SALVATION AND GLORY AND POWER BELONG TO OUR GOD

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:15-21

When God’s a plan, he will carry it out, no matter how much we try to oppose it, as the Portuguese proverb puts it: God writes straight in crooked lines. And for that purpose, God works through what seems to be completely human and natural. Cyrus was the founder of the Persian Empire, who became well known for his conquests and his tolerance towards the conquered nations. After conquering Babylon, he allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Taking into account his lenient policy towards the Jewish people, the prophet Isaiah considers him as the Anointed of the Lord:

It is for the sake of my servant Jacob,

of Israel my chosen one,

that I have called you by your name,

conferring a title though you do not know me.

(Isaiah 45:1, 4-6).

The text of the first reading, taken from Isaiah, invites us to read behind the events and the personalities involved in them to discover a divine purpose and find God’s presence and action. What seems purely secular and without any religious motivation may be pregnant with God’s purpose.

However, there is always the danger of acting as if everything is done in God’s name or as if God is always absent from human history. God is present and active everywhere, even when we try to exclude him. In this secular society of ours, we put God aside and walk along as if he doesn’t exist. And, when we less expect it, there is an explosion of the divine, forcing us to relate to the God of surprises.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus gives a piece of advice: "Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.” Caesar – that is, political power – cannot take God’s place, since the exercise of political power is always guided by earthly values. Those in power are ruthless towards anything and anybody that may be a threat to their power. Whenever political power takes God’s place, it is a false god that enslaves those exercising it and those upon whom it is exercised. Despite that danger, political power is needed to establish laws, organise society and protect the harmony and peace of a nation. That’s why Christians are taught to respect those in authority, to obey their laws and to pay the taxes that keep the machinery of the state running. 

We should never forget that God is supreme; being the Most High, there is nothing that supersedes him. From him, we received life, and a life's worth of living belongs to him. We can never worship anything but God.

Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

(Rev 19:1)

 I SHALL DWELL IN THE LORD’S HOUSE

XXVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 22:1-14

Isaiah speaks about a banquet taking place on the Lord’s mountain, where the best foods and the finest wines are served to the guests. And the Prophet gives us the reason for such a banquet: Death has been destroyed, so there will be no more mourning and no more tears because the Lord “will take away his people’s shame everywhere on earth”. Indeed, “we exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of the Lord rests on this mountain.” And Isaiah makes it clear that God will invite all peoples for this banquet (Isaiah 25:6-10). God’s purpose is to offer salvation to all. 

In the gospel, we find again the theme of banquet associated with the wedding feast of the royal prince. The parable brings to mind the passage from Isaiah, adding the theme of the royal wedding and making a reading of the history of the people of God, as one of ignorance and disdain, as they refuse the invitation with contempt and hostility. It seems that any pretext was good enough to ignore the invitation. And many of those who received the invitation showed their rebellious and violent character by maltreating and killing the servants of the king. That kind of behaviour attracted harsh punishment. “The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.”

However, the refusal of the first invitees opened the doors to an immense crowd of common people, brought in from the streets to fill the kingdom hall, sit at their Lord’s table and celebrate the royal wedding. With the hall filled with a huge crowd, the king came in to have a look at the guests, and he was surprised to see one not properly dressed in a wedding garment. The king scolded him and expelled him from the hall. Despite the invitation coming by surprise, leaving him little time to prepare, he should have shown respect. Whoever is invited to the table of the Lord must put on the clothes of righteousness, being dressed with Jesus Christ.

We should examine ourselves and ask, “How do we show respect when we approach the table of the Lord and present our hands to receive the bread of life?” We are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” (Rev 19:9)

LET YOUR FACE SHINE ON US

XXVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 21:33-43

In the first reading (Isaiah 5:1-7), the prophet Isaiah compares the people of Israel to a vineyard planted by the Lord with “choice vines”. He took good care of the vineyard and did whatever was needed to have the best grapes. However, it only produced “sour grapes”. And the prophet explains what caused the Lord to be disappointed: “He expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress.” As a consequence, the Lord abandoned the vineyard and left it to its own fate.

The theme of the vineyard is taken up in the gospel (Matthew 21:33-43), through the parable of the evil tenants. In this parable, Jesus looks at the history of the people of Israel and reads it as a history of betrayal and revolt. The tenants ignored the owner of the vineyard and ill-treated his messengers, beating them up and even killing some of them. In the end, he sent his only son, hoping that they would respect him. However, when they saw the son, they decided to kill him and become the sole owners of the vineyard.

Jesus identified himself with the son sent by the Father and killed by the tenants (the leaders of the people of Israel). Then, Jesus asked his listeners, "Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” And they gave the answer that condemned them: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.”

Today, the parable must be applied to us. We are the tenants to whom Jesus entrusted his Church, the vineyard. Time and again, we show the same type of behaviour as the leaders of the people of Israel. We ignore and despise the word of God and those who proclaim it. Like those who came before us, we want to be the owners of our own destiny, defying God and revolting against him. One day, the evil results of such behaviour will come to us.

The Psalm (Psalm 80), which comes after the first reading, is a plea to God, reminding him that he was the one who chose us, and we go on waiting for his mercy and compassion.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,

  look down from heaven and see.

Visit this vine and protect it,

  the vine your right hand has planted.

The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

And we shall never forsake you again;

  give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;

  let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.