October 6
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Mt. 21/33-43Background
Today St. Mt turns from parables of reassurance to parables of urgency. God's kingdom is compassionate, reconciling love. It is offered to everyone. We are urged to grab it when we can. If through stupidity and ingratitude we reject the gift we are fools, just like the ungrateful men in Jesus's adaptation of the traditional vineyard story. Many of those who heard the twist Jesus puts on the story must have been astonished. They had always thought of themselves as the protectors of God's vineyard or perhaps even the vineyard itself. There may well be a touch of the early conflict between synagogue and church in the way Mt tells the story, but there is no reason to doubt that the parable itself reflects the teaching of Jesus.
Story
Once a parish had a new pastor. He was a very hard working, zealous man. He went to all the wakes, visited all the hospitals, appeared at every wedding reception, consoled all the mourners, preached a wonderful sermon, was pleasant to all the children, even enjoy TEENAGERS! One day some people came to him and said we need more classrooms in our school. They cost a lot of money, the pastor said. We'll raise the money they replied. All we want from the parish is your moral support. Grand said the pastor. The lay people worked hard and raised tons of money, enough so that the school would be paid for the day it was dedicated. But then as construction started, some of the people in the parish became bitterly opposed to the school extension. It cost too much, new rooms weren't really needed, the money should be given to poor parishes, half the money should be spent on religious education, they hadn't been consulted. The parish split wide open on the issue. Arguments raged after Mass every Sunday. The pastor tried to keep both sides happy (which is what pastors are for), but the pro-school people said that he was not supporting them strongly enough and the anti-school people said that he had sold out to the pro-school people. Finally the poor man collapsed physically because of the strain of the conflict. While in the hospital he resigned as pastor. Everyone was happy to see him go.
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