Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dominica XXVII per Annum A

Stewardship Talk Fall 2026

4 October 2026

This Sunday’s first reading, psalm, and Gospel repeat the image of a vineyard. The vineyard is Israel, later fulfilled in the Church; the landowner is an image for God, and the tenants are the religious leaders. Jesus’ parable clearly echoes Isaiah’s prophecy from the first reading. God prepares and protects His vineyard so that it lacks nothing. Just as clearly, He expects it to produce a valuable harvest. Isaiah expresses God’s expectation when he writes, “Then he looked for the crop of grapes.” In the Gospel, the expected harvest is seen when the landowner sends servants, more servants, and finally his son “to obtain his produce.” When the tenants refuse, we are told he will “lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” Jesus puts an exclamation point on the expected harvest when he concludes: “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

Fall is a common time for parishes to highlight stewardship: giving our time, talent, and treasure to the parish. That is my goal this weekend. I chose this weekend because these readings offer a strong application for stewardship: they show God’s attentive care for His vineyard, the Church, and remind us that He looks for a return from those He has so generously blessed.

In a society full of possibilities and material goods, Christian stewardship begins by recognizing what God has done for us. Life’s busyness can make us focus on what we lack instead of the blessings we already have. Christian stewards first cultivate gratitude for God’s generosity. Next, we let that gratitude overflow into generosity toward others. This parish’s focus on stewardship shaped my own practice when I arrived as Pastor. A key moment for me came while praying with Deuteronomy sixteen (16): In that passage Israel is told that “the measure of your own free-will offering shall be in proportion to the blessing the Lord, your God has bestowed on you,” and a few verses later that “No one shall appear before the Lord empty-handed, but each of you with as much as he can give in proportion to the blessings which the Lord, your God, has bestowed on you” (Dt. 16:10, 16b-17). That passage changed how I understood giving. Appearing empty-handed is not merely about an amount; it suggests that I have failed to acknowledge God’s generosity. To appear before the Lord empty-handed is really to c