CẢM NGHIỆM SỐNG LC- BRENDAN -27TH SUNDAY -A
- Details
- Category: 2. Cảm Nghiệm Sống Lời Chúa
-
Mo NguyenFri, Oct 2 at 4:05 PMTWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A
04 OCTOBER 2020
THE SONG SUNG OVER THE
CHURCH
REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL (Matthew 21: 33-43)
THE SONG SUNG OVER THE CHURCH
Jesus probably told the parable of the Tenants against the religious leaders in Jerusalem in his day. Having resisted the prophets sent by God, they are now resisting the last of them, namely, himself. As such they have shown themselves to be usurpers, retaining for themselves the ‘vineyard’ (Israel) and its ‘produce’ (the life of the people). For them, the arrival of the Kingdom (of God) will mean dispossession and retribution.
The early Church retold the parable in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and a belief in his status as God’s Son. Also present is a bitter awareness of the No given to the Gospel by the bulk of Israel and a sense of the Church itself, made up of Jews and non-Jews, as the community of the Kingdom. Through the continuing presence of the risen Lord (Matthew 28:20), the community can and ought to produce the ‘fruits’ that God desires.
The long and tragic history of Christian intolerance and persecution of Jews calls for sensitivity in handling texts like this that reflect the early Church’s disappointment with Israel. Today we should move on from Christian triumphalism at Jewish expense to concentrate upon the ‘fruits’ that God looks for from us. God has made the ‘rejected stone’ – the crucified and risen Lord – the ‘cornerstone’ of the Church. The question for us in whether the ‘song’ sung by God over this new vineyard (cf. the First Reading) is one of delight or disappointment. Inevitably, perhaps, a bit of both. In either case it will be a song of love.
Brendan Byrne, SJ
SING A NEW CHURCH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETV1DXQk_Gk
Chúa Nhật 27 THƯỜNG NIÊN A: