“Produce Its Fruit” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

“Produce Its Fruit” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherPB)

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 139

Piety

The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant; he looked for judgment, but see bloodshed! For justice, but hark the outcry! Isaiah 5:7

Brothers and sisters: 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. Philippians 4:6-7

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?” They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.”? Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: 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.” Matthew 21:40-43

Study

In the First Reading, the complaint was with the grapes; they were too sour to be eaten or made into wine despite the favorable conditions (Isaiah 5:1-7). 

In the Gospel, the complaint was with the vineyard workers; in other words, the religious leaders in Jesus’ time often killed the prophets for doing what God sent them to do.

There is an old story about Moishe, a medieval Jewish astrologer who prophesied that the king’s favorite horse would soon die. 

Sure enough, the horse died a short time later.

The king got furious at Moishe, sure that his prophecy had brought about the horse’s death. 

He summoned Moishe and commanded him, “Prophet, tell me when you will die.” Moishe realized that the king was planning to kill him immediately no matter what answer he gave, so he crafted a careful response.

“I do not know when I will die,” he answered. “I only know that whenever I die, the king will die three days later.” 

Moishe lived a long life.

The parable tenants can mistreat and even kill some of the messengers only if the vineyard owner is living abroad. God can seem out of sight and out of mind. However, God will judge and reward each of us immediately after death by our works and what we did and our faith (Catechism 1021), which is called the Particular Judgment (1022). 

The son’s arrival allows the tenants to assume that the vineyard owner is dead and that the son has come to take up his inheritance. If they take him out of the vineyard and kill him, the vineyard becomes an owner less property that they can claim based on their first line. That is a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion outside Jerusalem.

The parable’s application is about God’s commitment to his people and the unbelieving response of rejection. At times, we also are inclined to rebellion rather than repentance.

Speaking of legitimate authority, Romans 13:2 says, “...whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves.” 

Lucifer was God’s most excellent creature, the brightest and most glorious angel.  By rebelling against the Majesty of God, he became the blackest and foulest fiend.

By rebellion against the Lord, Paul could recall Korah’s revolt (Numbers 16; cf. 1 Cor 10:10) and Aaron’s reaction. 

The alternative to rebellion is dialogue. Those in legitimate authority, civil or spiritual, owe its flock, citizens, and beneficiaries (and its derelicts) a determined and unending effort to refine its means and ends whenever possible. However, don’t season regret with rebellion. Sometimes the rebel demonstrates all too clearly how really unformed, undisciplined, and relatively content less that self he shouts for is.

The stone metaphor of Psalm 118 appears in several places in the Old Testament and has two-fold significance: for some, it is a stone of strength or upbuilding; for others, it is a stone of stumbling.  Jesus is that stone. The builders may reject the stone, but they will find that it is the most important stone of all—the one who holds the entire building together. 

A Jewish proverb states, “If the stone falls on the pot, alas for the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, alas for the pot!” (Midrash, Esther 3:6). Either way, the pot loses, and the stone wins. So, it is with the cornerstone that is Christ.

In Deuteronomy 32:4 and chapter 37, the stone rejected by the builders is a metaphor for Yahweh as true God against the false gods of pagan nations. In Isaiah 8:14, and chapter 28, with an Assyrian threat materializing, Israel can either find the stone to be a sanctuary if they cling to Yahweh in faith or a stumbling stone if they fall away by backsliding. 

Action

However, the parable shows us that God is still the guardian of his vineyard, and there will be a restored people, forgiven through Christ, who bear fruit.

We are tenants in God’s vineyard in this life. The fruit is to be obedient to God’s commandments wherever you are: work, school, home, at play, or alone. It is to consider what is pleasing to God in thought, word, and action and doing what is best for our neighbor. 

Amen.