Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 4, 2026
Gospel - Matthew 21: 33-43
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants, and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he
comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
Reflection:
Since ordination, I have kept the habit of reading the Sunday Scriptures a week before I preach. This allows the Word to dwell in my heart and mind as the week unfolds. God’s Word never changes. However, the people and circumstances where the homily is preached constantly do. As I read and prayed over this Gospel, I was reminded of a phrase I often heard as a child…"don’t play with God!"
Jesus was a powerful communicator. He didn't use AI or social media; he used parables to communicate His message. Parables are simple stories that draw us to a deeper meaning. This Sunday, we hear another parable, another story about workers in the vineyard. The landowner trusted the tenants to care for the vineyard and get the work done. Yet, they didn’t do the work and even killed the son of the landowner. What's the deeper meaning for us?
God sends us all into the vineyard of the world and expects us to work and obtain the produce, the fruits of sharing the Word and spreading the Gospel. God expects us to do right by people and live lives of justice. And like the landowner, God gives us many opportunities to do our ministry, but God is no fool… don't play with God!
A few years ago, I was using an ATM machine in downtown Philadelphia. After I withdrew my cash, I continued with the next item on my agenda. As I walked down the street, I noticed a young man running after me. Confused and prepared to perhaps defend myself, he yelled at me… “Yo, OG, you forgot this!” It was my ATM card that I left in the machine. As I thanked him for returning it, he simply said, “I wanna do the right thing.”
That young man taught me a lesson about working in the vineyard, about doing justice, about not playing with God. Maybe he was “The stone that the builders rejected that has become the cornerstone.”
Sometimes the best preaching is not done in the pulpit!
Father Stephen Thorne, Ed.D.,is a Distinguished Professor of Education at Trinity Washington University and a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
