Three Fruits: Plants, Parable and People

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is entitled Three Fruits: Plants, Parable and People. My focus is Matthew 21: 33-46. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

In a previous sermon, I told you how my mother taught us to eat, preserve and share the fruit of our garden, and by doing so, taught me something about pastoral ministry. By way of introduction, I recall this for my first point, which is, so to speak, plant-based.

When Cindy and I lived in Oklahoma and Illinois, our attempts at gardening were thwarted by high heat, lack of sun or limited space. Since we moved to Pennsylvania and have 21 acres of land, our attempt this year yielded a fruitful crop. We had plenty of cucumbers for eating, sharing and canning. In addition to eating and sharing tomatoes, we now have plenty of sauce for pasta and pizza. We consumed and shared zucchini, beans, lettuce, peppers, radishes and beets.

In short, like the point of the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, my introduction should get us thinking about not only the lack of fruit provided by the tenants to the maser, and to a greater degree, the lack of fruit shown by Israel to God, but also how we are returning to God His fruits or all He gave us. And so, we move from plants to parable.

Following last week’s confrontation between Jesus and the chief priests of the Temple, we read three judgment parables. Today’s is the second of three. The parable of the Evil Tenants in the Vineyard continued the image of the vineyard in the first parable (21:28). In this one, Jesus’ tone of judgment is more threatening, especially because the ones judged are no longer simply the leaders but the whole people of Israel.

Central to Matthew’s understanding of the parable is his insertion of the verse which reads, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits … (21:43). In Matthew, the vineyard becomes the kingdom, present even in the Old Testament in Israel. While the leaders are indicted in a special way, the whole people of Israel suffer the loss of the kingdom.

The kingdom is handed over to another people, the new people of God, the church. Of course, this church contains Jews, but it is not Jewish by definition; it is not Israel. The church is a “third people” – neither Jew nor Gentile, yet made up of both. The continuity of this church and Israel is not one of simple growth. There is no succession plan or smooth transition of power. There is a tragic break. The kingdom is wrenched from one and given to another. If there is any connection between Israel and the church in salvation-history, it is that both had contact with Jesus, the bearer of the kingdom.

Matthew’s understanding and view of Church is clear from verse 43, and the parable must be read in its light. In the parable, Matthew streamlined the narrative and brought out clearly the parallels with stages of salvation-history. The owner of the vineyard is explicitly called “master of the house” from the very beginning of the parable (21:33), making the reference to God more obvious from the start. Being God, he does not ask for some of the fruit (as in Mark 12:2), but rather for “his fruit” – which means the complete doing of God’s will.

Matthew grouped the slaves of the householder into two sets, representing the prophets before and after the exile. He stressed that even after the exile, Israel did not repent. The prophets after the exile met the same suffering as the prophets who came before the exile. Israel’s whole history is one great rejection of the prophets, and so it is not surprising that Jesus fares no better. However, Matthew carefully distinguishes from the prophets of the Old Testament the son who is sent later or last. Notice too how the son’s fate reflected the historical circumstances of Jesus’ crucifixion. He is first thrown out of the vineyard, that is, Jerusalem, and then killed.

With a fine dramatic and ironic touch, Matthew has Jesus ask his enemies what the Lord of the vineyard will do when he comes in judgment. Once again, the leaders are forced to condemn themselves. They are the evil tenants who will be destroyed while the vineyard, the kingdom, is given to another people who will render God his fruit by doing his will.

Jesus replies that this is indeed the end-time reversal prophecy of Psalm 118 (22-23). The builders, the Jewish leaders, have rejected Jesus because he did not fit into their narrative for building the people of God. They act out their rejection in the passion and crucifixion. But, by the resurrection, God reversed that decision and made Jesus the keystone of a new structure, the new people of God, the church. This is a marvelous turnabout and a new beginning, a miracle possible to God alone.

The leaders realized that Jesus was speaking about them, but they dare not act now because the crowds who see him as a prophet offer protection. Furthermore, Jesus’ prophetic role also included martyrdom. Now, having dealt with the fruit of the parable, we move to people, my third point.

The parable applies to every man and woman. We are each given a vineyard: our own life. We are each given all the means necessary (hedge, tower, wine press) to live our lives in accordance with God’s plan for us. We are each given multiple chances to put our lives right with God, honoring him and loving him by living as he designed us to live. And each of us, in some way, has been introduced to the owner’s son, Jesus Christ. It seems from the Gospel texts that few chief priests and elders actually repented and accepted Christ’s message. It’s easy for us to deplore such hardheartedness, but before doing so, we should see what kind of fruit our own vineyards are producing, and how much our lives are giving glory to God instead of trying to steal glory for ourselves.

The owner of the vineyard would have had every right to punish the tenants after they did away with the first batch of servants, but he didn’t. He sent more, and more, and finally his own son. Only when we have made a definitive decision against him and hold fast to that decision in the face of abundant gestures of his love will he let us have what we have wrongly chosen. In short, we deserve nothing less than death and eternal punishment, as we confess each Sunday.

Yet, God is good all the time. He is loving and merciful, forgiving and charitable. But God is just, and for some that does mean death and eternal punishment. However, Jesus Christ, our Lord, Master and true friend, does not condemn those who refuse his friendship; they condemn themselves.

So, as I close, know this: if others think you have condemned yourself or if you think others have condemned themselves, Jesus will never give up on you or anyone. If only you knew how much He loves the Church and every person in it, and how patient the Father is, how magnificently and unabashedly he loves each one of his children – no matter where they stand religiously or politically – you would know that Jesus will never give up on anyone, including you. We, then, must never give up on ourselves. No matter how many times you offend, fail or reject Christ through sin – and that will occur daily until we draw our final breath – know that He is always ready and willing to renew our friendship for He is always taking the first step, moving you and inspiring you to come back to Him.

Knowing that, what fruits then do we return to God? How about everything? How would you respond if God asked you to give up everything and that He would provide for you? Would you respond like Abraham or Job? Would you grasp harshly everything like the money-changers or chief priests?

If God asked for my job or title, income or investments, vehicles, house or family heirlooms, could I surrender those? What about my reputation and relationships, strength or health, sight or hearing? What if God wanted back your friends, family, parents, children, spouse or your own life tonight, would I accept that?

And while you are pondering that, know that God is not being greedy. He gave you everything, even those things you worked for are gifts from God. In loving-kindness, God gives us all things, and in the same loving-kindness, God asks you to return them.

Recently, during an intimate conversation with my brother about the state of the world these days, I mentioned that daily I recite a prayer that not only rekindles within me calmness and peace, but also reminds me that God indeed has given everything I am and have, and that I am to return all to Him. Or, to paraphrase the words of one Presidential of Freedom recipient, life is on loan from God. The prayer is commonly known as the Suscipe, Latin for receive. This prayer is based on Psalm 119 and was popularized by Ignatius of Loyola. It goes like this:

 

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all to me. To You, O Lord, I return it. All is Yours, dispose of it wholly according to Your will. Give me only Your love and grace, for this is sufficient for me.

 

My friends, I don’t ask that you incorporate that particular prayer into your quiver, but pray whatever resounds with it. Maybe a thorough reading of Psalm 119 is in order for you.

And for those who are far from Christ and those who don’t recognize the hardness of their own hearts, pray that God conquers them with love and grace. Pray that they do not perish, but are granted eternal life. In Christ, all things are possible. So, pray that God softens their hearts and reaches out to them through you.

Today, when many people remember and recognize a peaceful and holy Francis of Assisi, who had to deal with great acrimony among his brothers and sisters – all dedicated to the Lord – pray that you too be a channel of God’s peace. And when you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Psalm 122.