Just a word...Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time...October 8, 2023

Why is Jesus telling us this story of the owner of the vineyard and the irresponsible tenants?  We can all see that the tenants were unjust, conniving and murderous.  What does this story have to do with us? 

It’s not hard to figure out that God is the owner, so that makes us the tenants.

The owner leaves the vineyard in the care of the tenants, apparently having given them all they need to care for it and produce the requisite fruit.  Leaving the vineyard in the tenants’ care indicates that the owner trusts the tenants to do as they were asked. We know that they did not. If we accept the premise that we are the tenants, a few questions emerge for our consideration:

Do we deeply trust in the God who trusts in us to be faithful workers in the vineyard?

Are we respectful of the generous hand of God in all things?  In all we do?

And are we responsible stewards of the goods of God’s earth?

We have been given the earth, the vineyard, and the tools to produce the best fruits for all people. God transforms the world, yes, but through us. How well are we doing? 

 One person who worked with God to transform the world was St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day we celebrated this past Wednesday.  St. Francis exhibited great care for all creation...all creatures, great and small, the water, the air, the wind and everything that grows, as being gifts from God for which he offered praise. St. Francis was also dedicated to the pursuit of peace.

Pope Francis emulates his namesake in espousing care for creation, and in seeking peace.  Celebrating Mass on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the day on which he also published an apostolic exhortation on the environment, the pope recalled the story that Jesus told the medieval saint to "repair my church.” "St. Francis lived in a time of

struggles and divisions between temporal and religious powers, between the institutional church and heretical currents, between Christians and other believers."  But the saint "did not criticize or lash out at anyone. Rather, he took up the weapons of the Gospel: humility and unity, prayer and charity." 

 Our second reading today, from St Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, expands the pope’s list of Gospel “weapons” to include the following:

“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... Then the God of peace will be with you.

 May the words and examples of St. Paul, St. Francis and Pope Francis inspire us to be trustworthy and faithful tenants of our world, always seeking peace.