Reflection for the 22nd Ordinary Sunday 2024

“You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

For seven Sundays we journeyed with Jesus and His apostles. Today, and for the rest of Ordinary Time, Jesus will discuss the practical application of being in Him. How do we do it?

In the context of the journey, we discussed the Law of God that Israel was commanded to follow, covering it especially during the past two weeks.

There is a lot to the Law. At a basic level, as we heard from Moses today, the Law set Israel apart from other nations, but it wasn’t quite that simple.

Israel’s Law of social and religious behavior was developed based on the Ten Commandments, spoken by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Ten express the essential religious and moral principles Israel was to follow and put in a nutshell what God revealed to the Israelites about Himself, as well as how they should live in community. From these Ten “Words,” as well as instruction through prophets and priests, Israel developed a detailed system of religious and social communal regulations.

Now, other nations (e.g., the Amorites of Babylon, Assyrians, and others) had codes of laws that predated Israel. In many ways they were similar, and each borrowed from the other.

The differences are in three essential elements. One is the grounding of the codes. Other kingdom’s codes were based on the authority and power of a ruler. Their laws protected the rights of the wealthy and powerful. For Israel, the Law is grounded on communal experience of God. So, although the Law deals with some economic matters, that does not dominate. Rather, at the center of Law is: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of slavery; you shall have no other gods besides me.”

Other differences are the way God is to be treated. The Law did not change with the whims of a king but was the baseline against which all were to behave under and toward God. Lastly, other codes had an imbalance. They treated rich and poor, slaves and free differently. They punished the poor severely for minor things.  In the Law, the most severe penalties were applied to offenses against other people, regardless of social rank, or actions which threaten the community and its values. It was Law for all.

The Law reflected Israel’s unique encounter with God. Hearing its corruption, it being reduced to a series of dos and don’ts without any relationship to God, Jesus speaks of the Law’s true nature. It is about a community in relationship with God and each other. Being in Jesus means that together we are to grow toward God, have our hearts close to God, and always keep our worship directed to God, living His way.

Reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020

Cornerstone.

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.”

How does a dead son become the cornerstone of a renewed vineyard?

Today, Jesus alludes to Isaiah’s parable, a grower’s love-song for his planted vineyard that ends up disappointing him. The grower ends up turning the disappointing vineyard over to destruction. 

Jesus re-interprets the love-song about a vineyard. In Isaiah, God was the caretaker of this vineyard. Despite careful attention from the grower, the vineyard produced only worthless “wild grapes.” The vineyard’s failure forced the grower to remove his care.

In Jesus’ parable, the “produce” was fine, but the delivery system was malfunctioning. The problem was with the tenant farmers themselves. They were violent, destructive, and uncaring. Their ultimate goal was to place themselves in control, to be the cornerstone of the vineyard: “come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” 

In the honor and shame culture of Israel, the landowner’s decision to send his son as emissary, in spite of how the servants were treated, was appropriate since he could expect proper respect for his appointed heir, the cornerstone of the future.

For Matthew, the twist comes from the reality he knew. The murdered son became the cornerstone of the kingdom. The kingdom is founded upon Jesus, the Son who was sent by the Father, Who was killed, Who rose, and Who, having died, has become the cornerstone of the renewed vineyard, the new covenant.

We are now the tenant farmers, charged by God with cultivating His vineyard and with producing for Him. He loves this vineyard and has carefully established it. So, we live with the reality of this charge, and with the obligation to deliver the fruit from our effort into the hands of the Son upon whom this vineyard has been built.

How to do it? We follow Paul’s command to Philippians. We do not get anxious about the work, rather we do it with eyes of faith focused on Jesus the cornerstone. We realize His Father’s provision for us, the fact He will bring us success. We pray, we offer petition to God, we live thankful lives, and we focus on the good. Then we Keep on doing what we have learned and received.