27th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Cycle A
October 8, 2017
Today’s
gospel is one of Jesus’ parables that is almost an allegory.
An
allegory is a story where almost every detail has some significance or meaning.
To
begin with, the vineyard is an Old Testament image for Israel.
The
Scripture sees Israel as God’s special people and pictures Israel poetically as
a vineyard.
The
owner of this vineyard is, of course, God himself.
The
workers in the vineyard are the political and religious leaders of Israel.
The
servants sent by the owner are the prophets.
And,
of course, the son of the owner is Jesus himself.
With
that background, the parable teaches us something about God, about God’s Son
Jesus and about ourselves.
First,
there is the generosity of God.
The
owner supplies his tenant workers with a very good vineyard.
The
point is that God entrusts us with great opportunities here on this earth.
Then,
there is the patience of God.
The
owner repeatedly sends messengers to get his share of the grapes.
The
point is that God is patient with us as we grow spiritually and God gives us a
lifetime to respond fully to his calling.
Then,
the parable is clear about Jesus’ identity.
He
is called the beloved son.
He
is also the last person whom the owner has to send.
The
lesson here is that Jesus is God’s last word spoken to us – last in the sense
that he is the complete fullness of God and God’s message.
Finally,
the parable shows the human temptation to get away with what we can.
It
shows our tendency of “out of sight, out of mind.”
We
can tend to forget God and our responsibilities to God if we fail to keep God
in our spiritual sight through prayer.
So,
a rich parable with lots of teaching today.
