“Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit” (Matthew 21:43).  

The major theme for this 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time emphasizes the necessity of producing good fruits to glorify God and warns us about God’s chastisement for our spiritual sterility and bad fruits of ingratitude, wickedness and sin that will compel His rightful judgment and punishment for our sins.

God expects good fruit from us. That’s why today’s readings follow the last two previous Sundays, use again the theme of vineyards as an example of producing good fruits for God. However, on many occasions, God does not find them. Despite this ugly reality, God continues to grant us grace upon grace, because He has confidence in each of us, in our ability to bear good fruit, from the moment we open ourselves to His grace. There are no fields too hard or barren for God.

Without a solid interior life, the good fruits that God has the right to expect from us cannot be produced. For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor is there a bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:43). The heart is good when it is united with Christ and only then does it produce good fruits, the fruits of “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity” (CCC #1832, Galatians 5:22-23). Without personal holiness we will not be able to bear good fruit and we will even harm others.

God does not want us holding a relationship of Transaction but Transformation. Therefore, Dynamic Christian disciples are those who (1) BELIEVE, (2) GROW, (3) SERVE, (4) LOVE and (5) LEAD others to Jesus. Today’s topic invites us to produce good fruits for God in our lives, to follow Jesus Christ more closely, to repent our sins, to exercise our Christian stewardship, to use our time, treasure, and talents to love God above all and to love our neighbors as ourselves, participating in the works of mercy, to accomplish God’s will in our lives to glorify God.  

How can we help each other repent our sins, renew our lives to produce good fruits of the Holy Spirit to glorify God?

Wishing everyone a blessed week in the Lord.