HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twenty Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)

Oct 4, 2026

240

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (5:1-7)

Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's son concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.

The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are His cherished plant; He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20)

(R) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

A vine from Egypt you transplanted; you drown away the nations and planted it. It put forth its foliage to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. (R)

Why have you broken down its walls, so that every passer-by plucks its fruit, the boar from the forest lays it waste, and the beasts of the field feed upon it? (R)

Once again, O Lord of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. (R)

Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. O Lord, God of hosts, restore us; if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (4:6-9)

Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew (21:33-43)

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to the tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and the third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way.

"Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, "They will respect my son." But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance." They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?"

"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Once a farmer approached a seer and asked him whether his olive trees would bear any fruit that year. The seer confidently declared, "They will bear an abundant crop." Impressed but curious, the farmer asked, "How could you possibly know that for certain?" The seer replied, "I just know." A few days later, the same farmer was walking past the local seashore and noticed the seer looking exhausted and fruitlessly searching for driftwood to use as firewood. Knowing the beach had been picked completely clean, the farmer said to the seer, "Sir! There is no wood here. I have already looked myself. You are supposed to be a man of great perception. You can tell me with absolute certainty whether an olive tree will bear fruit or not. Why couldn't you predict whether there was wood on this seashore?" The seer wiped the sweat from his brow and replied calmly, "I know what must be (by nature), but I do not know what may be."

A tree must produce fruits, and in the same way, a true Christian must, of necessity, produce spiritual fruits. Today's gospel (Matthew 21:33-43) teaches us that God cares deeply about our faithfulness, responsibility, and the spiritual fruits we produce with the gifts He entrusts to us. To fully understand the gospel, we must look at the historical and religious context of Jesus' time. The teaching takes place near the final days of Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, goes directly to the Temple courts, drives out the merchants and money changers by saying that His father's house is a house of prayer rather than a "den of thieves" (Matthew 21:1-13). Next day, He curses a fig tree because it has plenty of leaves but no fruit to feed His hunger. Infuriated by Jesus' actions, the religious leaders - including the chief priests, elders, scribes and pharisees - demand to know the source of Jesus' authority. Jesus refuses to answer them directly. Instead, he traps them with a question about John the Baptist and tells them three parables that expose their lack of genuine obedience and faith.

Last week, we looked at the first parable. In the parable, Jesus tells of a father who asks his two sons to go to work in his vineyard. One son initially refuses but later changes his mind and goes, whereas the other agrees politely but never actually shows up. Jesus compares the first son to the most sinful of sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, who initially disobeyed God but believed in John the Baptist's preaching of repentance and changed their lives so as to prepare for the arrival of God's Kingdom, and then He compares the second son to the religious leaders who claimed to serve God with their words and status, but refused to truly repent or accept John's calling for repentance and prepare for the coming of Messiah. Through this parable, Jesus warns His followers and believers in all ages that genuine repentance, obedience and actions matter more than empty words, promises, and rituals to experience God's kingdom and its realities such as peace and joy.

Today we hear the second parable. It is about a landowner who carefully prepares his vineyard, plants the vines, builds a protective fence, digs a winepress in it to extract the juice from the grapes, raises a watchtower to guard the crop, leases the vineyard out to a group of tenants and goes on a journey (Matthew 21:33). The work of the tenants is to tend the crops, guard the vineyard, harvest its produce, and give the rightful share of the fruit to the owner at harvest time. It is a simple plan, and everyone would win. The owner would get what belongs to him, and the tenants would take what they deserve. But the tenants' greed makes them think that they can seize control of both the harvest and the land for themselves by eliminating the servants and the heir. So, when the owner sends his servants to collect his rightful share of the harvest, the tenants mistreat the servants, even killing some. The owner finally sends his son, expecting that they will respect him. But the tenants conspire against the son saying, "This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance." Then, they take him outside the vineyard and kill him (Matthew 21:34-39).

After telling the parable, Jesus asks the religious leaders what the owner will do to those wicked tenants. They answer that the owner "will destroy the wicked tenants and lease the vineyard to others who will deliver the fruit". By stating that the wicked tenants deserve miserable death and replacement, the leaders unknowingly condemn themselves. At this point, they realize the story is directed at them because it mirrors a highly familiar song to them: "The Song of the Vineyard" from Isaiah (5:1-7), which we read in today's first reading. In the song, the Lord speaks through the prophet about a friend who plants and cares for a vineyard on a fertile hillside, which instead of producing sweet, edible grapes, yields sour, foul-smelling, or worthless wild grapes. Then the Lord Himself explains the meaning of the imagery saying that the vineyard is the nation of Israel and the people of Judah and when He as the owner of the vineyard searches for justice and righteousness, He finds bloodshed and cries of distress resulting from societal injustice, oppression of the poor, and self-indulgence. Because the vineyard fails to respond to His faithful care, the Lord declares that He will dismantle it, strip away His protection, leave it abandoned and wasted, and withhold rain.

Although the leaders do not require any explanation, Jesus explains further the meaning of the story by shifting his imagery from agriculture to architecture (from a vineyard and its tenants to a building stone and its builders) and quotes Psalm (118:22-23), "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes." Here, Jesus is not pulling a random verse from the scriptures; He is deliberately using a foundational Messianic prophecy that Jewish people would instantly recognize. During the Passover festival, they joyfully sing this Psalm as part of the sacred playlist to celebrate God's deliverance. However, despite chanting these words regularly, the religious leaders fail to recognize that they are the "builders" rejecting the "cornerstone" (the long-awaited Messiah) prophesied in the text.

Jesus uses this illustration to show that even though the religious leaders would dismiss Him as unsuitable - rejecting His origin in Galilee, His breaking of their legalistic traditions, and His claims to be the Messiah - and kill Him because of pride, jealousy, and fear of losing their authority, status, and control over people, God would ultimately raise Him from the dead and make Him the foundational and primary stone of His new spiritual temple or kingdom, the Church. Jesus declares this reversal to be a marvellous act accomplished by God. Thus, Jesus uses the parable to warn the Jewish religious leaders that because they repeatedly rejected God's messengers (the prophets), and are now plotting to kill His Son, that is, Jesus Himself, the stewardship and the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to those - both Jews and Gentiles alike - who genuinely accept Jesus and bear spiritual fruit.

What is the message for us?

Following Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension, the Kingdom of God was not stripped from the Jewish people, nor was "the vineyard" physically moved away from the land of Israel. Instead, the privilege and responsibility of representing God's kingdom shifted from the rejecting religious leaders of first century Israel to a new universal community of believers - the Church - beginning with the apostles and expanding to include both Jews and Gentiles "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (Revelation 7:9). Today, we are all part of the group of new tenants entrusted with God's vineyard or God's kingdom.
God's vineyard or God's kingdom extends far beyond formal institutions, parishes, communities, and the wider church to include the domestic church. Every Christian family is a sacred vineyard given by God to its members to tend, nurture, and make it fruitful. However, He does not merely demand fruit without help. Just as the landowner in the parable provides everything needed for the vineyard, God graciously supplies all necessary physical, material, and spiritual resources to every member of the family so that they can live fruitful lives. Besides physical life, health, relationships, food, employment, talents, God provides rich spiritual provisions - such as the Bible to reveal His will, truth, and guidance for our daily path; the sacraments to nourish, heal, and sustain us; priests to teach, shepherd, and protect us; sacred spaces and church buildings for worship, community gathering, and refuge; and fellow believers for mutual encouragement and support.
Then just like the landowner in the parable, God looks for tangible spiritual fruit in our lives and homes. He does not ask for empty words, outward show or mere claims of privilege. He expects genuine spiritual fruit. He desires to see how we treat, speak to, and care for one another, how we steward our lives and protect the gifts entrusted to us, whether we keep Christ at the centre of our home and nurture spiritual life together, whether we use family blessings to help the poor, the needy, and others outside the household; whether we speak truthfully, showing mercy, and rejecting bitterness, greed, or dishonesty and so on.
Unlike the religious leaders who rejected God's messengers and ultimately His Son Jesus to protect their own power and status, we have accepted Jesus as the Messiah, and started to build our life, faith, and daily actions upon Him. Let us continue to centre our family concerns, decisions, conflicts, and celebrations on Jesus Christ so our family's foundation stays strong and produce a rich harvest that brings joy to God's heart and light to everyone around us. At the same time, let this gospel teaching be a reminder for us that rejecting God's authority or failing to faithfully care for the people and things God has placed in our hands, will not only lead us to spiritual ruin and moral blindness but also to lose our blessings, responsibilities and stewardship which will be transferred to others who will honour God's purpose and yield a proper harvest.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

Content Options

to download the audio file Sign In » or Register ».
generate Google Translate Layout ».
share this homily via:

Top of Page

More Homilies this Month

Use the Prev or Next buttons to read or listen to the other homilies of the month.

« Prev Next » Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A)