Introduction: The common theme of today’s readings is the necessity of bearing fruit in the Christian life and the consequent punishment for spiritual sterility, ingratitude and wickedness. In today’s first reading, called Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard, the prophet describes God’s care of, and expectations for, His Chosen People. God’s Chosen People have failed to bear fruit in spite of the blessings lavished upon them by a loving and forgiving God. Further, they have been poor tenants in the Lord’s vineyard. Hence, God laments: “I expected my vineyard to yield good grapes. Why did it yield sour ones instead?” In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 80), the Psalmist pleads with God to look down from Heaven and to “take care of this vine,” knowing that if any good is to come of the vine, it will be God’s doing and not the people’s. In the second reading, Paul tells Philippians about the high expectations he has for them, reminding them that they need to become fruit-producing Christians by praying and giving thanks and by practicing justice, purity and graciousness in their lives. Giving a theological explanation of Israel’s history of gross ingratitude through a parable, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, reminds us Christians that, since we are the “new” Israel, enriched with additional blessings and provisions in the Church, we are expected to show our gratitude to God by bearing fruits of the kingdom, fruits of the Holy Spirit, in our lives, and to give God the Glory for these accomplishments.

1)The first reading (Isaiah 5:1-7) explained: By the late eighth century BC, God’s people in the Promised Land had become divided into a Northern Kingdom, Israel, with its capital in Samaria, and a Southern Kingdom, Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem. Assyria was the dominant power in the region, and it controlled the Northern Kingdom. Isaiah assured both Kingdoms that a new King would come to the throne in Judah and would see to the reunion of the North and the South and the expulsion of the Assyrians. But in the earlier chapters of his prophecy, the prophet had criticized his own unfaithful people. In today’s first reading, called Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard, the prophet describes God’s care for, and interest in, His Chosen People. “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I had not done?” Yahweh asks. Following the classic Biblical imagery, Isaiah’s prophecy describes Israel as a non-productive vineyard.  Though God has done everything necessary to produce a good crop, the vineyard yields only “wild grapes.”

From the call of Abraham (about 1800 B.C.), and especially after the Exodus (1300 B.C.), the history of God’s chosen people was one continuous reminder of God’s benevolence towards them. But Israel — God’s Vineyard – failed Him miserably, producing wild and bitter grapes. Israel disobeyed God by perpetuating injustice and shedding the blood of the innocent. We are reminded that the same God of love and benevolence has shown even more love and benevolence to His new ‘chosen people’– the Church.  He sent His prophets to reveal Himself and His message to the Jews, but He has sent His own Divine Son to live and die in our midst – for us! By Baptism, which Jesus instituted, we are made the children of God and heirs of Heaven. But by our cold indifference to God and our excessive attachment to worldly goods, many of us become, and remain, more ungrateful than the Israelites.  Thus, we, too, are the unproductive Vineyard the Heavenly Father says He will destroy, laying it waste. Let us pay attention to this strong warning and become His grateful and generous children.

The second reading (Philippians 4:6-9) explained: Since the Christians at Philippi have received the Gospel enthusiastically and have continued to support Paul after he has evangelized them, Paul tells them affectionately of the high expectations he has for them and shows them how they are to become fruit-producing Christians. Using the Greek moralist phrases, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,” Paul instructs them to accept and live in the true peace of God by “prayer and petition with thanksgiving,” and to “keep on doing what they have learned and received and heard and seen” in him.  Paul’s words of instruction as to how the Philippians should be fruit-bearing vines are equally applicable to us. We, too, must grow in our relationship to God through prayers of adoration and thanksgiving.  These should be followed by prayers of contrition for our failings, and of petition in which we ask for spiritual and temporal favors. Paul assures us, too, that such prayers will bring peace of mind in this life and eternal peace and happiness in the life to come.

Gospel Exegesis: The context and the objective: The parable of the wicked tenants is an allegory told by Jesus during Passover week in the Temple precincts of Jerusalem. A parable normally presents one lesson and the details are not relevant.  In an allegory, on the other hand, each detail has a symbolic meaning. This story is one of the three “parables of judgment” which Jesus told in response to the question put forward by the Scribes and the Pharisees about his authority to teach in the Temple. It was intended to be a strong warning to the Jews in general — and to the Scribes and the Pharisees in particular, as they were planning to kill Jesus, the Messiah for whom Israel had waited for centuries. Thus, this parable of the wicked tenants is a theological summary of the entire history of the ingratitude, infidelity, and hard-heartedness of the Chosen People.   Its importance is shown by its appearance in all the three Synoptic Gospels.

25th SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME
First reading (Is 55:6-9) explained: The prophet Isaiah reminds his people that if they really look at the circumstances of their lives, they will recognize God’s hand in them. Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah record prophecies spoken about the end of the Babylonian captivity of the people of Judah, when they would return from enslavement to a devastated homeland.  The words were meant to give them Hope and to keep them from losing Faith in God.  The whole of Chapter 55 promises both material and spiritual relief.  Isaiah reminds the people that it was their years of ignoring their Covenant with God which had brought their world crashing down around them, leaving their cities destroyed, their Temple razed, their wealth pillaged, and their hopes dashed.  But because of God’s great love and mercy, His chosen people were to be forgiven.  They would return home, their land would be restored to them, and their relationship with God would be reestablished.

Isaiah reminds us that the God of Moses and of the prophets doesn’t think in the same way that we do.  God is more merciful than we are and more forgiving.  As the Lord God says, through Isaiah “’My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.”  Perhaps we would have a better world if we were to adopt some of God’s ways instead of asking questions like, “Why should the innocent suffer?” or “Why should cruel tyrants live and prosper?” or “Why should there be world-wide medical scourges like the Covid-19 pandemic?” Our Faith teaches us that, as a loving Father, God does and permits only that which is for our greater good.  God is always near to us in this life, and if we remain near to Him on this earth, we can trust in His love and goodness to keep us near Him forever in Heaven.

The second reading (Philippians 1:20-24,27) explained: St. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians either from a prison cell in Rome (AD 61-63), or possibly from Ephesus (AD 56). Paul was a latecomer in God’s vineyard, preaching the Gospel. But he worked with zeal and interest to spread God’s News of Redemption and Salvation for all. Philippi was a very privileged city of Macedonia and the site of the first Christian church in Europe. Although far from Rome, it was given the status of a Roman city. Its people didn’t have to pay taxes to Rome and the people dressed as Romans and spoke the language of Rome. But Paul had told them that once they became followers of Jesus, their true citizenship was not in Rome, but in Heaven. Their ways were not to be Roman ways, but the way of the Gospel. The Philippians had received the Gospel from Paul eagerly, and they supported him on his further missionary travels. So, he was very grateful, and his epistle gives them mature Pauline thought for a mature community, expressed in unusually personal terms.

Today’s passage is most intimate, indicating another difference between God’s perspective and ours. Paul is trying to decide whether to prefer death (if he was in prison, he possibly faced execution), or life.  In this reading, Paul speaks as one who has put on the mind of Christ.  He says that he does not know whether he prefers to live or to die.  The ordinary human point of view is one that greatly prefers life to death.  But the perspective of God is different.  Paul says that to die would be good because it would bring him into greater unity with Christ.  On the other hand, to live would also be good because it would allow Paul to continue his work as an apostle.  Having taken on the perspective of God, Paul is equally ready to live or die.  Paul is an example of how grace operates.  His own wishes are subordinated to the needs of the Philippians, and both Paul and the Philippians enjoy the privilege of believing in Christ and of suffering for him.  Being a Christian means accepting God’s word without explanation or justification.  That is how “we conduct ourselves worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

Gospel exegesis: The parable in today’s Gospel is known as “the Parable of Workers in the Vineyard” or “the Parable of the Generous Landlord.” Biblical scholar Daniel Harrington calls this “The Parable of the Good Employer” because the parable was probably addressed to Jesus’ opponents who criticized him for preaching the Good News of the Kingdom to tax collectors and sinners. This remarkable and rather startling parable is found only in Matthew. It reminds us that although God owes us nothing, He gives abundantly what each person really needs.

23rd SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME

The first reading (Ezekiel 33:7-9) explained: In today’s first reading, the Lord God defines the role of an Old Testament prophet. The prophet is Ezekiel who was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and brought from Jerusalem to Babylon in 597 B.C., together with King Jehoiachin of Judah (Ezekiel 1:1-3), and most of the nobles of the country. “You, son of man,” Yahweh addresses His prophet, “I have appointed you watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear Me say anything, you shall warn them for Me.” Like a watchman, the prophet exists only for the good of others, in this case, those deported with him from Israel to Babylon. He is to give them God’s words, to challenge them, and to correct them from time to time, so that if they should go wrong, the responsibility would be theirs. Here, Ezekiel gets straightforward orders from Yahweh, assigning responsibility to him and to the people, with no ifs, ands, or buts tolerated. God charges Ezekiel with the responsibility of remaining faithful to his prophetic mission, confronting the wicked with their own wickedness as the Lord God instructs him. In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls the Church to the same responsibility for confronting the sinful. Very few people in the world today would consider themselves accountable and responsible for anything that happens in the society, but the truth is that we are. For, as Christians, we are all God’s prophets, God’s representatives, God’s watchmen, set on elevated places to give warning of approaching danger to our brothers and sisters. The prophets of all times have a grave responsibility for their people’s salvation. None of us can retire from the task of being watchmen. As Ezekiel is appointed watchman over the house of Israel in today’s first Reading, so Jesus in the Gospel today establishes His disciples as guardians of the new Israel of God, the Church (see Galatians 6:16). They have the power to bind and loose, to forgive sins and to reconcile sinners in His name (see John 20:21-23). (Scott Hann).

The second reading, (Romans 13:8-10): After finishing his treatment of doctrinal questions on Christ and our relationship with him, Paul used to write an application of the doctrine to the day-to-day behavior of the congregation receiving the letter. In today’s reading, after urging the Christian converts of Rome to obey their lawful civil authorities, and after discussing the inability of the Mosaic Law to save anyone, no matter how well he may keep it, Paul adds such an application. He seems to be saying, “You still want the Law? I’ll give you the real law! Love one another. That fulfills the law.” If God is not known and loved, there can be no basis or motive for true love of neighbor. It is only the Presence of God in each human being and the recognition of others as God’s children that can form a sound basis for the love of our neighbors. In short, love is the basis of the law, and we fulfill the law by loving our neighbor. Paul reminds us that love requires that we should watch out for one another’s souls, and love specifies the way our watchful care of one another should be exercised. Mutual and self-giving love is to be the motivation which guides all rescue efforts, whether physical or spiritual.

Gospel exegesis: Today’s Gospel deals with the relationship of members of the Church to each other and highlights one of the most painful responsibilities that we have towards others, namely fraternal correction. Matthew expands a saying of Jesus, originally concerned primarily with forgiveness. In the seventeenth century, the great Anglican priest and poet John Donne reminded us, “No man is an island, entire unto himself.” In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs his disciples about relationships among members of the Church, because through Baptism we assume a serious responsibility for our fellow-believers. Suppose a son or daughter, friend or acquaintance, relative, neighbor, even parent or teacher, does “something wrong” to us, whether the sin is of commission or omission. By patience and Love, Jesus tells us how to deal with and finally mend a broken relationship within the Christian fellowship.

The first reading: Jer 20:7-9 explained: The prophet Jeremiah lived from about 650 B.C. to about 580 B.C. Most of his work was done in Judah’s capital, Jerusalem. Jeremiah was sent by God, “to tear up and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow” (Jer. 1:10). He tried to keep this people, who lived in an atmosphere of political intrigue and backstabbing, faithful to God. Jeremiah was regarded as a traitor by his own people because, as God’s mouthpiece, he had to foretell the dire results that would follow from their plan of revolt against the mighty power of Babylon. So, he became depressed and complained bitterly to God. The English word jeremiad means an elaborate and prolonged lamentation or tale of woe. Today’s first reading is the purest of jeremiads. In it, Jeremiah accuses Yahweh of tricking him and offers us a powerful description of someone suffering for obedience to his conscience.

Second reading (Rom 12:1-2) explained: In the second reading, Paul advises the Roman Christians that they must live their Christian lives in such a way that they differ both from the Jews and from the pagans. St. Paul calls them to adopt an attitude of sacrifice in their worship of God.  In order to do this, they must explicitly reject the behavior of the world around them. Paul tells them, and us (Rom 12:1-2): “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” to God.  Paul then explains that the sacrifices that should be offered are not the animals or grain of Jewish Temple worship, but their bodies “as a living sacrifice … spiritual worship.”   In this way, by non-conformity to their own age, they should differ from the Jews and the pagans, which would cost them suffering and sometimes their very lives, as we, in our turn, must do. Like Paul’s Christians, we, too, must “discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect,”– and then do it!

Gospel exegesis: “Get behind me, Satan!” After Peter had confessed his Faith that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, explained to the apostles what the Messianic Mission and their responsive discipleship really meant. Jesus realized that, although he had predicted his suffering and death three times, his disciples were still thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah, a warrior king, who would sweep the Romans from Palestine and lead Israel to power. That is why Peter could not bear the idea of a suffering Messiah. It was then that Jesus rebuked him so sternly, “Get behind me, Satan,” in an attempt to nullify what was, in fact, a temptation of the evil one urging Him to shrink from doing the work for which He had come. It was the same kind of rebuke He had delivered to Satan in the wilderness. Origen suggests that Jesus was saying to Peter: “Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me. It’s your job to follow me in the way I choose, not to try to lead me in the way YOU would like me to go.” Satan is banished from the presence of Christ, and Peter is recalled to become, again, Christ’s follower. “This foundation-stone-become-stumbling-stone stands as a cautionary tale for all of us who are called to serve with authority in the Church, a reality that surely extends to parents with respect to their children and teachers with respect to students.” (Fr. Reginald Fuller). The Good News is that, by the grace of God, rehabilitation is not only possible but likely, if we pray.  Like Peter, the Church is often tempted to judge the success or failure of her ministry by the world’s standards. But Jesus teaches that worldly success is not always the Christian way. That is why Jesus decided that the time had come for him to confront the forces of the scribes and the Pharisees at the seat of their power, Jerusalem, realizing fully well what the agonizing consequences would be.

Three conditions of Christian discipleship: After correcting Peter for trying to divert him from what would be his way of the cross in Jerusalem, Jesus declares three conditions for any who would become and live as his disciples: a) deny yourself b) take up your cross and c) follow me. A) Self-denial means evicting selfish thoughts, desires and tendencies from our hearts and letting God fill our hearts with Himself. It also means being cleansed of all evil habits, enthroning God in in our hearts, and sharing Him with others. B) Carrying the cross with Jesus always entails pain and suffering. Our personal sufferings become the cross of Jesus when: 1) we suffer by serving others selflessly; 2) we give ourselves — our health, wealth, time and talents – to others until it hurts us; 3) we join our physical, mental or emotional sufferings to Jesus’ and offer them with him to the Father in reparation for our sins and those of the world; and we work with the Spirit Who is purifying us through our personal sufferings or penitential practices. C) Following Jesus means that, as disciples of Christ, we should live our lives according to the word of God by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love. To follow someone who has asked us to “take up our cross” daily seems foolish. But in the words of the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “to be a fool for Christ is the greatest compliment the world can give. You and I are in good company, because most of the saints embraced the Cross of Christ and were considered fools for doing so.” The Catechism teaches, “The way of perfection,” that is, the path leading to holiness, “passes by way of the Cross” (CCC 2015). “There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle” (CCC 2015). “Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes” (CCC 2015).

We might call this Sunday “Power Sunday,” because the main theme is the handing over of the “Keys” which open and shut, representing authority in the Church and in the Kingdom. In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to know him personally and to serve him and love him as Lord, and he wants from each one of us our total, whole-hearted response.

The Scripture readings summarized: The first reading, taken from Isaiah, gives a detailed description of the investiture of a royal court official. The robe, the sash, and the keys are insignia of this office. The Lord God, through Isaiah, tells Shebna that the keys of authority will be taken away from him, the unfaithful, proud “master of the royal palace.” In the Responsorial Psalm (Ps 138), David thanks God for having raised him from lowly origins and given him authority as King over the people of Israel. In the second reading, St. Paul points out that God is the Source of all authority on earth and in Heaven. Today’s Gospel passage, giving the Petrine promise of Mt. 16:16-20, defines Catholicism. Here, Jesus reveals his plan to build his Church on the strong bedrock foundation of Peter, to whom he will then give the Keys of teaching and governing authority in the Church. Thus, Simon Bar-Jona receives a new mission symbolized by a change of name, Cephas (Peter), the rock (petros), on which Jesus will build his Church which the power of evil cannot overcome. Peter will be given the Keys of the Kingdom and the power to bind and to loose (make laws; exercise authority) on earth, decisions which Heaven will ratify. Thus, Jesus commissions Peter, giving him authority and leadership in the Church.

The first reading (Is 22:19-23): Chapters thirteen through twenty-three of Isaiah record oracles in which the prophet Isaiah pronounces God’s judgment against various nations. In chapter twenty-two, Shebna, the proud, unfaithful royal official, is severely criticized and told by the Lord God, through Isaiah, that he will have to yield to a replacement named Eliakim: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.” The reason for the degradation of Shebna, the “master of the royal palace,” (the most powerful person next to the King), was that he had tried to immortalize himself by beginning to construct his own tomb in a lofty place on the mountain. The Lord demands faithfulness to His way and His word. Hence, Shebna was removed from his position of controlling access both to the city and to the king

The “master of the royal palace” proudly carried the “key,” an iron bar of considerable size, on his shoulder during state occasions. This “key” symbolism recalls Eliakim’s installation as “major domo” (second in command to the king) in King Hezekiah’s palace. The reference to the “key of the house of David” in this text prompted some Fathers to see in it a Messianic prophecy, foretelling the removal from power of the leaders of the Chosen People of the Old Testament, and the transfer of that power to Christ, who in turn would hand it on to Peter as head of His Church.  The robe and the sash indicate that Eliakim has been invested with authority. The key symbolizes jurisdiction, and the tent peg is a sign of stability. This passage prepares us for today’s Gospel, Matthew 16:13-20, in which Jesus grants Peter “the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.” The “key of David” connects with Matthew’s “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.” Isaiah emphasizes the charismatic dimension of authority, stating that it is Yahweh who gives certain individuals the charism of leadership. “Isaiah foretells that the keys to David’s kingdom would be given to a new master, who would rule as father to God’s people. Jesus, the root and offspring of David, alone holds the Kingdom’s keys (see Revelation 1:18; 3:7; 22:16). (Dr. Scott Hann). The purpose of authority in the Church, or of authority at any level, is not to control the lives of others, but rather to help them to seek the values that will bring them lasting joy, both in this changing world and in the next.

The Second Reading (Romans 11:33-36): Paul praises the wisdom of God and His inscrutable ways of bringing salvation to all people. Paul marvels at the Divine Goodness, Wisdom and Knowledge. He emphasizes the wisdom of God (described in chapters 9-11), which allowed the Jews to reject Jesus and called a few Jewish believers, like Paul, empowering them to evangelize the Gentiles. When the Gentiles had been converted, some of the Jews might be impressed and accept Christ themselves. These Jews would attain salvation through the example provided by the Gentiles. The result would be the salvation of the whole world – a good greater than the election of Israel. Thus, the ancient promise of God to Abraham would be fulfilled. With this in mind Paul exclaims, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!”

Gospel exegesis: Two questions and the answers. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus asked certain questions about his identity.  This incident took place at Caesarea Philippi, (presently called Banias), twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus asked a question in two parts. The first question: “What is the public opinion?” The apostles’ answer was, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” John the Baptist was so great a figure that it might well be that he had come back from the dead. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets was believed to be the forerunner of the Messiah.  [“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Mal 4:5). In 2Esdr 2:18 the promise of God is: “For thy help I will send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah.”]   The phrase “one of the prophets” suggested that Jesus had a ministry like that of the former prophets. When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah, they were, according to their lights, paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place, for Jeremiah and Elijah were the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God. When they arrived, the Kingdom would be very near indeed.

The second question: “What is your personal opinion? For the first time in their relationship Peter, speaking for the other disciples, declared publicly: “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” Peter was the first apostle to recognize Jesus publicly as the Anointed One (also translated Messiah or Christ.  Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah). Peter was saying that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one of God, Immanuel, the Salvation of God — God who became Man to save sinners!  It is evident that Jesus was well pleased with Peter’s answer. Jesus first pronounced a blessing upon Peter, the only disciple in the Gospels to receive a personal blessing. “Blessed are you, Simon son of John!” Next, Jesus confirmed Peter’s insight as a special revelation from God. “No mere man has revealed this to you, but my Heavenly Father.” However, Jesus was quick to explain to the disciples that he was not a political Messiah. He was, rather, a Messiah who must suffer, die, and be raised to life again.

All three readings today speak of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the theory that salvation was offered first to the Jews and through them alone to the rest of the world.
The First Reading, (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) explained: The third part of the book of the prophet Isaiah (chapters 56-66), was written mainly for the Jews who were returning from the Babylonian exile to join their relatives who had been left behind in Judea. But today’s lesson is primarily addressed to those Jews who, after the Exile had officially ended, still chose to remain in Babylon as Jews among the Gentiles. In this passage, the Lord God not only pleaded with these people who preferred exile to the labor of returning to the Promised Land to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, but also tried to make them understand the role the Gentiles would have in their restored kingdom. Though in the past all who came to the God of Israel were required to accept the Law and the Covenant, God’s concern for those outside that Covenant led Him to a new and radical solution. “The foreigners,” the Lord God declares to us today through Isaiah, “who join themselves to Yahweh, ministering to Him, loving the name of Yahweh and becoming His servants . . . them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer . . . for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Thus Isaiah’s prophecy consoled those Jews who had married Gentiles by assuring them that their God was equally interested in the people of other nations and in the descendants of Abraham. Hence, the exclusivist claims of the Jews as God’s chosen people would have to yield as God made room for others. For besides the exiles of Israel, Yahweh would receive the non-Israelites who had joined themselves to the Lord. In short, the prophet reports, everyone has a part to play in God’s plan — even those who don’t belong to the “true religion.”

The Second Reading (Romans 11:13-15, 29-32) explained: In Romans 9 – 11, Paul asks how God could apparently go back on His promise  to Abraham that Abraham’s descendants would always be God’s chosen people, now that those descendants had rejected Jesus. Paul answers his own question by explaining that God’s plan all along had allowed for the Jews’ rejection of Jesus, so that the few Jews who accepted Jesus and went out to preach the Good News, like Paul himself, would be forced to turn to the Gentiles and bring them into the New Covenant. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, God permits evil only if He can draw a greater good out of it. Thus, God permitted both Jews and Gentiles to disobey Him so that He could show His mercy by offering eternal life to everyone who wishes to have it. Frustrated by the slow pace of Jewish conversions and prevented from continuing to work directly among the Jews by the overt, physical hostility Jewish synagogues showed him and his companions, Paul directed his preaching missions to the Gentiles, so that the Jews would become jealous and accept Jesus.  Thus, God’s secret plan to invite all people into the Covenant would be revealed and completed. By the statement, “Their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,” Paul meant that the Jews’ rejection of Jesus allowed the world (the pagans, the Gentiles), to be reconciled to God. By asking the question, “What will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” Jesus meant that the Jews who at last accepted Christ would receive new life through the once spiritually dead pagans. Paul was convinced that the Jewish nation would eventually accept Christ because God’s” irrevocable” call, given to them through Abraham, was a call to eternal salvation. Paul’s failure to convert his fellow-Jews serves as a model for us who must accept failure in our own lives, especially when it concerns our loved ones who refuse what we judge to be to their advantage. Paul’s message is also a challenge to us to pray fervently and often for the conversion of the Jews.

Gospel exegesis: The significance of the miracle: The Gospels describe only two miraculous healings Jesus performed for Gentiles:  the healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:10-12) in Capernaum, and the healing of the daughter of the Canaanite woman which we hear today. The encounter with the Canaanite woman took place outside Jewish territory in Tyre and Sidon, two coastal cities, twenty-five and fifty miles north of Galilee in present-day Lebanon.  The story of this miracle is told by Mark (7:24-30) as well as by Matthew (15:21-23). Both stories of the miracle foreshadow the extension of the Gospel, the Good News, to the whole world.   The woman in the today’s miracle belonged to the old Canaanite stock of the Syro-Phoenician race.  The Canaanites were the ancestral enemies of the Jews and were regarded as pagans and idolaters and, hence, as ritually unclean.  But this woman showed “a gallant and an audacious love which grew until it worshipped at the feet of the Divine, an indomitable persistence springing from an unconquerable hope, a cheerfulness which would not be dismayed” (Fr. James Rowland). By granting the persistent request of the pagan woman, Jesus demonstrates that his mission is to break down the barriers and to remove the long-standing walls of division and mutual prejudice between the Jews and the Gentiles. God does not discriminate but welcomes all who believe in Him, who ask for His mercy and who try to do His will.

The readings for this week speak of God’s saving presence among His people, our need for trusting Faith in our loving and providing God who always keeps us company, and our need for prayer in storms of life.
The first reading (1 Kg 19:9, 11-13): After Solomon’s death (922 BC), the northern tribes broke away from Judah, from its priests and from the Temple in Jerusalem. They formed an independent country they called Israel, centered in the city of Samaria. As years rolled by, many of these Jews lost their Faith in Yahweh. Their seventh king Ahab (869-850 BC) married Jezebel, the daughter of the pagan king of Tyre. He allowed her to build a temple for her god Baal, then encouraged, and himself took part in, idol-worship and immorality. The prophet Elijah was sent by Yahweh to Israel to bring His people back to true worship. Elijah’s trusting Faith in the power and presence of Yahweh enabled him to defeat and execute the 450 pagan priests of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs. 18:16-40). Consequently, Queen Jezebel sent murderous henchmen after the prophet. Elijah, sustained by food provided by God through an angel, fled for forty days and nights. He finally reached Horeb, the mountain where God had earlier established His covenant with Israel under Moses. Elijah might have expected a spectacular miracle from God to protect and vindicate him, or an appearance of God with great power in thunder and lightning to bolster his Faith, like the one Moses had been granted on that very spot (Exodus 19:16-19). However, the presence of God was not in the spectacles of thunder, earthquake or fire but in “a tiny whispering sound.” Elijah acknowledged God’s presence by covering his face and coming out of the cave where he had taken shelter. He was content with God’s quiet sign of His presence, and was consoled, trusting that his God was helping and protecting him. Like Elijah, we can miss God’s presence by limiting our experience of Him to certain places and persons and forgetting that He is everywhere. The first reading reminds us that we have to experience God’s presence in our lives and listen carefully to everything going on around us, because we encounter God in insignificant as well as spectacular events. Failure, as well as success, offers us the opportunity for growth in trusting Faith in a loving and providing God.

The second reading (Rom 9:1-5): In the first eight chapters of his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the blessings which Christ the Messiah, as the fulfillment of “the Law and the prophets,” brought to mankind. Deeply moved, Paul (in today’s second reading), cries out in passionate grief for his countrymen, the Jews, because as a nation they have refused to see Christ as the Messiah promised to them by God through their patriarchs and prophets and thus though still His Chosen People, have not been the ones to bring the Messiah to the world and the world to the Messiah in the present form of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Paul tells us later (11: 7-24), that God’s plan allowed for the Jews’ rejection of Jesus; He supplied a few of the Chosen People who became believers in Jesus Christ, the Messiah (like Saul of Tarsus, Pharisee who became Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles), to carry the Good News outside Judaism and to evangelize the Gentiles. The result would be the salvation of the whole world and the reconciliation of the Jews and the Gentiles – blessings even greater than the election of Israel still in suspension. Thus, the ancient promise of God to Abraham would not go unfulfilled. Our first reaction should be a fervent “Thank You, God!” for the true Faith we have received and embraced. Our second thought should be to ask the good God, with trusting Faith, to send the light of Faith to the descendants of Abraham, and to re-light it among those Gentiles who have extinguished it. It is not enough for a true Christian that he should live his own life according to the laws of Christ. True charity demands that he be seriously interested in the spiritual welfare of his neighbors. Paul knew that Jesus suffered and died for all humanity – past, present and future. Christ’s redemptive, thus, was redemptive suffering. So, when we offer our own sufferings to Christ then they, too, somehow become redemptive for others. 

Gospel exegesis: The context: Today’s lesson, the account of Jesus’ walking on the Sea of Galilee, is one of the best-known passages in the New Testament. It forms a narrative bridge between the Jewish and Gentile portions of Jesus’ ministry, as well as giving us a theologically rich story about Jesus in its own right. In Matthew’s Gospel, the story follows the rejection of Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth (13:54-58), the death of John the Baptist (14:1-12), and the feeding of the five thousand (14:13-21). It precedes the account of his healing of the sick at Gennesaret (14:34-36) and his confrontation with the Jewish authorities over the nature of tradition (15:1-9). In addition to being a collection of miracle stories (feeding, walking, healing), the stories also form a complex of narratives which, when taken together, speak about both those who recognized in Jesus the One promised by Israel’s religious tradition and those whose doubts or vested interests had blinded them to the miraculous power in their midst. “In Matthew’s inspired theology, the Divine Presence in human history unfolds in three stages: (1) God forms the people of Israel and remains with them in good times and bad; (2) in fulfillment of the Divine promise transmitted by the prophets, Jesus, the Messiah and Iincarnate Son of God, is present among his people as their savior; (3) in these last days, the Risen Lord, through his disciples, is present to extend his saving mission beyond his particular historical time and land to all nations.” The one constant in the drama of the Divine Presence in history is the necessity of human response to the saving presence with total trust. (Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B.)

The common theme of today’s readings is the provident care of a loving and merciful God who generously shares His riches with us and invites us to practice His sharing love in our lives. God takes care of our physical and spiritual needs if we put our trust in Him. He shares with us Jesus as our Savior and spiritual food, in Word and in Eucharist, thus preparing us for the Heavenly banquet, and challenges us to share our blessings with others.
The first reading (Isaiah 55:1-3): Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah record prophecies concerning the end of the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews would return to their devastated homeland from slavery. Promising fertility of crops and livestock through His prophet, the Lord God meant to give the people hope and to keep them from losing Faith in Him. The people were promised abundant water, grain, milk, wine, and bread — with a renewal of God’s covenant. Isaiah’s prophecy repeatedly assured the people that poverty would not be a barrier to their enjoyment of God’s bounty: “You, who have no money, come.” “Come, without paying and without cost.” “Why spend … your wages for what fails to satisfy?” This would be a reassurance to people who were ashamed of the sins that had led them into exile.  God was telling them that they didn’t have to pay their own ransom, but that He (Yahweh) would do it out of undeserved mercy and love because He had made an everlasting Covenant with His people. Jesus is the fulfillment of this invitation for free meals and drinks in Isaiah 55:1   because he describes himself as Living Water and as Bread from Heaven. Deutero-Isaiah’s vision of the messianic banquet was realized through Jesus’ actions at the institution of the Holy Eucharist at his Last Supper. The concluding sentence explains why the audience is invited to “eat the finest” and “delight in delicacies.” The reason is that in God’s Kingdom, everyone becomes king, sharing the “benefits assured to David.” Finally, the Divine promise of life – “Listen, that you may have life!” – takes on new and fulfilled meaning in Christ’s Resurrection.
The second reading: (Romans 8:35, 37-39): Some of the Judeo-Christians in Rome insisted that the Gentile Christians needed to observe at least some aspects of the Law of Moses. Paul, on the other hand, argued that it was enough to put one’s faith in Jesus and let God save us through His unearned and undeserved grace. Hence, the Gentile converts to Christianity had no obligation to keep any aspect of Jewish law, although Jewish converts could do so if they wished. In today’s lesson from the letter to the Romans, Paul answers the question, “Well, if God loves us so much as to save us by unearned grace, why is everything still so difficult? Why are we suffering?” Paul’s response sounds like a lawyer’s dramatic closing argument in a hard-fought trial when he declares, “neither death nor life…nothing that exists…can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.” For Paul, these are the trials through which we triumph.
Gospel exegesis: The symbolism of the multiplication of bread: The multiplication of the loaves is described six times in the Gospels: twice in Matthew and Mark and once each in Luke and John. The numbers are symbolic. For example, the word “basket” refers to the Jewish basket, and 12 suggests the twelve tribes. The language used echoes that of Moses feeding the people in the desert. The number 5 might refer in some way to the Pentateuch. The location is Jewish territory. The echoes of Moses are important for Matthew’s Gospel because his community had only recently broken from the mother religion of Judaism and would like to claim for itself the fulfillment of what the Mosaic traditions pointed to.
 
 
 

The first reading (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12)  In the Old Testament, dreams were the accepted means of Divine communication, especially for rulers seeking God’s guidance. In our first reading, God appears to young king Solomon with an undeserved, generous offer: “Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.” Then Solomon says, “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to distinguish right from wrong,”  He was simply requesting a mind capable of seeing what others overlook. He asks for an understanding heart so that he will be able to deal well with people, act compassionately and discern right from wrong. He selflessly asks for “a heart with skill to listen” – sensitivity in understanding his subjects’ needs, skillful decision-making – in order to build a just society. Wisdom gives us insight into what is truly important in life, an awareness of the meaning and purpose of living, of what really matters. Wisdom is an understanding of where our real well-being and happiness lie.  Wisdom is indeed the “pearl of great price,” that Jesus speaks of. While Solomon discerns and follows the right way, he is a model and a challenge for us. His request here invites us to cultivate his prayer for a heart and mind attuned to God’s word and docile to His desires. Prayer means asking God for what He wants to give — that which makes us better able to do His will of loving service to others. In this reading, Solomon recognizes two things: i) wisdom ultimately comes from God; and ii), from wisdom, all other blessings will flow. Using the language, we find in today’s parables, we could say that Solomon asked for a “treasure” or a “pearl of great price.” And he got it. The reading teaches us that when we fulfill our duties as God desires, we are in His presence and on the threshold of the Kingdom.

 The second reading (Romans 8:28-30)  Paul makes two important statements in this reading: i) “All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose” and ii) “and those He predestined He also called; and those He called He also justified; and those He justified He also glorified.” The second statement simply means that God is calling people through the stages of spiritual growth needed for enjoying eternity with Him: we are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. When Paul speaks about those whom God has predestined, he doesn’t mean that God chooses some to be saved and others to be lost. God’s plan is for all to be saved. This means it is God’s active will that all be saved, but God’s permissive will allows individuals to accept or reject God’s salvation. In other words, God’s original intention (and still existing desire) is for all mankind to be with Him in Heaven; but only those who respond by fulfilling what is asked of them will be able to reach the throne of God. The first statement means that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is present when all things somehow work together for good for those who love God. The “Kingdom of God” is present when we know that there is absolutely nothing in this world or out of it that can separate us from Christ’s love for us.  If we are following in the footsteps of Christ, they will lead us to the Kingdom of the Father. The Kingdom of God is a treasure worth our selling all that we have in order that we may possess it. This treasure is of such great value that anything else we may own pales by comparison. It would be easy to give up everything else in order to have the Kingdom of God, and, unlike the treasure hidden in the field, the love of Christ is a treasure everyone is invited to possess.

Gospel exegesis: What is the “Kingdom of Heaven” like? Jesus continues his teaching on the “Kingdom of Heaven” using little stories based on the experiences of rural Galileans. Like Jesus’ mini stories of the mustard seed and the leaven, those of the treasure and the pearl form a pair of His “Kingdom parables.” Jesus tells us that true wisdom involves recognizing a pearl of great price and being willing to sacrifice all to purchase it. The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is “a society on earth where God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in Heaven.” By “Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus is referring to a triple reality: a) a group of people sharing the Divine life of sanctifying grace and friendship with God by doing His will, b) participation in God’s life through the Eucharistic celebration in the Church and c) eternal bliss in Heaven. This triple reality is worth more than anything else in our lives. In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the “Kingdom of Heaven” to a treasure hidden in a field, to a pearl of great value and to a net thrown in the sea collecting all types of fish. The “Kingdom of Heaven,” synonymous in these parables with the “Kingdom of God,” is hidden, but it is of surpassing value. The parable of the pearl (45-46) makes the point that the sacrifice of everything must be made for this one thing of immense value. Those who have not sacrificed everything for it will not have this treasure and will come to know how much they have lost.

Introduction: Today’s readings tell us about a very patient and compassionate God Who is hopeful that the so-called “weeds” among us will be converted, and that we should not be in a hurry to eliminate such elements from the Church or society or the family on the basis of unwarranted and hasty judgment. The first reading gives us a picture of a merciful and patient God rather than the strict, angry and judging God presented in the book of Genesis. The Refrain for today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 85) has us singing, “Lord, you are Good and forgiving!” The second reading reminds us that the Spirit of God goes on empowering us in our weakness, and, hence, we should be patient with ourselves. Finally, the long form of today’s Gospel contains the parable of the wheat and the weeds, an agricultural parable with allegoric interpretation. Through this parable, Jesus assures us that we are the field of God. We are the ground He works as well as the plants He nurtures. We are the people He rests His hopes upon and the people in whom He plants good seed. We are the congregation He anoints with the Holy Spirit. In today’s parable, Jesus presents a wise and patient God Who allows the good and the evil to coexist in the world, so that the evil ones may come to conversion before their time ends and God must punish them. “Let the wheat and the weeds [darnel] grow together till the harvest time.” God gives all of us sinners ample time to repent and, with His grace, change our lives. God calmly recognizes that there is evil in the world, but He sees that evil as no excuse for the good people not to do good with the power of God at their disposal. Through the parable of the wheat and the weeds in today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to be patient with those who fail to meet the high ethical standard expected of a Christian. The parable tries to teach the need for tolerance, patience, and the acceptance of God’s judgment to the Judeo-Christian community as well as to His Church and to us, His members.. The parablealso encourages us when we discover sin and weakness within ourselves and challenges us to open ourselves to God’s love more and more.
 

The second reading: Romans 8:26-27 explained: Like the previous selections from Romans, Chapter 8 tells us how helpless we are on our own but shows us how the Spirit of God nevertheless empowers us. The Spirit prays within us and enables us to pray in accordance with the Father’s will. Paul tells us that when things are not going well, when we do not even know how to pray, when our weakness in whatever form is overcoming us, the Spirit moves in and takes over. St. Paul understands well the power and centrality of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. The real message of this reading is that we should be patient with ourselves, because even at our worst moments the Holy Spirit is there guiding us, acting in us, bringing us along, though we may not recognize His action.

Gospel exegesis: Today’s Gospel contains three parables, namely the parable of the mustard seed, parable of the yeast and the parable of the wheat and weed. The parables of the mustard seed and yeast tells us how God’s kingdom or His rule grows in human heart and human lives from a very small beginning, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The parable of the wheat and weeds tells us how and why evil coexists with good in the world and how we should treat the evil ones.

The troublesome weeds: The “weeds” among the wheat in the parable are a variety of tares known as “bearded darnel.”  They resemble wheat plants so closely that it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other until the ears of seed appear. By that time, the wheat and darnel roots are so intertwined that the tares cannot be weeded out without plucking the wheat out with them.  At the end of the harvest the tares must be removed from the wheat by hand, because they are slightly poisonous. Sowing them in the wheat field was a crude way for an enemy to take revenge on a farmer. The weeds in the parable stand for unrepentant sinners, people whose priority is themselves, who use others for their own advancement or pleasure, instead of serving them. These unrepentant sinners, unless they cooperate with God’s grace, repent and change their lives, will end up in Hell, “the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” The wheat stands for the righteous, those who have resisted the seductions of evil, repented of their sins, and battled against selfishness in order to follow Jesus Christ.