The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

October 4, 2026 – Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 21:33-43

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method

I am not the first to point out that Jesus was a great teacher. He could take complex ideas and thoughts and explain them using familiar images and illustrations and stories to communicate deeper truths. We find many examples of this in Matthew’s gospel. He uses scenes of life that those who listened to Jesus would be familiar with. Today he speaks about one of the major business operations in his homeland, the challenges of running a large vineyard. 

 He wanted to inform his listeners (and us) about how God set up human life in a way much like how the owner of a large vineyard would organize his operation. In today’s gospel we learn that God is like the owner of the vineyard, and we are the workers who are to care of the vines so that they would produce good grapes that can then be made into fine wine.

I like to think of each new day as offering me opportunities to enter God’s vineyard (life here on Earth) and do what I can to insure a good harvest up ahead. What exactly that means will be known to me as the day progresses. It often involves being kind and considerate to all those who come my way. Or helping with ordinary tasks connected with the daily needs of our family, neighbors, friends, or even the people I interact with while shopping. And let’s not overlook taking care of oneself. Nothing is excluded from “vineyard” care.

In today’s gospel we read about tenant workers who had been hired to care for the vineyard in the absence of the one who owned it. Instead of accepting their role as workers in the owner’s vineyard, they devised a plan to take over ownership of the vineyard for themselves.

When the absent landowner sent servants to oversee and collect the earnings from the harvest, they were killed by the wicked tenants who were planning to take over the vineyard for themselves. This was also the fate of the owner’s own son who was in line to inherit the vineyard after his father’s death. This is a very vicious situation where the contrast between good and evil cannot be missed. And it is also applicable to our own time.

We are given tasks to do in God’s vineyard which is that part of the world where we live. We do not own it. Nor should we try to destroy it. But care for it as best we can for it is God’s vineyard. Eventually we will be invited to enjoy the feast where very good wine and much more will be served.

David M. Thomas, PhD