
First reading 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.
Psalm 79:9,12-16,19-20
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.’
Reflections
By Patty Dela Rosa - Paat
" *UTANG NA LOOB "* according to wikipedia isa Filipino cultural trait
which academics sometimes refer to as "reciprocity," and which
transliterates as "a debt of one's inner self". It is also sometimes
translated as a "*debt of gratitude*". The essence of *UTANG NA LOOB* is
an obligation to appropriately repay a person who has done one a favor.
The favors which elicit the Filipino's sense of "utang na loob" are
typically those whose value is impossible to quantify, or, if there is a
quantifiable value involved, involves a deeply personal internal
dimension. "
I think Filipinos are very particular with this cultural trait because
we have a strong sense of gratitude. This is one of the good traits of
most Filipinos.
In the parable, God was represented as the landowner and we, as the
tenants. The vineyard represents not only of the church but the people
or the entire world. God is a generous God. And everything that we have
is a privilege, a gift from Him. We all have received life from God. He
blesses us with family, friends, good health, a job and a home. He
provided us an abundance of natural resources. He even gave us His only
Son Jesus Christ to save us.
*//*
Everything is a grace from God. He gave us free will to love and
worship Him, and for us, to fulfill the purpose of our existence. I
remember some twitter quotes which describe the generosity of God using
a commercial products' slogans. Sounds funny but it is true...
/*GOD*only wants the best for us, so very *SMAR*T, " Simply Amazing. "/
/*GOD*is not *SM*, but " He's got it all for you. "/
/*GOD*is not *METROBANK* but with Him, " we're in good hands."/
/*GOD*is not *REXONA*, but He won't let us down./
/*GOD*is not *ADIDAS* but for Him, " Impossible is nothing."/
/*GOD*is not *LG* but " Life's Good " with Him./
/*GOD*is not *NOKIA*, He is" Always connecting people " ./
/*GOD*is not*PHILIPPINES AIRLINES *butin Him"You are always number 1."/
/*GOD*is not *SKY CABLE *but**"All you want under one perfect sky"./
/*GOD *is not *PLDT* but " He's changing lives ".**/
/*GOD*is not *VICTORY LINER* but " He Move People Better, Safer "./
This privilege however, comes with responsibility. God is good, God is
fair and God is a loving God. He expected us to cultivate and manage our
life in such a way that it bears good fruit. He gives us freedom to
choose but we should not abuse it. We need to understand that we are
accountable for our wrong doings and choices.
God did not require us to pay Him in return. God loves us and He
forgives us every time we commit sin.But we need to ask ourselves, "What
does God want from us?" How can we repay Him for His kindness and
goodness to us? And the best answer , is to keep and obey the two great
commandments which are:
1. */" You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind." and 2./*
*/"./**/" You shall love your neighbor as yourself."/**//*
The reality is that there are some people who abused the privileges
given by God.They tend to become selfish because they were blinded by
their own personal successes. They became " slaves of wrong passions ".
I am referring to the passion for money, power and fame. And as a
result, they became greedy and self-righteous.
Remember, we are responsible for all the actions that we take. We have
moral obligations not only to ourselves but to the church and to the
people of God as well. We should follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.
This is the only way we can give back to Him some of the graces we
received from Him. Let us thank Him for everything He has given us!
Heavenly Father, we thank You for having created us and for sharing your
creation to all humanity. We thank You for this earth, for the gift of
life, for giving us a home, friends and a family. For a job and good
health. For all the graces that we received. There is so much to be
thankful for. Thank you for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered and
died for us. He is the greatest gift to all mankind. Make us concern
enoughto help, by word and deed. To see the needs of others and share
with them Your over flowing and infinite generosity.
Our beloved maker, please reside in our hearts. We will be forever
grateful for Your kindness and love for us. Amen.
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