By Rev. Fr. Daniel Tetteh Tackie
Jesus has been in a tension-filled argument with the powers that be in Jerusalem. They demand to know by what authority He speaks these things, about God’s people, about God’s reign, and about Himself. So Jesus now replies, “Hear another parable.” It begins in much the same way as did in old Isaiah’s prophecy, about a vineyard owner who had such wonderful plans for a vineyard. It was carefully planted, a hedge was placed around it, a winepress dug, and a watchtower built. Tenants were leased to care for the vineyard and, with these matters accomplished, the owner went away on a journey.
The vines promise an abundant and succulent vintage. It won’t be long now. So the owner sends servants to receive the produce, and then the trouble erupts. The tenants had conspired to keep the harvest for themselves, and they mistreated the servants, even to the point of death by stoning. Hearing of this, the owner sends other servants who are treated in the same way. The owner finally concludes that he must send his son, thinking, “They will respect my son.” Instead, the tenants now see the opportunity not only to take this harvest but to have the vineyard, too. They seize the son in order to seize the vineyard. They killed him outside the vineyard. So the great intentions of the owner have been abused by the tenants with a conspiracy involving assault, theft, and murder. What seemed so good in the beginning has become a season in which hatred, jealousy, and death are the harvest.
Reflecting carefully on the Readings of today, I find the Gospel story (Matthew 21:33-43) to be both sad and a forewarning. First comes the sadly distressing part. Even though so many of us (who call ourselves ‘Christians’) have “found the treasure” – the Messiah, many more who were the originally ‘chosen’ people have rejected Him because He did not meet their political expectations. These latter folks recognise that Jesus was a Jew, but despite the evidence they deny His Resurrection from the dead; deny that He is the Messiah; and deny that He is the Son of God.
The second part or “forewarning” is implicit in the story. Since so many Israelites did not bear fruit (i.e., respond appropriately to their Call to be the light to the Gentiles), the “vineyard” was turned over to others, to Gentiles who would indeed “bear fruit” and harvest the Kingdom of God. However, the responsibility to bear fruit, to bring others to the Truth by acting as the light of Christ to the world, will always remain a significant challenge for Christians. If we become lax and our light goes out, then we will be in no better position than the first group who did not believe. In fact, we will be in a worse dilemma, because we believed but stopped acting on that belief.
What lesson are we taking with us for the week? The parable in the Gospel of today (Matt 21:33-43) reminds us that in the Old Testament, God sent His servants, the prophets, and then sent His Son, Jesus. God continues to send messages to us, to call us to produce fruit from the vineyard. If we accept these events found to be authentic by the Church, it seems that God is sending many servants to us in the last number of years asking us to produce fruit from the vineyard. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I chose you from the world to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)
What better way to conclude than once again remembering the words of Paul to the Philippians in the second reading: Fill your minds with everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8)
We might well take these words of the Lord and apply them to ourselves. We are the vineyard of the Lord. God has planted the seed, His Word, within us. He has nurtured the ground and protected the seed. But what kind of harvest has He had from us? Given the right conditions and good soil, water and sun, seed will produce fruit. But unlike real seeds we can choose not to bear fruit or at least not much. God has been generous in giving us gifts, but they are to be used to build the Kingdom of God. Just as today’s parable led the Priests and Elders to pass judgment on themselves, it calls us to pass judgment on ourselves.
Like the cultivators who mistreat and even kill, we too can usurp God the Father’s sovereignty over our lives by putting ourselves to the centre of the vineyard, instead of respecting the tower that He has set up. The tower in the vineyard was meant to serve as a place to keep provisions, seek shelter and to warn of possible intruders into the vineyard. It was a constant reminder of the owner’s dominion over the vineyard. At Mass and throughout the week, let us pray, in these words, that the Good Lord will plunge us on to bear a good harvest: Lord, we are your vineyard. You are for us, preserve us, and give us always new life. Wake us from our complacency so that we can listen, be converted and produce good fruit. Amen.
