Homily: October 8, 2023, Twentyseventh sunday in ordinary time (wild grapes and bad tenants)

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“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

We are now in harvesting season. Many months before this, we were planting and pruning, now we see the results, the fruits, the produce.

Our two readings today are also about producing and harvesting fruits.

In the first reading the vineyard produced wild grapes instead of good grapes. What went wrong?

If the vineyard owner had done everything right, and yet the vineyard brought forth wild grapes, then the problem must have been the soil? Yet it was a land set on the fertile hillside. There is nothing the vineyard owner could do than to let it waste and be cursed.

In the Gospel, the story is not about the soil which could not produce, but the tenants who refused to give the produce back to the vineyard owner. What went wrong?

The produce must have been good, and the tenants might have become greedy, and wanted to keep all the harvest to themselves and even planned to kill to take over the vineyard. They have taken their privilege for granted, very soon they will lose all their benefits.

How does this apply to us?

God is the vineyard owner, He has shared His kingdom with us, so that we may reap of its fruits from the goodness of His kingdom. We are called to work His vineyard and harvest the fruits for the vineyard owner.

It is a privilege to work in the Lord’s vineyard. But we must give Him back what is due to Him. We do not and can not claim the vineyard as our own. We should never claim glory for any good work we have done, because it is from God’s gifts that we are able to do good works, to produce wonderful fruits. And we are to continue the good work, continue to give full acknowledgement to God for His gifts. To God be all glory.

This parable made me think of our own community and our beautiful church. 133 years ago, poor parishioners built this church by giving all what they had. Over this time, different generations maintained it for us. And now we enjoy her beauty and upkeep her mission. If our forefathers did not offer themselves totally for this church, it would have been laid to waste, and we would never be sitting here, celebrating and worshipping.

In the same way, we should also upkeep this beautiful church for our future generations. Imagine how wonderful it would be when the future community celebrates her 200th anniversary in 2090. I probably won’t be here by then, but yet whatever I do for the church, for the community now will decide its future. The church community is a visible sign of God’s kingdom on earth, the church building is a concrete sign of God’s community at work.

If we do not labor in the vineyard, the land would be laid to waste, the harvested fruits will be wild grapes.

But this jewel has undergone many repairs in the past and will need more repairs to last another 100 years.

Our HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system was recently replaced. Our sound system was also improved. Did you notice the difference?

Neither of these improvements would have been possible through our normal tithing. A very generous parishioner donated the full amount to replace our old sound system with new one.  Our St. Ambrose Investment Fund was utilized to replace the HVAC. That fund exists because of estate and individual gifts of parishioners and friends who came before us, as well as a few who are with us today and continue to support that fund. This fund will continue to be an important part of the future of our parish.

The Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa also supports us. Our security cameras were installed thanks to a grant from the foundation. They administer and invest our specific St. Ambrose Investment Fund based on our Finance Council’s direction. They will continue to support the parish into the future.

Since my arrival, I have also been awed and inspired by many generous parishioners and supporters who gave a lot, not only for the physical church but also for the formation of our youth. They will shape and lead the church in the future.

In the upcoming weeks and months, I will share more with you about some of the improvements we are making here at the parish as well as some that will need to be made in the very near future.

We are the stewards and tenants of the kingdom of God. Will we be able to produce good fruits and give back to God His dues? Surely, we can, together we can make a difference!

For your convenience, if you want to gift a little more financially, there is a QR code in the bulletin as well as in the pews. Anytime you are ready, you can just use your phone to make a gift to this fund, or any of our funds.

And if you want to gift of your time and talent, you don’t need to scan any QR code, you just need to come talk to me. I will be more than happy to share the privilege of kingdom building with you. Come, let us sow and reap together!

God bless you.

Amen.


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