SERMON BY FATHER JONATHAN E MOORE - LINK HERE
27th Sunday of the Year 2026. Thy Kingdom Come
The gospel story this weekend might be regarded as one of the nursery slopes of meditation using Saint Ignatius's composition of place. When we understand the kind of vineyard our Lord had in mind, it is so simple to place ourselves right there in the story.
The clear point of the parable is the condemnation of scribes and pharisees, those religious leaders of Israel at that time. They get the message and it is only fear of the crowd of followers with Jesus that stops them arresting Him there and then. That said, there is still much we ourselves can learn from the story.
In the first place, Jesus gives us a wonderfully accurate description of a first century vineyard. Any farming must involve some hard work and vine growing is no exception. In the Middle East there would always have been many rocks and stones to remove and a good deal of manure to be mixed with the thin sandy soil.
That done, the next necessity would have been a strong hedge of sharp thorns. Thorn brushes grow both abundantly and quickly there. The hedge would have kept out animals which could so easily destroy the young plants.
Wild pigs were the main offender. Psalm 79 uses the image of a wild boar causing havoc in a vineyard to describe the invasion of Israel. The wine press, two trenches either cut out of the solid rock or built of stone and linked by a channel, would have enabled the workers to place the harvested grapes in the upper vat then tread them so that the juice ran down into the lower one.
This method is still used in many parts of the world. The other construction was a tower, another use for all those stones that had been removed. This gave the watchmen a clear view of the vineyard and surrounding area.
It also provided shelter from the sun and rain for the labourers and indeed a place where they could spend the night if their home was distant. So the landowner has been at some trouble and expense over his investment. He rents the vineyard out and quite rightly looks for a return on his capital.
His tenants however have other ideas. They want the profits all to themselves. The owner is a reasonable man and tries to resolve the situation through several messengers, all of whom are made less than welcome.
Finally he sends his son and heir. The wicked tenants see this as a golden opportunity to steal the vineyard. If the owner has no heir there will be no future landlord to bother them.
So they kill the beloved son and bring down disaster on their own heads. The story tells us much about the relationship between God and humanity. As the hymn says, O Lord, all the world belongs to you.
The whole world was created by God, not us. Sadly, there is a long, long history of human rebellion. When we pray the Our Father, the second petition is, thy kingdom come.
It is a prayer that all people might come to realise that they don't own the world and aren't just free to do as they like. As I said last week, God's will is perfectly done in heaven, but it is a very different story on earth. I don't have to tell you that there are still rebellious tenants in God's vineyard.
They've come to believe that the world belongs to them, other people belong to them, that their own bodies belong to them alone, and that they're free to do just what they like with all three. Psalm 13 opens with the memorable words, "The fool has said in his heart there is no God". The church, just like the prophets of old, proclaims that none of these assumptions is in fact true.
It is God's world and we are God's creation. As Psalm 99 reminds us, "He made us, we belong to Him, we are His people, the sheep of His flock". In the same way, we are reminded that God will hold each individual human being, from the greatest to the least, accountable for their behaviour.
To each man comes death, and after death, judgement. Unsurprisingly, this is an unwelcome message and those who faithfully proclaim it age after age can be sure of the same rough reception given to the prophets of old. Even though the wicked tenants can no longer kill the Beloved Son, they do still do their best to destroy the church, which is His mystical body on earth.
Left on its own, this is a singularly depressing story because the tenants are united in their sin and also in their ultimate destruction. Their habit would seem no redeeming features and none escapes damnation. It is therefore most important that we regard this sad story as part of a suite of vineyard parables which we have heard in the last three weeks.
In the first story, even the late comers are rewarded. In the second, the rebellious son sees sense and does his father's will. God's dreadful punishment only awaits those who resolutely persevere in evil.
The petition, "Thy kingdom come", is a prayer for the conversion of the world. That has been the mission of the church since the very day Jesus appeared and proclaimed, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel.
The task is no less urgent and in truth, no more arduous than it has been for Christ's church in every age. The call to evangelise, to proclaim the gospel, is ours today. There is no better proclamation than a Christian life well lived.
Try to make each of the vineyard parables a part of your daily life. Hear and obey the Father's call to do His work. Never be tempted to behave as though the world and all its people did not belong to God alone.
Don't be held back if there have been times when you stood idle before taking up your work or moments of rebellion happened in your own life. Hope in God's love, trust in God's mercy. Never forget to pray for the conversion of sinners, for the Kingdom of God is close at hand.
Amen.
