A reflection on Isaiah 5:1-7 and Matthew 21:33-43
Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
©️2023 Gloria M. Chang
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
Isaiah 5:7
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry!
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 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 a 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
Matthew 21:33-43 (Lectionary)
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.”
Christ’s Eucharistic Body
In Isaiah’s prophecy, the vineyard of the Lord, the house of Israel, falls into ruin and decay when its people disregard divine law and truth, the “hedge around it” (Matthew 21:33). “Take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!” (Isaiah 5:5) The prophet’s words pierce everyone entrusted with the care of the vineyard.
From Abraham’s “Yes!” to Mary’s “Fiat!” the vineyard of the Lord, the house of Israel, has grown in every direction to the ends of the earth. Do we cherish the precious gift of God’s Son sent to us every day, every hour, throughout the world, on every altar of the Holy Eucharist? Do we welcome the heir in our brothers and sisters, his Eucharistic Body? Partaking of Christ’s Body and Blood, may we go and bear the fruit of mercy.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
Gospel Acclamation from John 15:16
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
The true Israel welcomes the Son,
Whose Body and Blood save everyone.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《誰是繼承人？》
真正的以色列歡迎聖子，
祂的肉和祂的血拯救萬民。