Loving God, you call us to live in your way, acting with love and generosity as we make our way through this world.  Open our hearts to the power of your Spirit, that we might be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Upon first reading, the parable that we heard in today’s gospel seems relatively easy to interpret.  Those familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures would know that a vineyard was sometimes used to represent Israel.  They would also know that many of the prophets who were sent to speak God’s word to the people were beaten, or stoned, or even killed – just like the slaves in the parable.

         As for the landowner’s son, those in the early Christian community would have seen obvious connections to Jesus – who was crucified outside the city walls – much like the son was thrown out of the vineyard and killed.  It almost seems as though it is the Jewish people being thrown out of the vineyard so that the Gentile believers can come in.  However, is this really what the parable is saying?

         When we read it carefully, the words of judgment are not spoken by Jesus, but by the people who are listening to Jesus.  They are the ones who surmise that the landowner will put all of the tenants to death and lease out the vineyard to others.  Rather than judgment, the emphasis seems to be more on doing God’s will.  Speaking, once again, to the religious leaders, Jesus says, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (Mt. 21:43).  It is not whether somebody is Jewish or Gentile that matters, but producing the fruits of the kingdom.

         The vineyard in the parable, rather than being equated with Israel, seems to represent the kingdom of God.  In other words, it is anywhere that God’s will is done and people live in love – love for God, and loving your neighbour as yourself.  Thus, for those of us who are followers of Jesus, we are tenants in the vineyard, called to produce good fruit at the right time.

         Just like those original tenants, we are caring for a vineyard that belongs to somebody else – hopefully, caring for it in such a way that there is a good harvest.  We, too, are asked to produce the fruits of the kingdom, and to be ready at harvest time.

         While we might be tempted to think of harvest time as way off in the future somewhere, in the parable, it is literally the time for fruits – and not just the time, but the kairos – the right time for fruits.  Given that none of us really know how long we might have on this earth, wouldn’t the right time for fruits be right now?  However, what does it really mean to produce “the fruits of the kingdom” (Mt. 21:43)?

         Most of us probably don’t think of ourselves as fruit-bearing trees, or even fruit-bearing branches, but this is an image that is used throughout the gospel of Matthew.  “You will know them by their fruits” is used as a warning about false prophets (Mt. 7:20), and bearing good fruit is mentioned multiple times.  To some extent, bearing good fruit is the exact opposite of the behaviour that we see from the tenants in the parable.

         On a day when we have also heard the Ten Commandments from Exodus, we see coveting, stealing and murder in the parable.  All of these are products of greed.  The tenants want to keep all of the produce for themselves, as well as the vineyard.  One might also accuse these tenants of idolatry, as they are most definitely not placing God above all else.  Given how central greed seems to be, perhaps we could say that generosity would be at the opposite end of the spectrum.

         In order for generosity to be present, there is a need to let go of things and not hang on to everything so tightly.  Generosity is more likely to be present when we have a sense of God being the owner of all that we have and all that we are.  After all, isn’t it a lot easier to be generous with things that belong to somebody else?  And then there is gratitude.  Gratitude and generosity seem to go hand in hand, as generosity comes much more naturally when we are thankful.

         At the same time, generosity is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).  In other words, it is the Holy Spirit who produces in us things like generosity and love and faithfulness.  It is not necessarily how hard we try that makes us into generous and thankful people, but an openness to the Holy Spirit.  In fact, it is that same Holy Spirit who teaches us God’s will, while also empowering us to do it.  This is good news, as we really can’t do it all by ourselves.

         For our part, we are challenged today to live as faithful tenants in God’s vineyard, ready to share with all those who are in need.  After all, those things that we hang onto so tightly don’t actually belong to us, but to God.  We are also challenged today to live in love – loving God and loving others as ourselves.  For, these are the fruits of the kingdom, embodied by Jesus, and produced in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Thanks be to God for these precious gifts, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Thanksgiving / Lectionary 27(A)   Matthew 21:33-46

October 8, 2023                               Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 13-20

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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