Jill Bevilacqua reflects on the Gospel for the Twentyseventh Sunday in Ordinary time
in her programme "There's more in the Gospel than meets the eye." Listen:
Gospel MT
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."