27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
Sunday, October 08, 2023
The Parable of the Tenants is today’s Gospel message from Matthew. In it, Jesus speaks of a landowner who perceptively plants a vineyard, protects it, and rents it out to tenants to care for it only to see them reject and betray him at harvest time. This is symbolic of the relationship between God and the Jewish people. The landowner is God, the vineyard is God’s kingdom, the tenants are the Jewish leaders, the messengers God sent are the prophets, and the landowner’s son is Jesus.
God trusted us with His world and made us caretakers of it, a great responsibility and a privilege. Read these words from the Book of Genesis: “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” Genesis 2:15. God is the owner; we are the caretakers.
This past week marked the close of the church’s Season of Creation. On September 1st, 2023, Pope Francis’ sent a message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation1. In it, the Pope calls us to maintain a right relationship with God, humanity and nature. Here are some notable excerpts from his message:
“Too many of our brothers and sisters are prevented from drinking from that mighty river. Let us heed our call to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, and to put an end to the senseless war against creation.”
“Consumerist greed, fueled by selfish hearts, is disrupting the planet’s water cycle. The unrestrained burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of forests are pushing temperatures higher and leading to massive droughts. Alarming water shortages increasingly affect both small rural communities and large metropolises. Moreover, predatory industries are depleting and polluting our freshwater sources through extreme practices such as fracking for oil and gas extraction, unchecked mega-mining projects, and intensive animal farming. “Sister Water”, in the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, is pillaged and turned into “a commodity subject to the laws of the market.”
“What can we, particularly as Christian communities, do to heal our common home so that it can once again teem with life? We must do this by resolving to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.”
“Saint John Paul II encouraged us to embrace: the renewal of our relationship with creation so that we no longer see it as an object to be exploited but cherish it instead as a sacred gift from our Creator.”
“With the help of God’s grace, let us adopt lifestyles marked by less waste and unnecessary consumption, especially where the processes of production are toxic and unsustainable. Let us be as mindful as we can about our habits and economic decisions so that all can thrive – our fellow men and women wherever they may be, and future generations as well. Let us cooperate in God’s ongoing creation through positive choices: using resources with moderation and a joyful sobriety, disposing and recycling waste, and making greater use of available products and services that are environmentally and socially responsible.”
“We must transform the public policies that govern our societies and shape the lives of young people today and tomorrow. Economic policies that promote scandalous wealth for a privileged few and degrading conditions for many others, spell the end of peace and justice.”
What if we also apply this knowledge of stewardship towards God’s creation to everything precious in our lives? What if we reassess our relationships with our spouses, children, parents, friends, neighbors, talents and resources knowing that each one of them belongs to God? None of them belongs to us. God has loaned them to us for a time for His purpose. A great responsibility and a privilege indeed.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.