On the Back Porch
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
This well-known parable is located within a section of Matthew’s gospel when Jesus is being questioned about the source of his authority. It is during the events of Holy Week and the confrontation with the religious leaders is reaching its climax. In the parable of the “The Evil Tenants” there is a progression of people sent by the Landowner to collect the produce. The servants are sent, beaten by the tenants, and turned away. The Landowner sends his Son thinking surely they will respect him. The evil tenants kill the son thinking they will be able to take possession of the land.
Like all parables, it is to speak to the heart of the hearer. The Pharisees and Priests heard a tale of economic revolt. What did you hear? Just a story from long ago told to people of one time? Even today, the Kingdom of God calls for laborers for the harvest. What is your role in all this?
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Maarten Van Valckenborch, c. 1585, Kunsthistorisches Museum | Public Domain PD-US
Covenants
The vineyard appears in Scripture many times. What does it represent? In the Prophet Isaiah it represents Israel and the promised land. But even that is but a representation of a deeper thing: the Covenant with God. What is a covenant? It is not the same as a “contract.” Where a contract exchanges goods and services for some consideration, a covenant is an exchange of persons. Each gives themselves to the other, whole and complete, without reservation. Such is the nature and goal of marriage. Such is the more fundamental covenant of God with people. In the Bible, humans continually fail as God’s covenant partners, until Jesus came to fulfill what we could not, restoring us to relationship with God.