First Reading Isaiah 5:1–7
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
Psalm Psalm 80:7–15
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved. 8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering cedar trees by its boughs. 11 You stretched out its tendrils to the sea and its branches to the river. 12 Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by
pluck off its grapes? 13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it. 14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; 15 behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.
Second Reading Philippians 3:4b–14
4b If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the
loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel Matthew 21:33–46
33 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 watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 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.” 42 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’? 43 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. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They
wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
It’s not really ours
Not long ago a man decided to take a trip to Japan. It was to be his first visit, and he was a little anxious because he couldn’t speak Japanese. All during the preparations for the trip he kept wondering how was he going to communicate with the people he came in
contact with? Having heard that most taxi drivers in Japan don’t speak English, he asked around about the best way to handle this and someone suggested that it might be a good idea to carry with him something bearing the name of the hotel, at which he would be staying written in local language. This sounded like excellent advise, so that’s exactly what he did. As soon as he arrived in Japan he picked up a box of matches bearing the name and address of his hotel. Feeling more secure with his situation he went out into the local city sight-seeing.
Later that day when he was finished checking out the sights, he confidently hailed a cab and did as the friend suggested, he took the box of matches out of his pocket to show the driver where he wanted to go. However, there were a few awkward moments before the driver seemed to understand, but finally the driver’s face lit up. Quickly they sped away. Half an hour later, the taxi came to a screeching halt. The driver turned and
beamed at his passenger, pointing out the window. There was only one problem. They had stopped, not in front of a hotel, but in front of a match factory!
You don’t have to travel overseas to appreciate this situation, all we have to do is interact with people and before long a misunderstanding will occur. Someone will say something and for whatever reason we don’t understand. It’s as if they were speaking a foreign
language. You want to go back to the hotel and instead find yourself in front of a match factory. It’s sorta like the story about two men from Mars who decide to do a little sightseeing here on Earth. They realize that to avoid causing a panic they must appear as inconspicuous as possible. They obtain American clothing, learn the language, and in general make themselves as ordinary as possible.
During their first day on Earth nobody notices a thing unusual about them. At
the end of the day they celebrate their successful foray at an exclusive restaurant.
As they’re paying their check, they’re astonished to hear the waiter say, “You guys must be from outer space!” “What?” asked the dumbfounded Martians. “How can you tell?” “Well,” replied the waiter, “you’re the first customers to pay with cash since I’ve been working here.” Trying to relate to others isn’t always easy. At times it seems like we’re from a different culture, or speaking a completely different language. Even Jesus, through whom all things were created, had difficulties at time getting His message across.
There were times when Jesus tried to communicate profound truths to those around Him and they acted as if He were from Mars. He would say something and He could watch their eyes glaze over. In particular, He had real difficulty getting through to the religious officials of His day. Part of the problem was that they wanted nothing to do with Him or His teachings. In far too many cases they were quick to condemn, without even listening to Him. They were so sure of themselves, and their standing in the community, that they were impervious to everything He did or said. What would any of us do in that situation? We try to communicate something important, but they just don’t get it. You’re not getting through. That was the situation Jesus found Himself in. So He used a technique that He so often employed, He told a parable. He told a story of greed and rebellion that
communicates some key information about our role in His kingdom. And the first important point in this story is that we need to remember that this is His kingdom, not ours, and we have a responsibility to be good stewards.
Jesus begins our gospel reading for this morning by telling a story that echoes the prophet Isaiah from our Old Testament reading. It’s a story that those listening would have recognized; except Jesus changes it up a bit. Instead of the focus being on the grapes,
Jesus paints the unfaithful as the tenants. Jesus begins His parable like this; a landowner goes out and plants himself a vineyard. And to protect his venture, he fences it in. Then to further secure his investment, he has a watch tower built to guard against thieves or wild
animals. Once the estate is up and running he decides to go away, and leases his holdings to some tenants, in exchange for a portion of the crop. To this the tenants gladly agreed.
When harvest time came the landowner sent some of his servants to the vineyard to collect his share of the produce. But high in the watch tower the tenants see the servants approaching. But, instead of going out to welcome the owner’s servants and handing over their rightful payment, the tenants beat one of the servants, kill another and stone yet
another. Word of course gets back to the landowner, and as one would expect, the owner is extremely displeased. This time he sends more servants, more than before, to collect what is due him, but these too are treated the same as the first ones sent.
Again news of what happened reaches the land owner who now decides to send his only son. Surely, “they will respect my son.” But when the tenants see the son approaching,
they say among themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they take him out of the vineyard and kill him. Then Jesus asks the crowd, what would you do if you were the owner? What would you do if you were the target of such a rebellion?
Rebellion is an ancient theme in the Bible. It goes all the way back to the beginning,
to the story of Adam and Eve. It’s at the heart of the story of the tower of Babel. It’s the story of the children of Israel during the Exodus. In fact it’s a central theme throughout Israel’s history. And we’re no different; it’s also an integral part of our history. And the result of rebellion is always the same; alienation, heartbreak and tragedy. And this parable points directly to the problem and to us, Jesus is telling those who will listen that we are the tenants.
There was a story was making the rounds during the last presidential campaign. An
asteroid hits the speaker’s platform at a Seattle conference center, and Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Gates, all arrive in heaven at the same time. They’re greeted by the Almighty, who is sitting on His golden throne. First, the Lord speaks to Obama, asking what he believes in. “I believe in renewable energy and a clean environment,” Obama replies. “Very good,” the Almighty says. “Come sit near me. “Then he asks George W. Bush the same question. “I believe in cutting taxes and taking good care of the military,” Bush replies. “Excellent,” says the Almighty. “Come sit near me. “Then God asks Bill Gates what he believes. “I believe,” Gates replies, “you’re sitting in my chair.”
Now if we were to be honest, there are times when all of us try to put ourselves in God’s seat. There are times when all of us act as if the world is our playground and we’re supreme over all we survey. We far too often forget that everything we have is, in reality, simply on loan to us from God. We’re merely the temporary tenants. Like it or not, we really don’t own anything, even though we sometimes act as if we own it all. Everything, ultimately belongs to God.
It’s like the church that was located next door to a supermarket. Since the
church was short on parking spaces and the supermarket was closed on Sundays,
the church leaders asked the owner of the supermarket for permission to park in
his lot. The owner’s response was “Fine. You are welcome to use it 51 weeks a
year.” 51 weeks of the year, why just 51, what about the other week, the church members asked? “That week,” said the owner of the market, “I’ll chain off the lot so you’ll always remember that the lot belongs to me, and not to the church.” Good point.
Too often we tend to act like we’re the owners, forgetting that we’re only the tenants. Which brings us to another interesting thought; happiness comes to those who
understand they own nothing. The tenants in Jesus’ parable were greedy. They
wanted everything for themselves and were unwilling to give the landowner his
fair share. The landowner, on the other hand, was generous. He’d given them
control of his well-planned estate. They could enjoy the fruits of his labor. All
he asked was a share of the produce. Sounds a lot like many of the people we know; possible even you and me. It might even sound like every person who has ever walked this earth. God has provided for us so abundantly and all God asks is a small portion in return. But we find ourselves thinking that the blessings that we enjoy are ours; we get
greedy. And in our greed we even want to withhold what is rightfully His. The
happiest people who have ever lived are those who gratefully acknowledge the
ownership of God.
William White once told of visiting his 98-year-old mother-in-law in a nursing home. He remembers her quietly saying, “Think of the lilies and how they grow.” Long ago this
frail, blind woman made the discovery that all of life is a blessing from God. She spent much of her time repeating scripture verses that she had learned throughout her life. The scriptures gave her both strength and comfort during many lonely hours. She was an active woman right up until she entered the nursing home, walking a mile a day, though her eyesight was gradually worsening. She loved people and was always helping them. Even in the nursing home she used a walker to spread her joyful faith.
“Facing each day is not easy for her,” White reflected, “but she keeps her spirits up.” She felt that even at ninety-eight she had a mission. There in the nursing home she
was able to touch the lives of other residents as well as some employees. In fact, some of the former employees who changed jobs still returned to the nursing home, to spend time with this remarkable woman. William White was inspired when his mother-in-law told him how thankful she was to have memorized so many scriptures before she lost her eyesight. Those scriptures filled her heart with the Lord.
This dear 98-year-old lady didn’t have much left in this world, but she had the only thing we ever really own, her faith in God. Everything else that we have is on loan. Our job is to pass this faith along to others. The point is no matter how rich we are, if we’re not rich toward God, we don’t have anything! The vineyard belongs to Him. Happiness is found in recognizing our place as His tenants. And there’s one thing more that to be said; to be good tenants we need to be good stewards. Jesus calls us to good stewardship.
Faithful stewardship is an important responsibility. Jesus asked the religious officials what the owner of the vineyard would do to the rebellious tenants. They had no difficulty in responding, “He will put those wretches to miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” They were so confident in their judgment that they failed to realize that they were condemning themselves with their own answer. They failed to acknowledge the fact that the parable was about them. They had been entrusted with the spiritual care of God’s people. Unfortunately, many of them looked upon it only as a job, a way of earning a good living a source of prestige and power. They were so set in their ways that they stoned the prophets who threatened their comfortable life and eventually they crucified God’s own Son. That’s a warning to every one of us involved in religious work whether as clergy or as laity. We as followers of Christ and as workers in His kingdom have a responsibility.
The story is told of a great oil refinery. This refinery was enormous. It employed all the modern techniques of chemical engineering. It was an impressive structure that the company took great pride in and it was very well maintained. The interior was bright, the pipes glistened. The workers were hand selected and proud to be part of such a company. They made sure that the plant was kept spotless and that everything was kept in perfect
working order. In fact the oil refinery soon gained a world-wide reputation. One day, some visitors asked to have a tour of this magnificent oil refinery. There was some reluctance at first to allow any guests. But the visitors insisted. They had traveled a great distance to see the refinery and wanted to tour the facility. The plant manager contacted his boss who reluctantly gave permission for the visitors to tour the plant.
The visitors walked through the vast chambers where they saw the processing petroleum, the gleaming pipes that carried the petroleum products from place to place, and the highly sophisticated computer system that had been put in place to keep the refinery going. All during the tour the visitors couldn’t help but be impressed. At the end of the tour, one of the guests asked the guide if they might be permitted to see the shipping department. “What shipping department?” asked the guide, clearly confused.
“Why, the shipping department that takes care of distribution of all the gasoline and oil you process here,” said the tourist. “We don’t have a shipping department,” answered the guide. “There’s no need for one, all the energy products produced in this refinery, are used up keeping the refinery going.”
Could this be a parable of our lives? Is all our resources used up just keeping our personal lives afloat? Could it be that we are no better than the tenants in Jesus’ parable? Could it be that we, too, confuse our mission with comfort and ease? Have we allowed our greed and personal desires to consume all our blessings and we begrudge the small amount God asks for in return? It really is about having the right attitude and outlook.
It’s about remembering and reminding ourselves that this is not our world, it’s God’s. This isn’t our church, it’s God’s. We have been called here to this congregation to be the tenants; to be good stewards of the gifts and resources that God has blessed us with. We are called to use our blessings to further His kingdom. In return for all that He lavishes on us, we have a responsibility to return to Him a portion of our time, talent and resources; all of which what are His already, and we’re to use the gifts He so richly gives to His glory.
AMEN
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