HOMILY OF THE 27TH SUNDAY THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY OF THE 27TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.”

BY: Bishop Anthony Ewherido

Is. 5:1-7; Phil. 4:6-9; Matt. 21:33-43

St. Paul’s list on good Christian character encourages us to imbibe enduring virtues that anchor our lives on Christ, our keystone. They include being true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, consistently striving for excellence, and the manifestation of faith that is worthy of praise. Hopefully, these virtues make us more accountable tenants of God’s vineyard, unlike Israel and Judah in the first reading and the Jewish leaders in the gospel reading.

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With the imageries of the vineyard in both readings, God reminds us that people will be held accountable for all that is given and entrusted to them. That includes the gifts of life, time, intellect, strength, skills, and the various resources with which we are endowed. They are all parts of God’s provision for the vineyard and plants that we must tend in order to produce their fruits in due season. The inability of the tenants in the gospel to usurp and take possession of a vineyard that was on lease to them reminds us that the call to be accountable is inevitable. Judgement day is for all and our lives and actions would speak for themselves. Just so we do not miss the mark here. The Vineyard of the Lord includes our individual lives, our families, the Church, our communities, our country and our created world. At all of these levels, God will hold us accountable because none of these spheres is outside God’s created endowments and purview. Life itself is a gift. Who we are and what we have are gifts. Let us review the many reasons and excuses we give for hoarding our time, treasure and talent; for our non-involvement in the growth of the family, Church, community and self; for our indifference and insensitivity; for our greed and selfishness/self- centeredness. In our words, thoughts and actions, let us remember that we are simply tenants in the Lord’s Vineyard and that even the time we have is borrowed time (better put, endowed time, freely given to us by God), and that life is short and the Day of the Lord’s reckoning is just around the corner. The Master of the Vineyard will call on us.

Lord, may our sacrifice of love and service be acceptable in your eyes. Amen.

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