Bearing Fruit: Not Just for Vineyards

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

God’s relationship with people is at the heart of both the first reading and the  Gospel, but there is a difference. In Isaiah, destruction comes to the vineyard; in  the Gospel, it comes to those entrusted with the care of the vineyard. 

Isaiah’s song highlights the people’s failure—the house of Israel and the  people of Judah—to bear fruit, to provide the Lord who has lovingly tended this  vineyard with anything more than wild grapes, that is, bloodshed and violence  against each other. Because of this, the owner will turn his back on them, no longer giving care but letting it be trampled underfoot, no longer pruning or hoeing,  but allowing thorns and briers to take over. This song is demanding conversion. In Jesus’ parable, the focus is on those entrusted with the care of the vineyard.  Jesus addresses the chief priests and the elders in Jerusalem, not only criticizing  their failure to care for the people adequately, but also their rejection of those  God sent to call them to conversion. The parable calls all religious leaders to  remember that authority is for service. 

Bearing fruit in our lives, being true and honorable, just and pure, lovely and  gracious is the fruit God desires from all, as Paul reminds the Philippians. God’s  people, but especially their leaders, have a responsibility to bear fruit. No one  is let off the hook. God expects a return for love so lavishly given.

Consider/Discuss

  • Have you ever tended a plant or grown a garden? What did this  experience teach you? 
  • What fruitfulness God is asking of you? 
  • Is there anything that prevents you from making a return to God for  all that has been given to you? 

Responding to the Word

St. Paul calls us to set aside anxiety and to make known to God any requests  we have for more fruitful lives. In prayer we will find that “the peace of God that  surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

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