[1]In the early 1990’s I received orders to Pearl Harbor, HI. For six years my family lived in the Aloha State. Our house was located on the Pearl City peninsula in base housing. For those unfamiliar with military base housing, often times it is in a secure area surrounded by natural barriers or a constructed wall with limited and sometimes guarded access, much like many of the housing developments we live in and the vineyards we hear about in scripture. Pearl City was considered an open housing area, meaning there was no guard posted at the gate. At one point, while we lived, there the tenants experienced a string of robberies and began to demand a guard be posted at the entrance to make sure only authorized tenants could enter the housing area. It was believed the locals were getting entering the area and were the culprits of the crimes.
When I listen to reports about what people do or do not have and how they respond to their life situations, I’m struck by the difference between those who are grateful and those who feel entitled. It seems that a sense of entitlement fills many people, which destroys the virtues of gratitude and responsibility. The dynamic played out in the Gospel parable today is that the tenants wanted what was not theirs and they were willing to do anything, even murdering the landowner’s servants and son, mistakenly believing they would be given the vineyard. Envy, lust, abdication of our responsibilities and blindness yield more than wild grapes. They feed on themselves until something or someone ends the vicious cycle. Paul’s letter to the Philippians offers an antidote. Seek whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious. Truth invites gratitude, fosters appreciation and helps us grow in right relationship (justice) with God, others and ourselves.[2]
Speaking through Isaiah, God asks, “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Is 5:4) In God’s great love for his people he frees them from the bondage of Egypt, and wonders how they could have drifted so far from the Lord. He reminds us how he sent prophets, throughout history, to call his people back to right relationship with him, but the prophets were rejected and even killed. Does he give up on his people? No, he sends his only Son! Here indeed, like the Shakespearean character Othello, God has “loved not wisely, but too well.” For in one final outrage, they killed his Son, hanging him on a cross. Jesus concludes the parable with a warning to the tenants, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” (Mt 21:43)[3]
Here’s a thought to ponder, we are the tenants of the vineyard now and there are three things that come into focus for us to consider:
First, the vineyard may actually be the zip code in which we live. The parable challenges us to ponder whether we are producing fruit in the vineyard that bears the address where we live, which is necessary for the building the Kingdom of God. We consistently hear that the Gospel has lost it taste, its freshness, and its luster in much of our culture today. The gods of secularism, consumerism, and materialism erode the truth of our faith. We are confronted with untold acts of terrorism at home and abroad. Yet in the midst of these givens, we are called to propose the Joy of the Gospel in our own neighborhood and in the ordinary, everyday moments of our day.
Second, the stones rejected by the builder may be the unwanted dimensions of our own personalities. Think about those wild and sour parts of ourselves we don’t like, those parts we want to hide, the things we keep secret. Consider Jesus’ words, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?” (Mt 21:42) When we look at what we reject about ourselves, there’s the clue to something wonderful, something new, and something exciting. There is a saying the Salesian tradition, attributed to St. Francis de Sales: “Love you abjections.” In other words, everything belongs. Certainly, we do not welcome sin or unhealthy behavior, but coming face-to-face with our own faults and flaws, we can learn to love even the negative as we turn it to the positive.
Third, God does not give up too easily, even as we need to do more tending to the vines in our own gardens. Often, we are like the wild grapes spoken of in both readings. We scapegoat and cast blame on the other, forgetting the mercy God grants in our regard. Jesus asks his audience, “Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” (Mt 21:41) Imagine God is pointing his finger at us, as we tend the vineyard right now, as the current tenants—what have we got to show for it?[4]
The interesting thing about our base housing crime spree, once investigated they found out it was a couple of residents who were behind the break-ins. Tenants behind protective fences or walls can lead to a false sense of security, even complacency, as we feel in control of our surroundings, set apart from the rest of the world. We have no reason to feel complacent or superior, but we have plenty of reason to be grateful. Isaiah couldn’t imagine what more God could do for us, he didn’t know God would send his own Son. We do. When we approach the mystery of the Eucharist we know we’ve been loved far more deeply than we could ever imagine or deserve. How have we responded? As a Church and as individuals, we must each try to live in such a way that God’s love affair with us, that our labors in the vineyard, may produce and abundant harvest and give what is due to Him the owner of the vineyard.
[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition © 1986.
Scriptures: Isiah 5:1-7, Philippians 4:6-9, Matthew 21:33-43.
[2] Living the Word, by
Laurie Brink, O.P. and Paul Colloton, O.S.F.S © 2016 World Library Publication,
Franklin Park, IL
[3] Sundays with Jesus,
Reflections for the Year of Matthew. by James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2007 Paulist
Press, Mahwah, NJ
[4] Naked, and You Clothed Me,
Edited by Deacon Jim Knipper © 2013. “The stone that the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone” by Fr. James J. Greenfield, OSFS
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