Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, O.P., Martin de Porres House, Oak Park, Illinois
Prepare for Sunday Mass with a walk through this week's challenging readings. Fr. Scott begins with the original parable of the vineyard in Isaiah 5: a carefully planted vineyard with a hedge, a watchtower, and a wine press that yields only rotten, stinking grapes. The vineyard is the house of Israel, and the owner threatens to let it go to ruin.
At the heart of Isaiah's warning is a famous Hebrew wordplay. God looked for *mishpat* (justice, proper governance where the poor have what they need) and found *mispach* (bloodshed). He looked for *tsedaqah* (righteousness, everyone having enough) and found *tse'aqah* (the outcry of the poor). God does not need to look down to see corruption; he hears the cry of the poor.
Jesus takes up the same vineyard in Matthew 21 and shifts it. The vineyard is still Israel, but now the problem is the tenants, who beat the owner's messengers and kill his son. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. What changes? Jesus is the heir, and God is no longer threatening to lay waste to everything. He is replacing the leaders with people who will produce a harvest of justice, help for the poor, and peace.
Finally, Paul writes to the suffering Philippians: make your requests known to God, and the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts. Pursue whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious, not only because these are good in themselves, but because God builds on them something that surpasses all we could expect. That is the promise, and that is the challenge.
**Chapters**
0:00 Welcome | Fr. Scott Steinkerchner from Oak Park
0:16 Three Challenging Readings: Isaiah, Matthew, and Paul
0:45 Isaiah 5: The Original Parable of the Vineyard
1:45 Rotten Grapes and a Vineyard Left to Ruin
2:33 "He Looked for Judgment, but See Bloodshed": The Hebrew Wordplay
3:34 Righteousness vs. the Cry of the Poor
4:30 A Serious Parable for Our Day
5:18 Matthew 21: Jesus Retells the Parable with Tenants
6:30 "What Will the Owner Do?" and the Rejected Cornerstone
7:18 What's Different: God Replaces the Leaders, Not the Vineyard
8:23 Leaders Who Respond to the Cry of the Poor
9:03 Philippians 4: The Peace That Surpasses All Understanding
10:09 "Whatever Is True, Whatever Is Honorable"
10:54 Why We Pursue Justice: God Builds on It
11:44 The Promise and the Challenge
**Questions to bring to Mass**
- Where do I see *mispach* where God looks for *mishpat*: outcry where there should be justice?
- Do I demand leaders, civil and religious, who respond to the cry of the poor?
- What small act of justice, truth, or peace can I offer this week for God to build on?
**Sunday's readings:** Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43
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