Vineyard

The Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. There's

a vineyard out there. So a parable about a vineyard

is not that unusual. We know how it works, more

or less. We're surrounded by vineyards in Sonoma

County. That vineyard was planted by John Vandeventer

back in 2001 before he moved to Texas. It's now

being cared for by a friend of the parish. In

fact, there's someone out there working right

now, a vine dresser. He asks this friend of the

parish, he asks nothing for his labors and for

the people he hires. And when the harvest time

comes, when the time of the fruit draws near,

it's just like the gospel. We receive the fruits

thereof. This man's a good servant, unlike those

in the gospel account of the parable we just

heard. This is an important parable. It sounds

terrifying, but actually, if we listen carefully,

we see how merciful God is. This parable was

spoken by our Lord just after Palm Sunday. Chapter

21 of the Gospel of Matthew, we're getting near

the end. The parable was spoken just after he

had come into the great temple in Jerusalem,

and St. Matthew recounts that Jesus went into

the temple and overthrew the tables of the money

changers. He said to them, it is written, my

house shall be called a house of prayer, but

you have made it a den of thieves. And the chief

priests, says St. Matthew, were sore displeased.

In other words, they were quite angry. They were

angry because he was accusing them, rightly so,

as church history and archaeology and history

tells us, of taking property and money from,

well, the temple parishioners, basically, extorting

them. making deals with the Romans to line their

own pockets. This was the temple priesthood.

The Levites in the Old Testament were the only

tribe to not receive a portion of the land because

they were the ones that would care for the temple

and the sacrifices. But they were gobbling up

all the land. So when Jesus turned to them and

said, you've made the house of God a den of thieves,

They were angry because he was right. Now this

happened just days before the crucifixion. And

the parable gives an extremely clear accusation.

It's clear in its message to the chief priests.

Is it clear to us? The story of accountability

before God. It's not about retribution. It's

not about God's anger. Two things about that.

In the parable, the Lord says, the master sent

servants. Of course, we understand that to be,

in this parable, to be a prophecy and the history

of salvation. He sent servants, the prophets.

And they were stoned. They were harmed. Some

were killed. And then he sent more. To say, the

time of the harvest is at hand. And they were

killed. And then it sends, then... Jesus says

the master sent his son, for they will reverence

and respect my son. But he was taken outside

the vineyard, just as Jesus was taken outside

the walls of Jerusalem onto Golgotha, and he

was killed. And Jesus asks a question in the

parable. Note, read carefully these parables.

Jesus asks this question of those listening to

him. What will the master of the vineyard do

to those miserable men who killed the son? Jesus

is asking that question to the priests. And what

do they say to him? Oh, he will certainly kill

him, all those people, and give the vineyard

to other people who will take care of it. Jesus

then repeats this verse. From Psalm 118. The

stone, the word stone and sun in Hebrew sound

the same, ebon and ben. The stone which the builders

rejected, that one has become the cornerstone.

The vineyard continues for the salvation of the

world. God has been merciful step by step. He

did not destroy those miserable men. No, he didn't.

Patience. Let me point out that this parable

is not about condemning the Jewish nation and

the Jewish priests because they're not here.

It's given to us. The temple is gone. Listen

to what St. Paul says. If some of the branches

of the vine have been broken off and you, that

is Gentiles, all of us. Though a wild olive shoot

have been grafted in among the others and now

share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,

do not consider yourself to be superior to those

other branches. If you do consider this, he says,

you do not support the root, but the root supports

you. You will say then, branches were broken

off. So that I could be grafted in. Granted.

But they were broken off because of unbelief.

And you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but

tremble. For if God did not spare the natural

branches, he will not spare you either. Romans

11. Do you notice how St. Paul clearly says that

the branches, in this case he's talking about

olive trees. We have those too. Are grafted in

among the others. This means that the house of

Israel. The assembly of Israel. Not the country

in the Middle East. The assembly is the church.

Is God's people. They are the children of God.

St. Paul says they have the covenant. The glory.

The promises. And we are brought into that covenant.

With Jesus. Who is the new covenant. He joins

us, he grafts us by faith, and we become children

of God. Listen to the further words of St. Paul.

For ye are all the children of God by faith in

Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been

baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There

is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond

nor free. There is neither male. nor female,

with access to the Father, for all are one in

Christ Jesus. In the church, it's about the kingdom

of God, not the kingdom of man. It's that which

is above, which we enter into. It's not figuring

out ways to insert the kingdom of God into the

kingdom of man or a political party. And racism

and sexism and bigotry and prejudice and anti

-Semitism, anti -black, anti -white, anti -whatever,

none of these attitudes have a place in the Christian

heart. We discern where sin is and where evil

is. Of course we discern that. If we can't tell

the difference between right and wrong, then

there's no hope for us. But we don't have those

attitudes in our heart. hatred or violence, divisiveness,

foul speech. Get off the internet arguments.

Get off of it, brothers and sisters. You're wasting

your time. Seek the cleansing of your heart and

prayer. Then you will know God's plan for you.

Seek the fruit of the Spirit, love and joy and

peace. Remember we talked about that months ago.

We were all going to practice one of those. virtues,

once a week, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control,

and we'd start over when we were done. As Orthodox

Christians, we are branches in the vine of Christ.

The Lord told his apostles, that's us, I am the

vine, you are the branches. He who abides in

me, and I in him bears much fruit. Do yourself

a test. I'll ask myself, if everyone in the parish

was like me, what kind of parish would it be?

Well, we wouldn't be in here, that's for sure.

There'd probably be nobody here but me. Ask yourself

in terms of your attendance to church. A couple

times a month. If everybody in the parish was

like that, you're tithing. If everybody in the

parish was like that, you're prayer life. The

Lord is seeking fruit from us. For without me,

you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide

in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

And they gather them and throw them into the

fire and they are burned. If you abide in me

and my words abide in you. You will ask what

you desire, and it shall be done for you. By

this my Father is glorified, that you bear much

fruit. Let's remember there will be an accounting

for our life. To the one that much is given,

and so much has been given to us. Each one of

you, I know, has been given a wealth of blessings

from God. So much knowledge, so many blessings,

so many understandings. of the faith so many

wonderful things we are responsible to those

around us for the fruit and we will have to bear

that to the master at the end there is an accountability

that's what the Lord is trying to tell his people

in chapter 21 of the gospel of Saint Matthew

let's remember it And be joyful because the Lord

has given us the opportunity to bear incredible

fruit. To him who is our life, be glory now and

ever to ages of ages. Amen.