November 3, 2026

                            29^th Sun Ord Time  SJU Chapel  Oct 18, 2026

 

The gospel of Matthew today touches on issues that our nation has always been debating, the relationship of our democratic government and the freedom, particularly religious freedom, of its citizens.  We are quite conscious of this relationship as we Christians get ready to vote in our secular state election just two weeks away.   

1.       First: about the gospel: the trap that the Pharisees set up for Jesus.

2.       Second: What do the words of Jesus suggest for us in our democracy?

3.        And third: A discerning vote is not our only duty in a democracy.

In this section of Matthew Jesus has several controversies with the Pharisees about the proper interpretation of different laws of the Torah, for example, one about Marriage, another about the greatest commandment.   Here the discussion is about the Temple tax.   This was a tax in the time of Jesus paid to those who administrate the Roman occupation of Israel.   There were apparently some Pharisees that tolerated the payment despite their rejection of a Roman entitlement to collect it and there were perhaps even other Pharisees who curried favor with the Romans and supported the tax.   In any case the Pharisees want Jesus to take a position.   He skirted the question using the Roman coin with the image of Caesar.  “Repay to Caesar what belongs to him.”   But he also said “repay to God what belongs to God.”  Here Jesus implies that everything else in creation belongs to God.  There is no comparison.   So both those opposed to paying the tax and those who tolerated its payment were encouraged to understand their far greater obligation to God.   To be sure, awareness of this great bounty of God’s gifts becomes, at the very least, an occasion of faithful gratitude.

2.     What does Jesus’s response suggest for us in our democracy?

Not so long ago the question of tax payments by citizens of the United States was an issue.  During the Vietnam War there were many taxpayers who judged that the War and its violence was undertaken without adequate reason and many refused to pay at least a portion of their taxes.   Nothing like that is happening now, though the avenue of war seems now to be a poor choice compared to other avenues of diplomacy and financial restraints.  But listening to Jesus, the question of actually paying taxes to our government is a small one.   It cannot compare to how we Christians and others who believe in the God-given gift of human dignity put that dignity to the test as we self-govern in a democracy.

Of course, there were no real democracies in the time of Jesus.   Yes there were those Greek city states that had some kind of parliamentary rule but only a limited number of well-to-do white males had any kind of vote.   There is no indication that Jesus favored one model of rule over another.  Even while he greatly criticized the ruling Temple authorities, his criticism was mostly about their hypocrisy and arrogance rather than about the models of leadership that gave them their positions.

Here, of course, in our nation with separation of church and state, the great majority of us citizens favor our democratic practices and every time we vote we support the stability and viability of our democratic government.   And when we Catholics vote, we give due consideration to the range of human dignity issues that our bishops have addressed: right to life, health care, immigration policy, various supports for the poor, racial equality, care of the earth and religious freedom among the principle issues.   How we measure the way candidates support individual human dignity; and also the common good in all these circumstances helps us determine our vote.  

3.      But a discerning vote is not the only thing that our democracy expects from us.

Let’s grant that it is not easy for our politicians in our seats of government to honor everyone’s dignity.   We who elect them should engage in actions that help them understand how to carry out the burdens of their office.   This assistance can and should be done by other means well beyond the ballot box.   Yes, the list of criticisms that we can make about the actions of politicians is often long and justified.   For each criticism, however, those who criticize must take on actions that instruct and provide models for the politician to better handle the burden.

So yes, many politicians, for example, deny the human dignity of the fetus and vote against making the act of abortion a crime.     Those of us who criticize them should also take on actions to support Sisters for Life and like organizations who provide the support that so many pregnant women need.   We need to foster right to life groups  sponsoring clinics of care.    Other politicians consider rounding up and deporting aliens from our nation as part of the way to handle the burden of identifying who should be a citizen.    Any of us who criticize them should take up addressing the issue in other ways.   We need to assist the immigration lawyers, we need to highlight aliens engaged here in the common good.  We need to assist in promoting methods to screen those who wish to enter the country.  Yes, when we who are critical of politicians also take on such helpful duties, we underline the integrity of our criticism.  And we voters are not relegated to mere observers after we have cast our votes.  

Yes, criticisms in other areas of life, in family and in any kind of work community, are best followed with helpful actions that can promote peace and make a contribution to the common good.     We Catholics, of course, while in a pluralistic society, don’t favor civil governments establishing a religion.  But, nevertheless, we do believe that following Catholic social teaching aids the promotion of peace in civil society.

In all this, finally, even as we pay the tax to our civil government, we give God the glory for all the rest of creation and thank Jesus for teaching us about mercy and the love that is his Father.

    

                                Sunrise, Wernersville, PA   October 20, 2021

28^th Sun in Ord Time   10/11/26

 

When beginning to pray with this gospel I had a new and even disturbing thought about the theme.  The theme is about our need to respond to divine invitations.   So yes, we say yes.   But these invitations keep coming.   The divine never lets us alone.   That is, we are being invited every second into some presence in the universe that is God’s gift to us. 

An anxious thought.   Do we need to RSVP every moment?    Our bodies, for example, are invited to take a breath.   Fortunately our bodies react instinctively without us having to worry about accepting the invitation.   But this sort of thing is happening all the time.  Right now, too, the chairs are inviting us to be comfortable, the light is inviting us to open our eyes, the sounds are inviting us to listen.   And, by the way, if you don’t want to accept my invitation and listen to my voice, I don’t have a plan for retaliation.   No need to be anxious.

My least favorite invitation is the one to get up in the morning.   And I don’t do it out of any eagerness to get going in the early hours….showers and coffee have none of the attractiveness of the invitation described in Isaiah, to a feast on the Lord’s Mountain But I get up and get some coffee with at least one goal in mind:  I don’t want my house mates to worry about whether the old man in the house died during the night.

Truly, though, the morning sunrise often presents a delightful sky.   And even now as we awaken in the darker hours there might be sights to see.   Despite the light pollution, the Philadelphia sky was quite clear early yesterday morning and I could see most of the stars of Orion.   Despite the daily violence, such sights at dawn always help me be confident about the day ahead.

Even the retired among us are used to having each day…. at least a short list of “invitations” to attend to.   Invitations simply to read personal emails, invitations to the prayers for the day.   Invitations to respond to questions or to send a return greeting to a friend or family member.   And who needs a return phone call or a card in the mail?   What part will I play in a family or church group that is preparing an event?   And everyday I am invited for a walk and a nap.   The more I think of the usual ordinary daily invitations, the less anxious I become.

And I think, surely, this gospel story for us is about the invitations that we sometimes ignore.   Jesus’s parable here illustrates the ignorance of people who are so pre-occupied by their own concerns, here named as a farm and a business, so pre-occupied to even listen to an important invitation from a ruler with influence over their futures.   The interaction between those who turn down the invitation by killing the messengers and the king who destroys their insulting cities is Jesus’s way of grapping our attention….but it also addresses the danger of violence that is always present in human affairs.

Here Jesus’s principal message for his listeners is clear:  “I have been sent to invite the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to the kingdom of God.  Repent of your narrow preoccupations with Temple sacrifice and Torah laws.  Come to be with me and celebrate this kingdom because those who refuse the invitation will be lost in their own confusion.”  But the Temple leaders and interpreters of a strict Torah refuse.   Thus as Jesus says, the invitation will then be shared with those who have no farms and businesses, those on the streets who rarely enjoy such good fortune.  In short the invitation is accepted by many ordinary Jews and then, of course, by the Gentiles.

For us living in this troubled world, a banquet on the Isaian mountain seems distant and unreal.   But Jesus’ invitation is on-going and we, yes we, are now invited to be among those messengers sent into the world to make sure that everyone hears the message, not just the farmers and business owners.   We are the disciples and each day we are invited with the sound of the morning alarm to, as the song says, “Go out, go out to all the world and tell the good news, tell the good, good news.”  

Our invitations to the wedding banquet celebrate good news, especially the God-given human dignity of every person.  But so many troubles now overwhelm that dignity.   We shudder considering what continues to happen in Gaza, the West Bank & Ukraine.  And the malnutrition and death in Sudan.   And here in Pennsylvania, weekend gun violence took the life of a police officer in West Philly and the lives of eight people in Erie.   And the Pope continues to call out our government. The most recent issue: The decision to livestream the execution of a man convicted of killing his military colleagues.  The Pope called it “incomprehensible.” 

The more outrages pile on, the more discerning we must be about how to accept God’s invitation to tell the good news.  A good first step is prayer and our best prayers are within a community of persons supporting one another in finding practical ways to temper the violence in human hearts.  Yes, God-given dignity calls us to respect human life from conception to natural death, to respect persons no matter their race or their sexual orientation, calls for us, especially now in this country to continue practices that create humane pathways for immigrants to gain citizenship.   We proclaim the words of Mary who said, “the hungry he has satisfied with good things and the rich sent empty away.”  So we look people in the eye and find God there.   And we preach at least a poverty of spirit and invite all to believe the good news.

And, of course, as we said earlier, the invitation is every moment because God is found in all things.   And sometimes we are invited to silence our voices and accept the invitation to quiet prayer in a community committed to the mission of Jesus Christ.  Yes to some quiet prayer with Jesus at this Eucharistic table.

 

27^th Sun in Ord Time Oct 4  Saint Joseph's University

                                   Cornerstone, Barbelin Hall, Saint Joseph's University, 1926

                    “The Lord keeps this House Spotless into eternity!"   

Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?
Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it.
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry!
 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20

R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Philippians 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,  if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord,
to go and bear fruit that will remain.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
 

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 wretched men to a wretched 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."

27^th Sun in Ord Time Oct 4, 2026   SJU  Evening Masses

 

Vineyards have been producing good grapes for thousands of years especially for landowners who pay devoted attention to their care.  So vineyards were a good choice both in the first reading and in the gospel just read as images for God’s people.  The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah in our first reading uses the vineyard image to state that God takes good care of His people but, despite God’s care, God’s people are like vineyards that yield sour grapes.    And then in the gospel Jesus has this to say:  God’s people are like tenants in a vineyard who steal from God, the landowner.  They steal the good grapes that have been produced, even killing God’s son to carry out their thievery.   Such images remind us of how we human beings can make a mess of God’s attempts at the formation of good and healthy human societies..

 

We pause here for a one-liner:  Our vineyard images remind us of what people busy in vineyards are good at doing:  They are good at whining.

 

First: Some sour grapes in today’s human culture

Second:  Jesus as the foundation for a new culture

Third:  How our own University relies on Christ as our foundation

 

We are now at the beginning of October, a month when the universal Church focuses our prayer and attention on two types of sour grapes among the many related troubles in our worldwide culture.   The Church chooses the whole month of October to focus prayers and actions on the protection of life.   Our Christian belief in the dignity of our God-given human life fills us with a desire to protect such life from the moment of conception until natural death.  

Today’s culture, however, so often ignores that protection with the practice of abortion and the practice of those choosing to end their lives at a time when their minds and bodies seem to betray them.  In refusing to respect life we take good and living grapes and decide that they are sour and not worth keeping.

 

But to add to our attention this October Right to Life month begins just as the Church completes what we call the Season of Creation.  That season each September honors God’s gift of all creation in our world and recognizes the human misuse of creation that has created swift changes in our climate.   The Season of Creation began on September 1 and ends today, October 4, on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.   Francis preached about the glory of all living things in God’s creation and today we celebrate this feast on the day that is the 800^th anniversary of his death.   In more recent centuries especially our lack of care for creation is creating sour grapes for us.

 

Our vineyard readings today encourage us to consider a culture of good grapes.  On such vines sit our own desires to support the Right to Life and our own hopes for the steadiness of the natural world in all the Seasons of Creation.   But to add to the vineyard image Jesus offers another image in today’s gospelreading that gives his own support to our hopes and desires. 

 

Jesus provides this second image after he discusses the vineyard.   Here Jesus builds on the story of the murder of the son of the vineyard owner.   Here Jesus, the Son of God, speaks of his own life after his own murder.   He predicts what is to happen.   Jesus puts it this way.   “The stone which the builder rejected has become the cornerstone.”  God’s crucified son returns to bring about a fresh world.    The risen Christ with us becomes a cornerstone, a building block.  His person becomes the foundation of something new.   The Jews in Jesus’s day often thought of the Torah, the law, as the foundation of their faith.   And with Jesus as a fresh and personal foundation for faith, his summary of the law in the Torah survives as “Love of God and love of neighbor.”

 

What is a cornerstone?   Before the fabrication of metal structures, the cornerstone of any stone building was carefully chosen.  The base stone, which is placed at the corner of two walls at right angles to one another, needs a ninety degree outer angle.   Such a stone, too, needed weight bearing strength to support one of the four corners of the building.   Jesus tells us that though he was rejected, he will rise again as the cornerstone of a new community of faith, hope and love carrying his Jewish background into the new era.

 

Foundation images like this often show up in religious culture.   For example, Muhammed in speaking of his importance to Islam uses a similar building block image.  He speaks of himself as a vital brick that fills in an empty space in the wall of the house that had been built already by the Abrahamic prophets.

 

Finally:  You will be happy to know that we here at Saint Joseph’s University will very soon be celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the blessing of the cornerstone for our first building here in Overbrook.   That building, now-named Barbelin, made it possible for SJC to move here from our previous location in North Philadelphia.  On November 13, 1927 the cornerstone was blessed.  You can see the stone itself at the City Ave opening of the central walkway through Barbelin..    I hope we can mark the 100 years by gathering at that stone next year on November 13, 2027

 

The stone is inscribed: “The Lord keeps this home spotless until eternity.”   And the Arch in part supported by the cornerstone over that walkway entrance is also inscribed:  “May the Lord bless your entrance and your departure”, a blessing to frame any student’s years of education here.  On their day of graduation Graduates often have their photograph taken as they walk out under that arch into the challenges that await them in the post-graduation world.  Jesus Christ blesses their departure.

 

If a student here you might be more familiar with another use of that key word cornerstone that Jesus utters.    Most students here are engaged in some way in the Cornerstone Course Requirements, the Cornerstone Core Curriculum that helps provide the human formation for the life that lies ahead, that life of men and women for and with others.   Our messy world of disregard in so many ways for the dignity of life and for the integrity of the natural world needs the service of our students.

 

The person of Jesus Christ supports our Church and our University,   His preaching of love of God and love of Neighbor guides us every day, even when we need reconciliation.   May we build our own lives recognizing Jesus as our personal cornerstone supporting and inspiring our faith, hope and love.

 

And, remember, too, that in our prayers with Jesus, he will listen to us even when we are whining.