Sunday Seeds
Sunday, 4 October 2026

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Matthew 21:33–43

“The stone rejected by the builders became the keystone.” Matthew 21:42

Liturgical colour: Green
The Vineyard and the Workers: worksheet for age 6
for age 6
Open PDFDownload
The Garden Full of Grapes: worksheet for age 4
for age 4
Open PDFDownload

For grown-ups

Isaiah sings of a vineyard planted with great care that still yields sour grapes, and Jesus picks up the image in His parable of the tenants. The owner gives the workers everything they need, then sends servant after servant, and finally his own son, to collect the harvest. The tenants want the vineyard without the owner. Jesus is the son they reject, and also the stone the builders rejected that becomes the cornerstone.

Everything we have, our family, our home, our time, our children, is God’s vineyard entrusted to us. The question for us is the same one put to the tenants: what fruit are we giving back? St Paul gives a gentle answer in the second reading: bring everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving, and fill your minds with whatever is true, good and lovely. Gratitude is the fruit even small children can offer every day.

Dinner-table questions

  1. What good gifts has God given our family?
  2. How can we take care of the things God gives us?
  3. What is one thing you want to say thank you to God for?
This week’s family practice: Start a family thank-you jar: each day this week, everyone writes or draws one thing they are grateful for and pops it in, then read them together on Sunday.

This Sunday’s readings

First reading
Isaiah 5:1–7
Psalm
Psalm 80 — The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Second reading
Philippians 4:6–9
Gospel
Matthew 21:33–43