Sunday, October 4, 2020

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

"You cannot be half a saint; you must be a whole saint, or no saint at all."
​~ St. Therese of Lisieux

In life the results we achieve in whatever we do indicates the effort put in. For want of wealth, possession and fame people work so hard and use every available time to better their gains. But unfortunately, so many Christians do not pay attention to the consequence of whatever they do. Christian living seem to have been like a mere routine  or check box without focusing on the results. For some, going to church or sitting in the pews is enough without taking into consideration living the Christian values. So they do not assess or evaluate to know their progress of growing in their faith or bearing fruits out of their Christian living. It appears to be immaterial and less significant.

But our readings today draw our attention to the necessity of bearing fruits in our Christian life. We are warned about the punishment for spiritual sterility, ingratitude and wickedness.

So in the first reading the prophet Isaiah with his “Song of the Vineyard” describes God’s care of, and expectations for, His chosen people. Unfortunately, His chosen people failed to bear fruits in spite of the blessings lavished on them through His love and forgiveness. They were ungrateful people, so God lamented, “I expected my vineyard to yield good grapes. Why did it yield sour ones instead? Hence, as Christians, God will be disappointed in us that after providing us everything in life and we are unable to make good impact in our lives and in the lives of others. Make it a point to bear good fruits in your Christian living: it’s a recipe for heaven!

The Psalmist pleads with God to look down from heaven to take care of His vineyard. Meaning if we fail to glorify God, we are rather failing to work on our salvation.
 
Apostle Paul, in the second reading, expresses his high expectations for the people. So it is that God and even non-Christians have high expectations of us. We need to become fruit-producing Christians by being serious in our Christian living. We have to work hard by praying, practicing justice and purity. We ought to be thankful to God and be gracious in our lives. We can’t afford to waste the providence of God! As a Christian bearing fruit is a must but not a choice!

Jesus Christ, in our gospel reading , gives an allegorical parable about a vineyard, landowner and his tenant. In this, God is the landowner and the society of Israel is the vineyard and the tenants are the political, religious leaders (including the rest in the society). The tenants failed to produce fruits of righteousness, justice, and mercy. They have a history of ingratitude to all that God had done for them. We the “New Israel” must take a lesson out of this, with all the divine endowments, provisions and blessings we are expected to show gratitude to God by bearing good fruits in our lives, glorifying Him. To be a good Christian is to bear fruits: just walk the talk!

Stay blessed... Keep the Faith... Stay Healthy...

JUST BE A FRUITFUL CHRISTIAN...

Fr. Emmanuel
(Your Pastor)