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(Audio)
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
The landowner showed marvelous care for his vineyard by how he provided for it. Yet he did entrust it to tenants, people who were meant to share his concern for it that he had, but who did not do so. The fact that the landowner himself was not present during the seasons of growth and preparation led the religious leadership, the tenants to begin to treat the vineyard as that it belonged to them rather than to another. It probably also made those normal people who were meant to be under the care of the tenants to feel abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. One might be tempted to assume that the landowner did not in fact care that much. If he had, could he not have stayed and overseen the vinting himself? Yet we cannot conclude that he did not care, for a landowner that did not care would never have taken the step of sending his only son. He probably wouldn't even have taken the step of sending a second or third round of messengers. But this landowner clearly cared about the tenants themselves and not only the produce. God cared about the people he had put in charge. They were not merely set up to fail. To mix metaphor's, God also valued those shepherds who were failing at their job of being shepherds, and not only the neglected sheep. He desired a world in which religious leadership would be able to be shepherds after his own heart (see Jeremiah 3:15) who truly cared for the sheep. Thus his plan was not to reverse his previous decision and take things over directly in a purely unmediated fashion. His plan was to establish leadership built on the new foundation of Jesus himself, the stone which the builders rejected.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.
The tenants who were selected first were imprisoned by their own egocentric desires. They tacitly acknowledged that the vineyard of Israel belonged to the Lord. But they lived as though this were not the case. They chose to cling to God's benefits while forgetting about tho one who gave them. There was a real way that they could not help but do so, since, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (see Romans 8:8). Jesus was offered to them as a new and solid foundation on which they could be built as living stones and thereby becoming pleasing to God. Only on that edifice could they arise as a new temple capable of offerings pleasing to the Lord, the harvest meant for him. But many of them preferred their own self-interest to the benevolent plan of God.
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
The landowner showed marvelous care for his vineyard by how he provided for it. Yet he did entrust it to tenants, people who were meant to share his concern for it that he had, but who did not do so. The fact that the landowner himself was not present during the seasons of growth and preparation led the religious leadership, the tenants to begin to treat the vineyard as that it belonged to them rather than to another. It probably also made those normal people who were meant to be under the care of the tenants to feel abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. One might be tempted to assume that the landowner did not in fact care that much. If he had, could he not have stayed and overseen the vinting himself? Yet we cannot conclude that he did not care, for a landowner that did not care would never have taken the step of sending his only son. He probably wouldn't even have taken the step of sending a second or third round of messengers. But this landowner clearly cared about the tenants themselves and not only the produce. God cared about the people he had put in charge. They were not merely set up to fail. To mix metaphor's, God also valued those shepherds who were failing at their job of being shepherds, and not only the neglected sheep. He desired a world in which religious leadership would be able to be shepherds after his own heart (see Jeremiah 3:15) who truly cared for the sheep. Thus his plan was not to reverse his previous decision and take things over directly in a purely unmediated fashion. His plan was to establish leadership built on the new foundation of Jesus himself, the stone which the builders rejected.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.
The tenants who were selected first were imprisoned by their own egocentric desires. They tacitly acknowledged that the vineyard of Israel belonged to the Lord. But they lived as though this were not the case. They chose to cling to God's benefits while forgetting about tho one who gave them. There was a real way that they could not help but do so, since, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (see Romans 8:8). Jesus was offered to them as a new and solid foundation on which they could be built as living stones and thereby becoming pleasing to God. Only on that edifice could they arise as a new temple capable of offerings pleasing to the Lord, the harvest meant for him. But many of them preferred their own self-interest to the benevolent plan of God.
Since it was insufficient to merely keep asking the old entrenched and self-interested leadership to change, God deemed that something more seismic was necessary. He would lease the vineyard to the new tenants of in his Church, herself built on Jesus himself as her one foundation. It would not always and absolutely be the case even in that environment that the tenants would always be found faithful. But it was the case that it was the only foundation were true faithful was even possible. Not only that, but the graces that were available in the age of the Church were actually capable of changing hearts. The Spirit himself was the chief agent who would bear fruit in this new reality.
Why not simply skip the step of the vineyard that God must have known was ultimately doomed to fail? As a partial answer we may say that he wanted us to see that we can't make it work on our own. It wasn't that the structure was wrong. It wasn't even that the execution was wrong. It was that the foundation had to be something more stable than our flesh, our selfishness, and our sinful tendencies. If we did not see this clearly we would always risk trying to take matters back into our own hands. And even still, we sometimes try to take matters back into our own hands. But at least now there are precautions in place to help us remember to avoid such temptations. For instance, we sometimes try to take God's role upon ourselves because of our anxiety, and our resulting need to feel like we are in control. But built into the fabric of the new foundation we have in Christ Jesus are the Scriptures, including the command of Saint Paul to the Philippians.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Insofar as we are tenants, let us remember that the fruit belongs to God. Insofar as we are grapes, let us be turned into the wine of joy in the vineyard of his Church. Insofar as we are stones, let us be built upon Jesus as our one foundation. When we are tempted to take things into our own hands let us remember that we are meant to give everything, not just our fruits, but even our worries, to God. He, in turn, will give us all we need.
Why not simply skip the step of the vineyard that God must have known was ultimately doomed to fail? As a partial answer we may say that he wanted us to see that we can't make it work on our own. It wasn't that the structure was wrong. It wasn't even that the execution was wrong. It was that the foundation had to be something more stable than our flesh, our selfishness, and our sinful tendencies. If we did not see this clearly we would always risk trying to take matters back into our own hands. And even still, we sometimes try to take matters back into our own hands. But at least now there are precautions in place to help us remember to avoid such temptations. For instance, we sometimes try to take God's role upon ourselves because of our anxiety, and our resulting need to feel like we are in control. But built into the fabric of the new foundation we have in Christ Jesus are the Scriptures, including the command of Saint Paul to the Philippians.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Insofar as we are tenants, let us remember that the fruit belongs to God. Insofar as we are grapes, let us be turned into the wine of joy in the vineyard of his Church. Insofar as we are stones, let us be built upon Jesus as our one foundation. When we are tempted to take things into our own hands let us remember that we are meant to give everything, not just our fruits, but even our worries, to God. He, in turn, will give us all we need.
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