Cleanse the Temple! Homily for the Twenty seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the vineyard of the Lord is the Kingdom of Heaven which we are commanded to tend. We are charged with preaching the kingdom, through our words and deeds, so that this vineyard will flourish. And each Sunday, and at other times, we are called to offer sacrifice to God, to praise and worship Him.

The Kingdom of God is made available to us primarily through the office of the priest, who offers us the sacraments that allow us to access this Kingdom. Without the sacraments, we would be unable to resist sin, and realise the great promise of salvation that has been made to us. Priests, therefore, are central to the tasks of the vineyard, not only because they lead the house of Israel in proper worship, but also because they make available to us the sacraments.

It is for this reason that the fall in vocations to the priesthood, and to religious life in general, is a matter of concern. It is for this reason that we are asked to pray for vocations to the priesthood. And yet, it is my firm conviction, that these prayers are misplaced, because the drought in vocations has been willed by our Lord Himself, displeased as he is with us, the wretched tenants of His vineyard, who fail to give him the produce of our work at the proper times.

I refer to the way in which we worship Him. The Holy Father, Pope Leo has himself, on multiple occasions raised this concern, of priests who do not follow the rubrics when they celebrate the Mass. Of worship that has lost sense of solemnity and dignity. How often, are our Masses a celebration of ourselves, the community, and not of God, tailored to His dignity? Listen to the words of the psalm in today's lectionary:

Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit

There is one location that I am personally aware of, where the faithful – if they can truly be called such – use the sanctuary and the sacristy as thoroughfares to get to the parish office. Indeed, the ample sanctuary of this church was used by the lay volunteers to count the money offered during Mass! The words of Our Lord: “It is written, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves” (Mt 21: 13) come to mind. Both the sanctuary and sacristy are holy places, where one should fear to tread; that we do not think twice to do so is a statement of the disrespect we afford to these places and ultimately to Him to whom they belong.

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. 

The problem does not exhaust itself among the lay faithful. Indeed, the problem begins from within the priesthood, from which - despite the presence of very many holy priests - great evils have sprung. It is not as if there are a lack of vocations to the priesthood. There are, in fact, many men (and women) who seek to enter into priestly or religious life. They do not, however, find places that match their desire for houses burning with zeal for the Lord. How often are those in religious life seized upon, not to spend time in contemplation and worthy worship, but to operate as cogs in an administrative wheel dedicated to running hospitals, schools and other social services? The love of our brethren is an important commandment, but it cannot be placed over the commandment to love God!

When we speak of the servant who was stoned, one can think of the many young pious men across the world who enter seminary, and find that their piety, instead of being viewed positively, are scorned and mocked. In too many houses of formation across the world, piety and an attention to right worship – ortha doxa – is seen as a defect that must be corrected. And so, such men are hounded, until their spirit is broken, or they leave the seminary, because their ortho-praxis is simply seen as unacceptable.

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.'

I know of one man, whose journey in the faith convinced him that the reception of communion on the tongue, and whilst kneeling, was the way in which he could best honour (and respect) the body of the Son that he was being offered. And yet, abandoning this practice – sanctified by the saints across the ages and a sure method to grow in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament – was made a requirement if he should continue on the journey towards priesthood.

 And so, my dear brothers and sisters, while we continue to pray for vocations, perhaps our prayers should be directed towards obtaining the graces so that right worship is once again restored.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted,

Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

(Image reference: The Cleansing of the Temple, Burlison and Grylls, 1881, St. Peter’s church, Nottingham, photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew O.P., 2015.)