The first reading: Is 40:1-5, 9-11 explained: Isaiah consoles the Jews in exile in Babylon, giving them Yahweh’s assurance that their 60 years of Babylonian captivity will end soon and that they will be going home as free people. He assures them that they will be brought back to Israel by the power of God. Isaiah is not shy about saying that the Exile was a punishment for sin. But Israel’s sins are forgiven now, and the exile is over. Isaiah wants the people to consider their return journey as their second Exodus, with Yahweh once more their loving Father and faithful Shepherd. He describes God’s marvelous love for the undeserving.  If Yahweh is now their Redeemer rather than their punisher, then their relationship with Yahweh also has to change. Isaiah instructs the exiles that they are to return home in a   grand religious procession, with God leading them. To pave the way for this procession, valleys and mountains are to be leveled, and a highway is to be created in the wilderness. God will lead them to Judah and, within Judah, to the city of Jerusalem and, within Jerusalem, to Zion, the hill where their Temple had stood. Seeing the procession in his mind, the prophet exclaims with joy, “Here comes your God with power!” Then he presents the tender picture of God leading the exiles as a shepherd cradles lambs.

Isaiah originally spoke these words in the 6th century BC.  On one level they were fulfilled when Persia conquered Babylon, and those who had been exiled from Judah to Babylon were allowed to return home.  God first accomplished the salvation proclaimed by Isaiah by leading the exiles back from Babylon.  However, on a deeper level this word foretold the coming of Jesus.  The words of Isaiah about the “voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,’” were a prediction of John the Baptist.  He was calling upon people to prepare for the coming of the Lord.  And the Lord was Jesus who brought about true liberation from the bondage of sin for all mankind.  It is because of this deeper meaning of the prophet’s words that this reading has been chosen for Advent.

Second Reading, 2 Peter 3:8-14 explained: Traditionally attributed to Simon Peter, this letter was probably written c. 50 or 60 years after the apostles death (ca. 110-120 C.E.) (“The Second Epistle of Peter”, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary). Taken from the second letter of Peter, this reading makes it clear that the salvation promised by Isaiah was not completely accomplished even by the first coming of Jesus.  It is only when Jesus comes again at the end of time that Isaiah’s words will be entirely fulfilled. Hence, Peter warns against false teachers who have given up any expectation of   Christ’s return because of its long delay. As the years rolled by, non-Christians began ridiculing those Christians who still expected Christ’s second coming. A few Christians, in fact, began to believe that it would never happen. They laughed at what they thought was error and delusion. So, Peter reminds them that even though the Second Coming seems to be delayed, Christ will indeed come as promised.   Peter also reminds them that God doesn’t reckon time the way we do since, to Him “one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day” (Psalm 90). In other words, the risen Lord is eternal and infinite and so is not restricted or measured by time in fulfilling promises. Besides, God “is patient” with us, giving us more time to repent of our sins and renew our lives. The longer we are allowed to wait for Christ’s Second coming the more people will have an opportunity to be converted and take part in God’s glory. So, Peter assures his people that Christ’s promise will be fulfilled. That is why we say in the Nicene Creed, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.” We, then, are expected to wait, leading lives of holiness and godliness. We should be holy in conduct and devotion, being “eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.” 

Gospel Exegesis:  The context:  While Matthew and Luke start their Gospels by giving us a brief account of the conception, birth, and early boyhood of Christ and John begins his Gospel by pointing to the eternal life of Christ as the Word of the Father, Mark opens his Gospel with the preparation for Christ’s public life, in which the chief actor is John the Baptist. This wilderness prophet proclaims the “here-ness” of an event and person every Jew has been anticipating. “One more powerful than I,” John announces, “is to come after me….I have baptized you in water; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”   The essence of the Baptizer’s message is “repent and return to the ways of the Lord.” John preaches that the appropriate behavior for those preparing “the way of the Lord” is to be baptized “as they confess their sins.”

Malachi’s view of the mission of the Messiah: “I send my messenger before you and he will prepare your road for you” Mark cites Isaiah as his source for the whole of the quotation with which his Gospel opens. This first sentence appeared originally in the prophecy of Malachi (Malachi 3:1). In its original context, it was a threat and warning from God to the Temple priests.  In those days, the priests were living lazy lives and were failing in their duty by offering the blemished and the second-best as sacrifices to Yahweh. Hence, the messenger was to cleanse and purify the worship of the Temple before the Anointed One of God emerged upon the earth. Coupled with Isaiah’s “voice crying in the wilderness,” however, the prophecy becomes an invitation to all Israel to prepare for the coming of the Messiah whom John would announce. So, Malachi anticipates the mission of John the Baptist as one of purification.  John gives the Jews some down-to-earth advice on changing their lives for the better. He wants them (and us as well), to fill in the valleys of prejudice, level the mountains of pride and straighten out the crooked paths of injustice. Preparing a way for God in our hearts is a time-consuming and costly business. It demands our listening to what God is saying to us and then making changes in our behavior. Welcoming God also involves removing all blockages and obstacles which keep Him from coming close to us. “Although Mark attributes the prophecy to Isaiah, the text is a combination of Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3; and Exodus 23:20 … this prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah concerning the end of the Babylonian exile is here applied to the coming of Jesus; John the Baptist is to prepare the way for him” (New American Bible footnotes).

First reading( Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7) explained: Around 600 BC, the Babylonians took the Jews out of the Promised Land and kept them in exile (the Babylonian Captivity) for about 60 years. When Cyrus, the Persian emperor, took over Babylon, he sent the Jews home. This reading is set in that troubled period when Judah was trying to put itself back together after returning from Exile. To get the flavor of it, imagine how a contemporary family might feel when they return to a fire-damaged or hurricane-destroyed or flood-damaged home. The reading contains a mix of feelings: guilt and outrage at God alternating with praise of God, humility, anguish and hope. Isaiah expressed the hope of Israel for a powerful manifestation of God in their midst.  “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before You.” The prophet hoped that if God would come into their midst, the people could be faithful to Him. Acknowledging the fact that the people were unfaithful, Isaiah asked for God’s forgiveness and acceptance: “You, O Lord, are our Father; we are the clay and You are the potter: we are all the work of Your hands.” In other words, we’re not perfect, but we are totally God’s to shape. Here Isaiah was not anticipating Jesus’ arrival when he asked God “… to rend the heavens and come down …! He was simply pleading with Yahweh to force those Israelites who had recently returned from the Babylonian Exile to do what was necessary to allow God to be present and active in their lives. Isaiah was praying to Yahweh on behalf of the Israelites, “Would that You might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of You in our ways.” He begged Yahweh, the Father of the Chosen People, for mercy. This prayer was answered when the Son of God became man in the Incarnation.

Second Reading (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) explained: We wait for Christ in two ways. The early Sundays of Advent teach the end-of-the-world theme. In this context, we wait for Christ to “come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead”. The later Sundays of Advent celebrate a different theme: the coming of the Messiah in the flesh. Today’s second reading, taken from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians and written from Ephesus in 57 A.D., begins with a greeting and a thanksgiving prayer. The letter is Paul’s answer to reports which had reached him concerning disputes and difficulties in Corinth. It was written while he and his audience were still sure that Christ’s second coming was just around the corner. Like all early Christians, the Apostle used the phrase “the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” as another way to speak about Jesus’ Parousia — his Second Coming at the end of the world. Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were not ready to face the Day of the Lord because they were misusing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After describing the special gifts of the Holy Spirit they had received, Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were using their gifts in the wrong way. Christ’s favor, the speech and knowledge they possessed, the spiritual gifts in which they gloried — all were useless unless used for the good of the community. In fact, many of Paul’s converts had been using their gifts to destroy the community instead of building it up. What should have been an asset, had become a detriment. Paul could only pray for the eventual conversion of his community. “He (Jesus) will strengthen you to the end,” the Apostle writes, “so that you will be blameless on the day of Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and it was He who called you to fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Today’s Gospel is the conclusion of a speech found in Mark 13, in which Jesus foretells his Second Coming (Parousia), at the end of time or at the end of the world.  Ten years after Paul’s death, Mark reminded his community in Rome of Jesus’ words, “Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come.” The evangelist knew that if an expected event didn’t happen as quickly as expected, people would stop doing the things they ought to do. Hence, Mark reminded them of Jesus’ parable about the gate-keeper in the house of a traveling master. Since the master was traveling, his servant must be constantly alert, “at dusk, at midnight, when the cock crows, or at early dawn.” There was always a fear that the master would come home “suddenly and catch you asleep.” In such situations one must constantly, “be on guard!” When Paul and Mark spoke about the things to come, it was only to remind their readers that their present behavior wasn’t measuring up to what Christ’s second coming demanded.

Gospel exegesis: The context: Mark is the shortest of the four canonical Gospels and, in the view of most Scripture scholars, was the first of them to be put down in written form, probably sometime in the 60s A.D. The Gospel of Mark was probably written at a time when the Romans had swept through upper Galilee to suppress a Galilean revolution.  This region was where Mark’s Judeo-Christian community lived. This community was besieged by three hostile forces, all of which demanded loyalty from the followers of Jesus as former Jews.  Since Palestine was the breadbasket of the Empire, the Romans controlled it through military might and local alliances.  The high priests and their minions collaborated with the Romans and imposed their own oppressive burden of regulations and Temple taxes.  Armed Jewish nationalists had seized the Temple by force and wanted to expel the Romans from the region. At the time Mark wrote his Gospel, the Roman legions were poised to destroy the Temple and all of Jerusalem with it, once and for all, and thus end the Jewish nation as it had existed before. Hence, Mark reminded the Christian community of Jesus’ injunction to be alert and awake for Christ’s second coming, recalling Jesus’ parable about the gate-keeper. Scripture scholars sometimes refer to this part of Mark’s Gospel as the “little apocalypse” because these verses speak of the striking cosmic signs that will signal Christ’s coming (vv. 24-27), and Christ’s injunction to be watchful and attentive (vv. 28-31).

Scripture lessons summarized: The first reading presents God as a Shepherd reminding us of Christ’s claim to be the True Shepherd. Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 23) serves as our act of Faith, Trusting Love and thanksgiving offered to Jesus, Who is our Good Shepherd. In the second reading, St. Paul introduces Christ as the all-powerful Ruler who raises the dead and to whom every other power and authority must eventually give way. Today’s Gospel presents Christ the King coming in Heavenly glory to judge us, based on how we have shared our love and blessings with others through genuine acts of charity in our lives. Matthew adds a new dimension to the risen Jesus’ presence in the Christian community in the parable of the Last Judgment. Jesus is present to us now, not only as our Good Shepherd leading, feeding and healing his sheep, but also as dwelling in those for whom we care. In the parable of the separation of sheep from goats in the Last Judgment, every person to whom we give ourselves in loving service, “whether hungry, thirsty or a stranger, naked, sick or in prison,” is revealed to us as having been the risen Jesus. Our reward or punishment depends on how we have loved and served this risen Jesus in the needy.

The First reading (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15:17) explained: The prophet Ezekiel was consoling the Jews exiled in Babylonia, explaining that their exile had been caused by infidelity and disloyalty to God on the part of their Kings and religious leaders who used their power and authority to exalt themselves. In this passage, Ezekiel prophesied that God would eliminate the “middlemen,” the unfaithful shepherds of His People of Israel, and would Himself become Israel’s Shepherd, leading, feeding, healing, and protecting His sheep. Though the prophet originally was talking about a specific point in Israel’s history in which Yahweh would appear to shepherd the Chosen People, Jesus’ disciples believed that the risen Jesus was with the early Christians, was fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy of God, the Good Shepherd, rescuing, pasturing, seeking, bringing back, and healing his sheep. No longer limited to His earthly body, the risen Jesus continues His loving ministry through such saving actions as we, his Mystical Body, perform them in Him and with His power. Since King David had originally been a shepherd and, since the coming Messiah was widely believed to be a descendant of David, there was already an association of shepherd images with the Messiah.

The Second Reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28) explained: In his letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul answered the question: “If Jesus is alive among us by his Resurrection, how does he affect our lives?” Many of the Corinthians believed in Plato’s doctrine that human beings were originally pure spirits or souls who lived in the presence of God. They sinned and as punishment they had to carry a human body which they shed at death and thus were liberated to return to their state of happiness. So those Corinthians could not understand how Jesus had been raised with his glorified body. Paul explained to the Corinthians that as God the Father had raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus too would raise those who believed in him. In other words, the first mission of the risen Christ as King is to give us eternal life by raising us from death, thus undoing the primary consequence of the first Adam’s sin. The final mission of Christ the King is to subject all cosmic powers to himself, and then to God his Father.

Gospel Exegesis: The Gospel of Christ the King’s Last Judgment. As John P. Meier (Matthew, Michael Glazier, Inc., Wilmington: 1983) has noted, “the scene of Last Judgment described [in Mt 25:31-46] is not a parable but the unveiling of the truth which lay behind all the parables of chapters 24-25.” For this reason, readers should recognize the scene as one of judgment but also of revelation. Here, Jesus is being revealed as Son of Man in Glory, as the King who judges justly, and the criterion of his judgment is given. The Gospel passage teaches us that the main criterion of the Last Judgment will be the works of Christian charity, kindness and mercy we have done for others, in whom we have actually served Christ, knowingly or unknowingly. The account tells us that Christ, the Judge, is going to ask us six questions, and all of them are based on how we have cooperated with God’s grace to do acts of charity, kindness and mercy for others, because Jesus actually dwells in them. The first set of questions: “I was hungry, thirsty, homeless. Did you give me food, drink, accommodation?” The second set of questions: ”I was naked, sick, imprisoned. Did you clothe me? Did you help me by visiting me in my illness or in prison?” If the answers are yes, we will be eternally rewarded because we have cooperated with God’s grace by practicing charity. But if the answers are negative, we will be eternally punished.

Kingship of Jesus the Messiah in Old Testament. In most of the Messianic prophecies given in the Old Testament books of Samuel, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Christ the Messiah is represented as a King.  Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the Prophet Micah announced His coming as King. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:1).  Daniel presents “One coming like a son of man … to him was given dominion and Glory and Kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away and his Kingship is one that shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:3-14).

Kingship of Jesus in New Testament. The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the long-awaited King of the Jews.  In the account of the Annunciation, (Lk1:32-33), we read: “The Lord God will make him a King, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the King of the descendants of Jacob forever and his Kingdom will never end.”  The Magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question: (Mt 2:2) “Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews?  We saw his star… and we have come to worship him.”  During the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the Jews shouted: (Lk 19:38) “Blessed is the King, who comes in the name of the Lord.”  When Pilate asked the question: (Jn 18:33) “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus, in the course of their conversation, made his assertion, “You say that I am a King.  For this was I born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to My Voice” (John 18:37). That Truth, as we know, is that He is God and Sovereign King of all Creation. The Gospels tell us that the board hung over Jesus’ head on the cross read: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,” (Mt 27:37; see also, Mk 15:26; Lk 23:36; John 19:19-20), and that, to the repentant thief on the cross who made the request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom,” Jesus promised that the repentant thief would be in Paradise with Him that very day. (Luke 23:39-43).  Before His Ascension into Heaven, the Risen Jesus declared: “I have been given all authority in Heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18). The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “In the Lord’s Prayer, ‘thy kingdom come’ refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ’s return.” (CCC 2818, cf. Titus 2:13)

The first reading (Rev 7: 2-4, 9-14, taken from the Book of Revelation, speaks of John’s vision of saints in their Heavenly glory: “…a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (Rv 7:9). “This people includes the Saints of the Old Testament, starting with the righteous Abel and the faithful Patriarch, Abraham, those of the New Testament, the numerous early Christian Martyrs and the Blesseds and Saints of later centuries, to the witnesses of Christ in this epoch of ours.: (Pope Benedict). In the Second Reading (1Jn 3: 1-3) the Apostle John remarks: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (I Jn 3: 1). The saints enjoy what unrevealed heavenly glory. The reading also suggests that saints are people who have responded generously to the love God has showered on them. St. John tells us that to be “saints” means to be “children of God”—and then he adds: “so we are”! All Saints Day reminds us that we are called to be a part of that vast multitude of holy ones whose numbers are so great they cannot be counted. Offering us the Beatitudes in today’s Gospel (Mt 5: 1-12), the Church reminds us that all the saints whose feasts we celebrate today walked the hard and narrow path of the Beatitudes to arrive at their Heavenly bliss. As Pope benedict remarks, “ the blessed par excellence is only Jesus. He is, in fact, the true poor in spirit, the one afflicted, the meek one, the one hungering and thirsting for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. He is the one persecuted for the sake of justice.” The Beatitudes are God’s commandments expressed in positive terms. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments, and they are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood. (Poverty of spirit is knowing our need for God. Mourning is embracing the inevitable sufferings of life and alleviating the sorrows of others. Meekness is docility to God’s will, gentleness, and patience with others, even in the face of sufferings, disappointments, and insults. Hunger for justice is the longing to see everyone enjoy the peace, happiness, justice, and healing promised by Christ. We obtain mercy by extending it to others. Purity of heart is that right intention or sincerity that puts God first and judges everything else in relationship to God. Real peace is reached when enemies become trustworthy friends. Suffering for doing what is right is accompanied by deep happiness even now.) Thus the saints are those who most perfectly manifested the Christ-like character described in the first part of the beatitudes, and who therefore now partake of the promises in the second part: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We should see the beatitudes not as a prescription of what we must do per se to become blessed, but as a description of what a human being is like whom Jesus Christ is transforming into a saint! Jesus is telling us that when the transformative power of the cross brings about in us a greater meekness, poverty of spirit, and so forth, we will experience that we are being blessed.

First reading (Ex 22:20-26) explained: Since Jesus, in today’s Gospel, sums up the Law of God in a formula of loving God and loving others, the passage chosen from Exodus prepares us for this message. This passage is part of a long narrative, Exodus, chapters 19-24, in which the Hebrews, liberated from Egypt, are in the desert of Sinai. God announces His desire to enter a Covenant with the people. Moses is the mediator. God manifests Himself in terrifying thunder, lightning and clouds. God gives the terms of the Covenant in various paragraphs, on several occasions. The people assent to the terms. These include the familiar Ten Commandments, the paragraphs that elaborate the commandments in great detail, ritual prescriptions and much more. This is the context of today’s first reading which is taken from a section of Exodus dealing with the laws of social conduct, especially the social ethic based, not on justice, but on a compassion like God’s, resulting from the love they are to have for their underprivileged fellow-human beings. The Law of Moses civilized the Jews, instilling in them the idea that it was wrong to oppress an alien or take advantage of the poor, things they themselves had suffered, because their God cared for widows and orphans and wanted them to do the same. The result was that the ancient Jews began to build an excellent, humane society rooted in the basic religious concept that loving God necessarily involves loving one’s neighbor.

The second reading (I Thes 1:5c-10) explained: First Thessalonians is the earliest letter we have from Saint Paul. The first century AD Thessalonians lived and served in a mostly pagan city with an enthusiasm so contagious as to attract others to the Church. Here Paul congratulates his audience on the positive effects of their example of loving one another as Jesus has commanded them to do. They have received the Gospel with ready Faith, he tells them, and they have withstood persecution with joy. Those actions, particularly their loving response to Paul himself, their ready belief in Jesus, and their generous living out of that Faith, have bolstered the Faith of Christians elsewhere who have heard about them. Paul and these earliest Christians believed that Jesus would come again very soon. Their conviction was that God was soon to bring history to its end with the return of Jesus in glory. [This expectation faded over the years during which the New Testament Scriptures were composed].

Gospel exegesis: The context: A Pharisee, who believed in both the written Law and the oral tradition, seeing how Jesus had defeated the Sadducee who had tried to humiliate Him with the hypothetical case of a woman who married seven husbands, asked Jesus to summarize the most important of the Mosaic Laws in one sentence. This was a challenge because, in the Judaism of Jesus’ day, there was a double tendency to expand the Mosaic Law into hundreds of rules and regulations and to condense the 613 precepts of the Torah into a single sentence or few sentences. (The Pharisees identified 613 commandments in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Two hundred forty-eight were positive (“thou shalt”) and three hundred sixty-five were negative (“thou shalt not”). Summarizing the Law, King David proposed eleven (Ps 15), Isaiah six (33:15), Micah three (6:8), and Amos only one (5:4)). Jesus’ answer teaches us that the most important commandment is to love God in loving others and to love others in loving God. In other words, we are to love God and express it by loving our neighbor because God lives in him or her. Some Bible scholars think that it was a trap question because the Pharisees believed that each one of the 613 commands (mitzot) in the Torah were equally important and necessary to obey. Therefore, they were trying to corner Jesus into showing either ignorance about the Law, or disrespect for parts of it by choosing one command over the others.

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.