Readings: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43
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Today’s parable about the kingdom in Chapter 21 of Matthew’s gospel is particularly violent. The owner of a vineyard has done all the right things outfitting his vineyard and putting tenants in charge. The vineyard is secure and productive. At vintage time, the owner sends his servants to collect his share of the harvest. The tenants turn violent on the servants who are simply doing their job. The owner gives the tenants a second chance. He sends more servants to collect his share. The tenants behave even more badly. So the owner sends his son thinking that the tenants will respect the son. The tenants kill the son thinking this will give them a sure path to inheriting the vineyard. It’s gruesome stuff.
What would any right-thinking vineyard owner then do? He would punish the tenants and hand over the vineyard to a new set of tenants who will do the right thing come harvest time. The chief priests and scribes realise that the parable applies to them when Jesus says: ‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
During the week, Pope Leo concluded his trip to France. Leo recalled something of the turbulent history in France with the French Revolution and the contemporary French idea of laïcité. France was once a very Catholic country, but is no longer. Commentators are asking whether France had something of a Catholic moment last week with 800,000 people lining the Avenue des Champs-Élysées prior to the pope’s mass. Leo recalled President Macron’s observation to the French bishops early in his term as President that ‘a Church that claims to be uninterested in temporal matters would not be fulfilling her vocation; and that a President of the Republic who claims to be uninterested in the Church and in Catholics would be failing in his duty.’[1] Macron travelled all the way to Metz near the German border to attend one of the papal masses.
Leo told civic leaders: ‘A Christian engaged in public service who is guided by the light of his or her conscience illumined by faith cannot be considered a proselytizer or a threat to the unity of the nation. Indeed, authentic secularity does not exclude religion but is capable of valuing it as an educational resource’. [2]
Leo told the bishops of France: ‘You currently live under a particular form of secularity (laïcité), born of a turbulent history that is now more peaceful, but which must allow the Church to carry out her mission. The fact that this hard-won balance is gradually being called into question, as is happening elsewhere in the Western world, must not lead you to give up. I urge you to remain vigilant in defending the freedom and rights of the Church to evangelise, to educate about true freedom, and to worship publicly, so that charity may be exercised visibly in the name of Jesus Christ.’[3]
At a meeting of inter-religious leaders, Leo then said: ‘The greatness of a civilisation is not measured by its material achievements, but by the way it cares for, protects and upholds the human person. Religions are guardians of life, for they affirm its sacred value. Their fruitfulness is shown in their loving presence alongside those who are most vulnerable and fragile. To serve life means to surround it with care, presence and tenderness, especially in times of trial, right to the very end. For those of us who are open to transcendence, our mission is to offer sound points of reference, especially to young people, to help build a communion that respects and upholds the dignity of every human person.’ [4]
The pope’s visit was friendly, upbeat and inspiring. He repeated the claim in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas that ‘the Church regards all who sincerely seek “truth, goodness and beauty” as companions on the journey’.[5] On the way home on the plane, a journalist asked him if he had crossed the line, buying into politics. He was unapologetic, replying: ‘There can be politicians on the left or on the right, and situations where they say “no, religion should only be in the private sphere. [And] let people do what they want on their own, but that as a State we have to be separate.” The very fact is that when I went to France, I went primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the Good News, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he says “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” so to speak the truth that Jesus offers us.’[6]
The vineyard is in good hands. The tenants are doing their job, as are the servants coming for the harvest. It’s been a good week both for church and state, and not just in France.
Today we mark the 800th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi. During this Season of Creation, inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’, it’s fitting that we conclude with Francis’s Canticle of the Sun:
Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, the honour, and all blessings.
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no person is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures;
especially Brother Sun, who is the day, and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,
and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
which is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night;
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains us and governs us and who produces
varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, they shall be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord,
through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord,
and give Him thanks,
and serve Him with great humility.
Amen.
May the sun, moon and stars, wind, water and fire, and all the earth inspire us as we cultivate and share the fruits of the vineyard which is the Kingdom of God breaking in here and now.
Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO, Adjunct Professor of Thomas More Law School at ACU and Adjunct Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, is a former Rector of Newman College, University of Melbourne, and CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). His latest books include Pope Francis: the Disruptive Pilgrims Guide (ATF Theology, 2025), and Equality, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion: The Inspiration of Sir William Deane (Connor Court, 2026).
[1] E. Macron, Address by the President of the Republic to the Bishops of France, Collège des Bernardins, 9 April 2018.
[2] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/september/documents/20260925-francia-autorita.html
[3] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/september/documents/20260927-francia-vescovi-cef.html
[4] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/september/documents/20260928-francia-incontro-interreligioso.html
[5] Magnifica Humanitas, #23.
[6] https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/september/documents/20260928-francia-volo-ritorno.html
