Matthew 21:33-43 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 4, 2020

October 4, 2020
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew21:33-43

A. Text/Context

•  The gospel tells us of the parable of the tenants who betrayed the trust of the landowner who owned a vineyard
• At harvest time the landowner sent his servants to get all the produce of the land and they were all harassed, beaten,stoned, and killed, by the tenants
• The third time, he sent his son, thinking that they will respect him, but what did the tenants say? This is the heir, come let us kill him and acquire his inheritance. And so, the son was
• seized, thrown out of the vineyard, and killed
• In the Jewish culture, if a landowner dies and has no heir to inherit the property left behind, the tenants can claim the first right to its inheritance
• These servants are actually the prophets sent by God to the people to remind them of their covenant with him. God said to them: I am your God you will be my people
• But the prophets were killed, or were not believed upon, or just simply ignored. God was betrayed by his very own chosen people
• Now, the only son sent by the landowner is now Jesus himself who meets no better fate than the prophets. Even much worse than what the prophets experienced. Jesus ended crucified in Calvary
• Matthew ends this gospel by saying that the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone
• Jesus, now raised from the dead becomes the cornerstone of a new church and now, we, as the new people of God

B. Human Situation

• Life in this world is replete with stories of betrayal. How did Hitler betray the sanctity of human life? He murdered six million Jews burning them through the gas chambers. Abrutality against humanity unparalleled in modern civilization up to this day
• If we hear of betrayals at a grand scale, there are also betrayals of national scale; dictators of nations driving their own people towards annihilation. Leaders betraying their people by not fulfilling their promise to uplift the life of their own people
• And even in our own midst, we hear stories of betrayal about wives by their philandering husbands; husbands by their unfaithful wives Boyfriends and girlfriends betraying each other
• Even good friends betray us in exchange for something better because of selfishness and motivations of ill-will
• Sometimes we become so selfish we forget the others in exchange of self-aggrandizement
• So, you see, betrayal comes with a very expensive price; pain and suffering. And this is what our Lord Jesus experienced. The terrible pain of betrayal
• We cannot really eradicate pain and suffering in this world while we are still alive because it is the devil that reigns supreme in this planet
• If you are familiar with the story that it is the century of the devil because in 1884, Pope Leo XIII had a vision in which he saw Satan in front of the throne of God asking to give him 100 years to destroy the Church
• So, Satan appeared before the throne of God and asked permission to submit the Church to a period trial. God gave him permission to try the Church for one century
• Satan boasted that if he were given sufficient time and power, he could destroy the Church and drag the world to hell
• Pope Leo XIII understood that the 20th century or the 1900’s is the period of 100 years so granted to Satan
• Immediately thereafter, Pope Leo XIII composed the prayer to St. Michael and ordered it to be said at the end of each Mass
• In Medjugorje the Virgin Mary tells the visionaries that the 20th century is under the power of the Devil, but when the secrets confided to you come to pass, his power will be destroyed
• The same thing she said in Fatima, after all the havocs of evil, in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph
• We can only surmise that we are now entering the stage of the end times which the Virgin Mary reiterated in Garabandal, Spain in 1965 as “el fin de los tiempos” (the end times) in Spanish
• End of times and not the end of the world. Do not be confused with that. From an era of evil to an era of peace
• Just reflect of the marvels of science for the last 100 years
• Since the days of the pharaohs, we are just using the cart after the Egyptians invented the wheels for their chariots;then, suddenly, we have the automobiles invented
• Suddenly in the 20th century technology uses jet propulsion so airplanes can fly but the people who wanted to control the world also use the technology to make rocket missiles and nuclear warheads to destroy and annihilate nations
• When the antibiotic was invented, many diseases were wiped out, but the powerful people also use advances in medicine to create biological weapons of mass destruction
• Satan uses technology to destroy God’s children. And the minions of Satan are the ones controlling us in government, politics, commerce, banking industry, in giant financial institutions all over the world
• Perhaps, the last of the most glaring betrayal orchestrated by the minions of Satan is the grand scale of the Covid 19 pandemic
• This is the only pandemic that has successfully closed the Churches all over the world, albeit, only partially successful as churches close and open
• I believe this virus is not about a disease, it is about WORLD CONTROL
• And there is no way to fight this kind of greed and betrayal of such a grand scale except through prayer
• There are so many lies, deceit and betrayals behind this advance in technology in order to destroy us

C. Challenge

• And in parallel with the gospel, we Christians are the vineyard of the Lord. We are the modern vineyard as the old vineyard is Israel as what the 1st reading is saying
• And as a vineyard, as Christians, we are expected to grow, and bloom, and bear fruit, ready for harvest
• We are expected to grow in virtues and values. As we grow old, we are expected to be more understanding and forgiving in spite of all kinds of betrayals that we experience
• In the 2nd reading Paul said that we must direct our thoughts to what is good and worthy in spite of all trials and anxieties
• The challenge that we face today is that we must be able to present a good harvest in the end when God will finally come to collect them
• We need to bloom in the vineyard where we are planted. We will all bloom, ripen, and ready for the harvest if we maintain a life of prayer, a life of love and charity even if the spread of the virus has become rampant and uncontrollable