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TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In our Gospel reading from Matthew, we find the Pharisees plotting to trick Jesus by asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. The Pharisees were looking to Jesus to tell them that the only law to be followed is God’s law and that there was no need to pay taxes to Caesar. They were fully aware that an answer like this would have landed Jesus in hot water with the civil authorities. However, Jesus knowing what they were up to, calls upon them to produce a coin and then asks whose head is on the coin. They reply that it is Caesar’s head. Then Jesus responds, “Give therefore to Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” In doing so Jesus challenges them to take their responsibility to God as seriously as their civil responsibilities. In today’s culture, there is a tendency to believe that what we have earned belongs only to us. Our Gospel reminds us that all that we have comes from God. As such, in order to show our appreciation for all that God has given us, we have a duty to use our gifts, in support of our parishes, our diocese and for the common good of society. |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus addresses the chief priests and elders, once again, through the parable of the royal wedding feast. In this parable Jesus compares the wedding feast to the heavenly banquet. The king represents God who through the prophets and the apostles extended an invitation to the chosen people to come to the heavenly banquet. The king is enraged when those whom he has sent were mistreated and killed. He extends an open invitation to all others. When they arrive, the king notices that one of the guests is not wearing the appropriate attire and he is ejected from the banquet. This gospel offers us an opportunity to reflect on our invitation to share in the heavenly banquet. God has opened the doors of the kingdom to everyone and, through our baptism, we have been clothed in the wedding garment of Christ. It is up to each of us to accept God’s invitation by living our lives in a manner that is worthy of entry into the heavenly banquet of eternal life in the kingdom of God. |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In our gospel from Matthew this Sunday, Jesus shares the parable of the landowner and tenants, once again, taking aim at the chief priests and elders for the complacent manner in which they practice their faith. The landowner leases his vineyard to the tenants with the expectation that the tenants will turn over the produce from the vineyard to his servants at harvest time. However, the tenants decide to keep the produce for themselves and beat and kill the landowner’s servants when they come to collect the harvest. Finally, the landowner sends his son to them expecting that they will respect him, but he is treated in the same manner. It is easy to identify ourselves in this parable. We are tenants, cultivating our portion of God’s vineyard here on earth. When the harvest time comes, we will be judged by the good fruit that we produce. This gospel challenges us to show gratitude to God, our landowner, for the gifts we have been given by using them in service to one another, by nurturing our prayer life and by building up the kingdom of God on earth. |
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TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In our Gospel from Matthew, we have the parable of the father and his two sons. The father asks the two sons to go out and work in the vineyard. The first son refuses his father’s request initially, but then goes out and does as his father has asked. The second son agrees to his father’s request, but in the end doesn’t follow through. We can likely relate well to both brothers as there are probably times when we have walked in their shoes. People make requests of us all the time. Some are valid and some not. At times we may agree to do something in order to avoid any unpleasantries, but in the end don’t do it at all or do so begrudgingly. Jesus points out that there must be a connection between what we say and what we do. His message to the religious leaders also applies to each of us. As baptized followers of Christ, there must be good intent behind any commitments that we make, not just to one another, but to God as well. |
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TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME In our Gospel from Matthew, Jesus illustrates the divine mercy of God through the parable of the vineyard workers. The just vineyard owner hires workers several times over the course of the day. At the end of the day, he instructs his foreman to pay all the workers the same wage regardless of the amount of work or the time they have spent working thus ensuring that each has received enough to support themselves and their families. However, this doesn’t sit well with the workers who put in long hours and feel that they are more deserving than those who had started working later in the day. This story likely hits home for many of us. We live in a society where we work for a wage that we consider just and expect to be paid fairly for the work that we do. We resist sharing our hard-earned wealth and resources with those who do not work to earn theirs. In the first reading from Isaiah, we are reminded that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and God’s ways are not our ways. God’s mercy opens the doors to the kingdom of heaven to all of us. As followers of Christ, we are called to set aside the ways of this world, and live out the gospel, by thinking and acting in a manner that reflects the generosity and mercy of God. |