Reflection for October 4 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Matthew 21:33-43

Gospel: Matthew 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 wret-ched men to a wret-ched 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."

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Reflection:

In what instances in our lives does Jesus knock at the doors of our hearts?

Jesus knocks when He desires to draw closer to us and when He lovingly calls us back to Himself. He can do this in so many ways. Sometimes, He may speak to us through a friend who shares the words of Jesus with us. At other times, He may speak through a written reflection about life and our faith that awakens something deep within our hearts. He may also speak to us through important events in our lives—through sickness, difficulties, failures, or even problems that remind us that we cannot walk through life by ourselves.

Sometimes, God's voice comes to us quietly. It may not be dramatic or unmistakable. It may come as a gentle stirring in our hearts, an invitation to change, a realization that something in our lives needs to be surrendered, or a longing to return to God.

Some of us may listen to these knocks of Jesus and open our hearts to Him, allowing His grace to change our lives for the better. But there are also times when we do not listen. We may become so busy with our daily concerns that we fail to recognize His presence. We may even choose not to reflect on what is happening in our lives. Thus, we continue with our lives as if nothing significant has happened to us.

We may distance ourselves from Jesus, or we may treat Him like medicine that we take only when we are sick, troubled, or in need. We remember Him when we need something, but we sometimes forget Him when everything seems to be going well. Yet Jesus does not stop knocking. He does not stop calling us. His love remains patient and faithful.

In our Gospel for this Sunday, Jesus gives us the Parable of the Tenants. The tenants were entrusted by the landowner to take care of his vineyard. When harvest time came, the landowner naturally asked for his share because the vineyard belonged to him.

So, the landowner sent two groups of servants, but the tenants refused his demand. They even killed some of the servants he had sent. Finally, the landowner sent his only son, thinking that the tenants would listen to him. But they killed him as well.

The greedy tenants in the Gospel represent the chief priests and the elders, while the landowner represents God. The servants whom God sent represent the prophets, and the only son represents Jesus, whom they also killed. They rejected the prophets and Jesus because they refused their call to renewal and repentance.

This Gospel also invites us to look honestly into our own hearts. In some ways, we can also become like the greedy tenants when we allow our attachment to this world to become greater than our love for Jesus. We may become so attached to wealth, comfort, pleasure, power, recognition, and other temporary things that we slowly forget what truly matters.

Sometimes, we may hear Jesus calling us to change, yet we resist. We may know that there are things in our lives that need to be surrendered, but we hold on to them. We may hear His gentle voice calling us away from sin and worldliness, but we choose to remain where we are because change can be difficult.

And yet, Jesus continues to knock.

What a beautiful and humbling truth this is: even when we repeatedly close the doors of our hearts, Jesus does not stop knocking. He patiently waits for us. He does not force Himself upon us. He waits for that moment when we freely open our hearts and allow Him to enter.

When we open the door, He comes not to condemn us but to renew us. He comes to cleanse us from our sins, heal our wounded hearts, restore what has been broken, and lead us toward a life that is centered on God. He comes to take His rightful place in our lives—not to take away our freedom, but to lead us toward the fullness of life that He desires for us.

Perhaps Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts right now through a person, an experience, a difficulty, a realization, or even a quiet longing to come closer to Him.

Are we listening?

And when we hear Him knocking, will we continue to keep the door of our hearts closed because we are afraid to change, or will we open it and say, “Jesus, come into my life. Take away whatever keeps me from You, transform my heart, and teach me to live according to Your will”?—Marino J. Dasmarinas