Below is a video and text of this past weekend's homily.  For links to transcripts from previous weekend homilies click here:

The Gospel imagery is rich, and it draws upon the Old Testament. We hear that the chosen community that was bonded with God through his covenant is represented by the Vineyard. The tenants represent the religious leaders and the elders at the time of Jesus. And the tenants we hear killed the servants, those servants were the prophets. The disciples and ultimately the vineyard receives the sun of the land on Earth just like God said his son. In the well-being of the Vineyard has turned over to violent destruction, and essentially Jesus aims the target audience is to the leader, the church leadership at the time, and it enraged them. They are frustrated by what they hear because they realize it is the truth, "they better shape up" says Jesus. Because division is not the way forward, the way forward according to Jesus as he makes clear elsewhere in his teaching and ministry is all about care, not division. The tenants build to care.

Evident throughout our history, we are filled to care, the Prophets were sent to reach the truth, and to seek the truth to power, and they were rejected. God sent Jesus to heal, to minister, to gather disciples, to reconcile the world and as we know Jesus was rejected by some of his own people, abandoned by his closest friends, executed at the suggestion of some of the religious leaders. So, although there is a seeming pattern for care, division, God invited us to break the cycle of division with care. This is not easy in our fragile, in our complex world, but the church has struggled with this and continues to be invited to care. A couple of examples of the struggles, principles, doctrines, or dogmas become identity markers for some in the Church. Some in the church associates their most primary identity with one cause, or a certain movement, and some particular worship styles also become an identity marker.

Differences are beautiful, when we honor and appreciate the diversity among us, that's what makes witness to the universal the lowercase "c" Catholic Church, our diversity, our many expressions through culture, language, worship style, or devotional practice. These are what make the Church beautiful in as we say in creed at the end, we believe one holy lowercase "c" Catholic Apostolic Church.

As we can hear those stories, care is our calling, and division is a temptation.  The senate on senatality, the most recent senate of our church expresses care in the practice of listening, and conversations in the spirit, at those round tables, members were emphasizing, members were called to emphasize that the Holy Spirit moves each person around the table. And this demonstrated a lot of erratical expression of equality in our church. Through our common baptism, different vocations, and one common baptism. So, we celebrate different in our church, and we honor one another gifts, we honor by care and not by our particularity's.

So, this week, in your life, whether it's internal affairs in the church, in your community, or with your family and friends, or whether it is external from our church, whether it's the November Elections, whether its pauses, whether it's where you place your resources in your time, and all of these affairs, our calling card is to care, and this week, how will you listen? How will you visit the sick, and the elderly? How will you serve our unhoused brothers and sisters? Or if you do not have time for those, how will you pick up litter? Just one small deed to express care.

This weekend the church in the calendar commemorates the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who is a model of care for all the creatures in the world, and the world itself. We care because God created us that way, God loved us into being, and over thousands and thousands of years, God went to many great lakes. No matter what, no matter how divided, or how conflicted the world was, God cares, and we are called to do the same. So, this coming week, be a worker in the Vineyard of the lord. To help the Lord bare good fruit, tasty grapes, resist the temptation to divide, and express the care of God, wherever you find yourself.