WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

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of the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. Well,

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today's Gospel reading is a parable. It's a story.

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It's a story with meaning for us to understand.

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It's given to us from the Lord Himself. And He

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gives us a setting, a vineyard, a place of production,

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a place where grapes are produced and harvested.

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And in that vineyard, he tells us there is a

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hedge, there is a wine press, and there is a

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tower. And I don't think that these were put

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in by chance. For the vineyard, the vineyard

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is protected by a hedge. It has a place to take

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grapes and to make wine. And it has a tower to

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watch. Well, the characters are a landowner,

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the landowner's servants sent to gather the harvest,

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the vine dressers who are put in the vineyard

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to work. The plot. The landowner builds the vineyard,

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leases it. Notice that it wasn't gives. He leases

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it. He still owns it. to the vinedressers and

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goes to a far country, and vintage time draws

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near, and servants are sent to receive the harvest.

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And the vinedressers, though, say, we don't need

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to keep our part of the contract, really. I mean,

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we're the ones doing all the work here, so let's

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take the harvest for ourselves. And so when they

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were sent, those servants One was beaten, another

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was killed and stoned and so forth, ill -treated,

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a broken contract. The second group, more than

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the others, were sent also to collect, and what

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was done to them was the same thing, likewise.

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And then he sent his son, the vineyard. to the

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vineyard, and they said, the vinedressers said,

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this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize

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the inheritance. So not only were they just going

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to keep the harvest out of greed and self -interest,

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but now there is murder. Well, Jesus asks at

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the end of this parable, he asks a question.

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He asks them to predict what will happen. He

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says, What will this landowner do? And they answer

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him, those that were listening, the landowner

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will destroy those wicked vine dressers and lease

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to other vine dressers who will render fruits

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in their season. In other words, who will keep

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their word in the contract and will come through.

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Well, we know there is symbolism in a parable.

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We know the landowner of this is God the Father.

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And we know the tenant vine dressers are religious

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leaders entrusted with the care of Israel and

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of the land of Israel and God's people there.

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And that the landowner's servants that are sent

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to collect the harvest are the prophets, which

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are sent by God. And they proclaim his word and

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they call the people to change from this path

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of destruction. but they don't. And instead of

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tending the vineyard, the vine dressers devour

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it themselves. And we know the landowner's son

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is Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah. Now, other

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vine dressers that are said will come in their

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prediction, well, we are those vine dressers.

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You and me and all of us. Back to the time of

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St. Irenaeus and St. Polycarp and St. John the

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Apostle and all of us that are in the church,

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we are the new vine dressers that are now placed.

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The old was taken away from the land of Israel,

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from the Jewish people, and it's been given to

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us as the church. And at the end of this parable,

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and at the end of, after we see all this, Jesus

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said to them, did you never read the scriptures?

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The stone which the builders rejected has become

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the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing,

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and it is marvelous in our eyes. Jesus is that

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stone, rejected by Israel as, He was crucified

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on a cross. And Jesus is the cornerstone. A cornerstone

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is the foundation of a building, and it connects

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walls. And so you have the wall of the Old Testament

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and the wall of the New Testament coming together,

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connected only in Christ. And if we will allow

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it, you and I, are the bricks in the wall. We

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are the church. And with Christ as that stone,

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then we are placed. And each one of us is significant.

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Every one of us has a part to play. You know,

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a stone in a wall, maybe they might say, oh,

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well, that stone we could pull out of the wall.

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But then it would not be complete. All of us

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are needed. to make that full building of the

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church that's meant to be there built on the

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cornerstone of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus

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Christ. But I want to call to mind a different

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way of looking at this parable. If we look at

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it as we are the vineyard, each one of us individually,

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we are a vineyard in and of ourselves. And God

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has given us this vineyard of our lives. It is

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a gift of God. We are a part of God's creation.

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We are given this life. And then the question

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is, what type of vine dressers will we be? Will

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we be selfish, rebellious, murderous, worldly,

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filled with greed and all manner of vice? And

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try to keep that vineyard for ourselves, for

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what we want? our life for what we want, self

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-willed? Or will we be loyal servants, faithful

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and true, rendering God his due, tending our

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lives, and giving the harvest where it should

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be? Will we look to that hedge and trust in the

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hedge of God's protection? Will we work the wine

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press? manifesting the fruits of the Spirit in

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our life, humility, self -control, faith, love,

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and joy. Will these come out in our lives as

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we work that wine press in that vineyard that

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God has given us? Will we use the tower? Will

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we watch in prayer from the tower that God has

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given us in the vineyard of our lives? Will we

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look for the great and second glorious coming

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of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

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and look also to fend off the enemy that comes

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to distract us from our focus on God? God gives

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us all three of these things in our lives. The

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hedge, the wine press, the tower. Of the hedge,

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God says, In Psalm 5, 12, For you, O Lord, will

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bless the righteous with favor. You will surround

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him as with a shield. Walk in faith, not in fear.

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And as Father John said so well and eloquently

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last night in his homily, we need to walk in

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faith, not in fear of things around us, but we

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have faith in the hedge that God puts around

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us. St. Cyril of Alexandria, says this in thinking

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of the wine press of our lives. He says this,

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that we can apply to it. Those who wish to live

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holy lives cannot do so without labor, for constantly,

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so to speak, the pathway that leads to virtue

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is rugged and steep, and for most men too difficult

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to walk upon. For labors spring up before us

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and we have a great need of fortitude, patience,

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and nobleness of conduct. Indeed, we have need

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of a mind that cannot be prevailed upon dissolutely

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to take part of the base pleasures or to be led

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by irrational impulses into carnal lust. He who

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has attained to this in mind and spiritual fortitude

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will enter easily by the straight door and run

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along the narrow way. And we need to keep watch

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on the tower. In the book of Mark, the Gospel,

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1438, it says, Watch and pray. lest you enter

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into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,

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but the flesh is weak. And we all know this.

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We know temptations. We've seen them in our lives.

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And sometimes we've fallen to those temptations.

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But if we watch and pray, then God's strength

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will enter us and we will be strengthened so

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that those temptations will just fall away. Revelation

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3 .3 says, If you will not watch, I will come

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upon you as a thief, and you will not know what

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hour I will come upon you. So let us trust in

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God's protection, the hedge. Let us commit to

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have our lives bear fruit, to work the winepress.

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And let us stand upon the tower, keeping prayer,

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keeping watch in prayer. May the Lord God give

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us strength as we seek to walk the narrow road

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and to keep his commandments. Glory to Jesus

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Christ.