Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2020
“He will lease his vineyard to other tenants.” Matthew 21:33-43

Dear Parishioners: Jesus has harsh words for the chief priests and elders, in today’s gospel from Matthew. As a faithful Jew, Jesus was not confronting them about their Jewish religion, but about their practice of it. The chief priests and elders were the authority figures within the religious community. In the Magnificat, the song of Mary, we are told who our God is. He champions the lowly and casts down the mighty. It seems the chief priests and elders had grown comfortable with where they were and did not like Jesus’ teachings that challenged their authority. Jesus’ words remain as shocking and challenging today. Especially now, where Christians might find themselves as the majority religion in many parts of the world, and enjoying the power that comes with being able to influence laws and culture, we must always ask ourselves: With whom are we aligned? Are we producing the fruits of the kingdom of God where the lowly are lifted up, or have we become the new keepers of the status quo-a status quo that benefits us?

Though the gospel was written two thousand years ago, it unfortunately has been misused throughout history as justification for Christians to persecute Jews. The church tells us that the words in this gospel echo words of the prophets and their critiques of the people of God. But when Christians definitively separated from Jews, the words were understood differently, not as an internal critique between members of a family but as a forceful disapproval of the “other.”

But it must be admitted that many of these passages are capable of providing a pretext for anti-Jewish sentiment and have in fact been used in this way. To avoid mistakes of this kind, it must be kept in mind that the New Testament polemical texts, even those expressed in general terms, have to do with concrete historical contexts and are never to be applied to Jews of all times and places merely because they are Jews. 
Pontifical Biblical Commission, Jewish People 87

Now in the modern world, especially in light of the holocaust, we must do all we can to put away any anti-Jewish reading of the text. In so doing, we will walk in the newness of life.

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who participated in our Autumn Calendar Raffle. With such overwhelming response, this fundraiser has been very successful. I am looking forward to picking your ticket from the drum. The winners will be posted in our bulletin on page 6! Thank you again!

In the Good Shepherd,
Rev. Robert B. Adamo