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Rev. Emily Owen
Biblical Text: Matthew 21: 33-46
Our gospel reading today comes from the gospel according to Matthew. Last week, our gospel reading was also from Matthew and told of when Jesus entered the temple and the chief priests and Pharisees asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things (meaning teaching and preaching) and who gave you this authority?” It is important to remember that this conversation was happening amidst intense and growing tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees and some of the Jewish leaders. The Pharisees were good people; they could be trusted and were often respected for their devotion to God. The word Pharisee literally means “separated” and they were people who separated themselves from other Jews and devoted themselves to live a holy life before God. However, there were times that they sometimes loved their religious tradition more than God and neighbor. They sometimes allowed their political and religious power to get in the way of loving God and neighbor. They were intelligent, but did not always live in ways that showed God’s love. Because of all of these things, they were blind to God’s very own son, Jesus Christ and felt threatened by his teaching and preaching in their midst.
So Jesus turns the question back on them and asks them whether the baptism of John came from heaven or whether it was of human origin. The chief priests and Pharisees are unable to answer because they know that if they say “from heaven” then Jesus will ask them why they did not believe him. But if they said that it was “of human origin” then they would have to deal with the crowds, who believed John to be a prophet. They finally answer that they do not know and Jesus then offers three parables - our scripture reading for today is the middle parable of these three. Jesus uses this parable to help the chief priests and Pharisees understand that the issue is not his authority. The issue is the response of his interrogators to his preaching and to that of John, both of whom call for repentance and the bearing of fruit suitable to the kingdom of God. Our scripture reading from the twenty-first chapter of Matthew begins with Jesus speaking to the Pharisees.
Matthew 21:33-46
‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
The Faith and Values Section of yesterday’s paper had an article looked at ways that religious leaders are responding to the ever increasing anxiety regarding the state of the economy. In the article, Spiritual leaders’ offered advice on weathering this stormy economy. Their advice for the most part can be summed up like this: let go of fear, help one another, find your true security in God. Let go of fear, help one another, find your true security in God. Fear seems to be prevalent these days – maybe more so than normal. There are fears of losing invested money, fear of losing a job, fear of losing a house, fear of the future of our country’s economy. The list goes on and on. The people to whom Jesus was speaking to in our scripture reading for today – the chief priests and Pharisees - also lived in a state of fear…fear of losing status and respect, fear of falling short of high expectations, fear of being run out of their place by a new, bold young prophet. These fears can quickly become dangerous because fear causes us to build walls that make it difficult for us to hear or see God’s active movement in our lives. If we become so intent on guarding ourselves out of fear, we might miss the signs of hope, love and grace right in front of us.
Perhaps this advice from spiritual leaders in the newspaper is not far from the message that Jesus not so blatantly sent to the chief priests and Pharisees that he was speaking with. Perhaps he knew their fear was so great that they were unable to see or understand. As I said before I read the scripture, the tension between Jesus and these chief priests and Pharisees had been growing for about three years. Remember it was Jesus who ate with outcasts, associated with sinners and healed a man on the Sabbath. He was not what the Pharisees would consider “A Man of God.” Ironic, huh?
As we heard in our Old Testament reading that Bill read, the law had been laid out and the Pharisees felt they followed this law…and they did. But in doing so, their fears caused them to be blind to the grace and mercy and love that was in their midst because they feared this grace and mercy and love would interfere with their own power and their own control. They could not let go of their fear.
Our scripture reading for today is confusing. I have found that many of Jesus’ parables can be confusing, because he was often taking what “seemed to be” and turning it upside down. He used creative ways to help people think and live in new ways.
Our scripture for today describes a man who owns some land and decides to plant a vineyard. He prepares the land and then leases this fruitful land to some tenants and he goes off to another country. After the harvest, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect the fruit of his land, but the tenants seized his slaves injuring some and killing another. So the landowner decides to send some other slaves, more this time than the first group he sent. This group of slaves was treated in a similar manner as the first. So, the landowner decides to send his son thinking to himself, “Surely, they will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the man’s son coming they decided to kill him, too.
Let us set this parable side by side with another story we know. God created the heavens and the Earth and then created humans beings to live upon the Earth. God sent prophets to share God’s word, but they were rejected. Again and again, God sent prophets and they were treated in a similar manner – often disrespected and rejected. And finally, God sends his own Son to preach and teach the gospel and to share God’s love with the world. But instead of hearing the message that Jesus brings, Jesus too is rejected by these religious leaders who are full of fear. Jesus is nailed upon a cross to die.
When we hear these stories side by side it is easier to see where Jesus was going with this parable, told to the Chief Priests and Pharisees – the very ones who would eventually arrest and kill him. The story’s issue has nothing to do with a vineyard; the issue is about God and the people of God.
Even as Jesus spoke with the chief priests and the Pharisees as he told this parable, he knew that he was going to die on the cross. And just as we think this parable is going to be a judgment on those who rejected Jesus, Jesus says, that even though he will be rejected, he will become the cornerstone to a whole new world. Then he says, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The question is not who is in and who is out. The question is one of introspection….we are to look at our own lives and our own actions and ask ourselves…are we a people producing the fruits of the kingdom?
The chief priests and the Pharisees lived and acted out of fear and instead of responding to them with violence or anger, Jesus offers firm, but loving reminders for them to consider whether or not they are producing the fruits of the kingdom which they seem to want to take full credit for. By reminding them to take a closer look at themselves and their actions, he gently calls them …and us… to live lives that bear good fruit.
Are we a people producing the fruits of the kingdom or is our vision of the kingdom blocked by our own fears and desires?
Perhaps the religious leaders in the newspaper are on to something…“Let go of fear, help one another, find your true security in God.” This is a call to produce fruits of the kingdom of God.
Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday. This celebration has taken on new relevancy and depth of meaning in a world where globalization often has undermined peace and justice – and in a time when fear divides the people of God's earth. On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ, in the midst of the world we are called to serve.
As we come to this table, invited by the one who willingly gave his life that we might have life, we remember that people all over the world gather this very day to partake in the same body that Jesus Christ offers each of us.
So we come…we eat….we taste and we see….that God is good. The story does not end with Jesus dying on a cross. The story continues and Jesus is raised to new life. And the story continues with us….and with what we do in response to the one who freely gave to us. We respond not out of obligation or requirement, but out of joy and thanksgiving for the grace given to us by Jesus Christ. We give thanks to the landowner, who gave us his son that we might have eternal life. We give thanks to the one who nudges us to live lives that bear good fruit.
So we are drawn to ask ourselves, are we a people producing the fruits of the kingdom? But we can’t ask ourselves this question without first asking, What does it mean to produce fruits of the kingdom? What does it mean to bear good fruit?
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he reminds us that the fruit of the spirit “is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are gifts of character, given to us by God. Part of bearing good fruit is answering God’s call upon our lives – prayerfully considering the gifts God has given to each of us and where we are called to serve within the church, within our community and within the world.
In a few minutes we will be ordaining an elder and deacon, two young ladies called by God to serve this particular church and to be active participants and leaders in the ministry that happens in this place. God has not only called them, but will also continue to provide for them so that they may continue to live into this call. God does not call and abandon, but God calls and provides. There are many ways to bear good fruit, but it begins by recognizing the one who provides nourishment, hope and love so that this fruit can grow. We cannot allow fear to hold us back and tell us that we are not talented enough, or wise enough for a certain task that God is calling us to do. Part of bearing good fruit is not only being aware of the gifts that God has given us and considering where God is calling us to serve, but also putting our fear aside and responding to God’s call upon our lives.
There is not an easy answer to defining what it means to bear good fruit. It is a way of living…a life of joyful response to the one who has given freely to us. It is following the law, loving one another and God….it is using the gifts that God has given us to further God’s kingdom. It is living as though the kingdom is present now.
It is no accident that God’s word to us today from the Revised Common Lectionary, is a story of Jesus speaking to a people overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty. Today, as we continue to face fears and worries and doubts in a world that seems unpredictable…we are reminded that the goodness and love of God is always predictable and always constant. Though we might not be able to follow the advice of the spiritual leaders and let go of fear, we can constantly check ourselves to see if our fear is getting in the way of our recognizing God’s action and presence in our life.
We can continue to ask ourselves whether or not we are bearing good fruit. And we can continue, even in times of fear and doubt, to live our lives in ways that respond to the gift we have been given in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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