27th Sunday of the Year A

27^th Sunday of the Year A. October 2, 2011. Our Lady of Grace 5:15, 7:30, 9:30. Isaiah 5:1-7. Philippians 4:6-9. Matthew 21:33-43

The chief of a large tribe of Native American Indians was very close to dying. He had three sons. It was the old chief’s responsibility to choose the son that would be the new chief. The chief told his sons, “I want each of you to climb the mountain that is holy to our ancestors. Each of you must bring me back something that is precious and beautiful. The one who brings back the most precious and beautiful gift will be the new chief of our people”. After several days the first son came back with a very rare and beautiful flower that grew on the top on the mountain. The second son came back with a large stone filled with pure gold. The third son didn’t return for two more days. When he came back he told his father that he had seen a valley filled with rich pastures and a river filled with crystal clear water. He told his father, “I have nothing to bring to you. In fact I came back late because I found it very difficult to leave the beautiful valley on the other side of the mountain.” The sick old man sat up and told his first son, “beauty is important and your flower is beautiful.” He told his second son, “Gold is precious and will buy many things.” “But I do not choose either of you to be the chief who will lead our people.” Then he said to his third son, “You have seen a new land where our people can live and grow in peace. Your vision of the future will be a blessing to our people. You will be our new chief. You must lead our people to the new land. ”

Jesus told a story about a landowner who planted a vineyard, and then he leased it to renters and went on a journey. When harvest time came he sent servants to the renters to get some of the crop, but the renters beat one and killed another. Finally the landowner sent his son – but the renters threw the son out of the vineyard and killed him. The renters were going to keep things just as they were and no one, not even the owner of the land would change things. The renters forgot that they were only renters. The leaders who heard the story Jesus told were shocked at the stupidity of the renters. They told Jesus that the treacherous renters should be put to a wretched death and the vineyard should be given to other renters who will give the owner what he had coming in payment of rent for the land.

We are all renters. Everything we have comes from God. A speaker at a school workshop reminded us that even our bodies are a gift from God. Over the past several months I have been a little angry about getting older and about a knee that was not healing as fast as I wanted after surgery. Suddenly I realized that my body is God’s gift. It has served me well over the years. God owns my body and I only rent it. If I trust in God’s goodness and if I am grateful for the body that I have, I will be OK. We are all renters. We do best when we invite God, the landowner, into our lives. We are most unhappy when we lock God out and try to run our rented lives and our rented bodies all by ourselves.

Only God knows the full extent of our gifts because God knows us much better than we know ourselves. In locking God out of our vineyard we run the risk of not discovering all that we can be. Only God knows the future. Only God understands our place in the unfolding of the world in which we live, even though we may find ourselves confused by our feelings and overwhelmed by events happening around us. It is possible to miss true greatness because we have missed the deepest meaning and purpose for our lives

The corner stone is the stone on top of which a whole building is built. Jesus is the cornerstone. To miss Jesus is to build on a foundation that will not support us or produce goodness when things are tough - as they are for many of us today. The tragedy of the story that Jesus tells is not only that the renters tried to hold onto the land they were renting even when it meant killing and stealing. The tragedy of the story is that the renters were rejecting the cornerstone and the foundation for their lives. Jesus said, “Have you never read that it says in the Bible: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this and it is wonderful in our eyes!”

Have you ever worked on a huge and complicated e jigsaw puzzle? It does not matter how many pieces there are in a jigsaw puzzle – there is always a piece that is missing. That is what makes the puzzle interesting and fun. There is a key piece that helps you begin to see how the picture fits together. Until we begin to see the pattern in the puzzle it is impossible to put the puzzle together in a way that makes sense. We may search for a very long time for the puzzle piece that makes the picture clear and whole. Life is like that too. There are many pieces to life that do not seem to fit together. No matter how many ways we move them around, the pieces of our lives may remain confused and unclear. Jesus is the key piece in our lives that makes us complete and whole. If we reject the cornerstone we will never truly find ourselves. Until we find Jesus and welcome Jesus as the cornerstone we will not understand the meaning of our lives or the real value of the vineyard we are renting. To find Christ is to find the deepest meaning of our lives. Not to know Christ is to be surrounded by the pieces of a very confusing puzzle. Jesus is the missing piece that brings us peace and makes us whole. Jesus is the key to the meaning of life.

“Now it is evening (morning): food on the table bids us remember Christ is our life. Many are hungry, who will be neighbor? Where there is sharing Christ is our life.”

Now it is evening (morning): Here in our meeting may we remember Christ is our friend. Some may be strangers, who will be neighbor. Where there is welcome Christ is our friend.” For Jesus, the corner and key stone of life, we give God thanks and praise.