WEBVTT 00:00:00.460 --> 00:00:03.040 We're still celebrating the birth of the Theotokos, 00:00:03.180 --> 00:00:09.119 the mother of our Lord and our Savior, so let 00:00:09.119 --> 00:00:12.419 us continue to be enthusiastic about that and 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:16.359 what that means. We have the feast day on Thursday. 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:26.800 We've heard a number of parables and gospel accounts 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:33.850 recently. which speak of the reception or lack 00:00:33.850 --> 00:00:39.850 of reception of people to the Lord's message. 00:00:41.109 --> 00:00:44.509 Of course, you know about the rich young man 00:00:44.509 --> 00:00:49.109 he turned away. You know about the unmerciful 00:00:49.109 --> 00:00:52.109 debtor who was forgiven yet couldn't forgive. 00:00:53.329 --> 00:00:59.649 And today, we have this incredible parable. It's 00:00:59.649 --> 00:01:04.590 a difficult story. It's not a warm, religious 00:01:04.590 --> 00:01:10.370 message. It's rather harsh. But it's mixed with, 00:01:10.409 --> 00:01:13.750 on this day, the gospel from John, which you 00:01:13.750 --> 00:01:15.750 see at football stadiums, right? Now football 00:01:15.750 --> 00:01:18.829 season started, so we read that verse. That must 00:01:18.829 --> 00:01:22.030 be the connection. No, God so loved the world 00:01:22.030 --> 00:01:24.269 that he gave his only begotten son. You see that 00:01:24.269 --> 00:01:26.829 in the end zone at all these football games on 00:01:26.829 --> 00:01:31.189 television. When you combine this together, then 00:01:31.189 --> 00:01:34.109 this is a message with some hope for us. It's 00:01:34.109 --> 00:01:37.549 not all bad news. But the church does want to 00:01:37.549 --> 00:01:40.569 warn us. It wants to give us, this is what happens. 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:46.989 This is what you might expect. On Palm Sunday, 00:01:47.269 --> 00:01:52.569 after being lauded as the Messiah, of course, 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:55.329 the people were looking for a military leader. 00:01:56.810 --> 00:02:00.790 a political leader, a leader with worldly power. 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:06.689 As Jesus came into Jerusalem, see the fresco 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:10.550 up there, he is praised with shouts of Hosanna, 00:02:10.610 --> 00:02:14.030 and blessed is he that comes in the name of the 00:02:14.030 --> 00:02:18.849 Lord. And then he spoke that parable which you 00:02:18.849 --> 00:02:22.889 just heard. A householder planted a vineyard. 00:02:24.169 --> 00:02:28.370 And he sent in servants to care for it. I'm not 00:02:28.370 --> 00:02:31.949 going to review the whole thing. But this story, 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:38.509 which is time for self -examination for us, is 00:02:38.509 --> 00:02:43.689 a prophecy by Jesus of what had happened in the 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:48.930 Old Testament. Do I need to review that? The 00:02:48.930 --> 00:02:52.849 prophets being killed? You know, the master sends 00:02:52.849 --> 00:02:58.099 in... Servants to collect. He wants what he has 00:02:58.099 --> 00:02:59.979 planted. He wants the fruit of that vineyard. 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:04.979 And the servants are killed. It's a prophecy 00:03:04.979 --> 00:03:08.099 of what would happen in the next few days. That 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:10.860 is the crucifixion and death and resurrection 00:03:10.860 --> 00:03:15.780 of our Savior. The master of the vineyard says, 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:22.669 I'll send my son. He has full authority. They 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:27.870 will respect him. St. John says about that. And 00:03:27.870 --> 00:03:32.289 what's the response of the people taking care 00:03:32.289 --> 00:03:36.490 of the vineyard? Oh, he's the heir. We'll kill 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:40.610 him. There's nobody left. It's all for us. Let's 00:03:40.610 --> 00:03:43.830 kill him and seize his inheritance. St. John 00:03:43.830 --> 00:03:47.669 says about that that God so loved the world that 00:03:47.669 --> 00:03:51.530 he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes 00:03:51.530 --> 00:03:55.009 in him should not perish but have everlasting 00:03:55.009 --> 00:03:57.870 life. You're going to hear those words at the 00:03:57.870 --> 00:04:00.490 anaphora in the liturgy when we're doing the 00:04:00.490 --> 00:04:04.169 canon preparing for the consecration. For God 00:04:04.169 --> 00:04:07.110 did not send his son into the world to condemn 00:04:07.110 --> 00:04:12.099 the world, but that the world through him. might 00:04:12.099 --> 00:04:15.699 be saved. Here is the coming of the Son of God, 00:04:15.780 --> 00:04:18.959 which this parable foretells, his rejection and 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:21.720 his crucifixion. All this Jesus is speaking on 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:28.060 just a few days before his arrest. It's a story 00:04:28.060 --> 00:04:32.480 of the rejection of the Son of God by the people 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.339 that God himself had constituted and brought 00:04:36.339 --> 00:04:40.589 together and made a people. Not the nation, the 00:04:40.589 --> 00:04:43.029 political nation of Israel, but the religious 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:48.290 people. Now this is a preparation that we hear 00:04:48.290 --> 00:04:52.009 this parable today. It's a preparation for us 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:56.310 for the upcoming feast of the cross. And I look 00:04:56.310 --> 00:05:01.949 at this incredible back wall. The whole story 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:04.490 of the gospel. The whole sorrow of the cross. 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:09.060 Christ praying in the garden. Apostles sleeping. 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:15.500 Christ being arrested. Christ being beaten. The 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:20.899 trial, the denial of St. Peter. Again, a rejection 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:24.100 of Christ because he was ashamed of the gospel 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:29.019 message. And then before Pilate, behold the man 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:33.879 and the crowds chanting, let him be crucified. 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:43.529 Let me just add here in a parenthesis. We are 00:05:43.529 --> 00:05:48.589 the wild branch. The wild branch that is grafted 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:53.550 on to the tree of faith. The faith of Abraham. 00:05:54.649 --> 00:05:59.810 The Jewish faith. They had the Old Testament 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:03.990 teachings. They had the law of Moses. They had 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:07.879 the revelation on Mount Sinai. They had the sacrifices. 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:12.879 Despite their lack of receiving their own Messiah, 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.180 which this parable is so clear about, Jesus of 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:20.459 Nazareth, God still has plans for them. They 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:25.060 are his beloved. It does us no good to think 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:28.639 that this parable is about the bad Jews then, 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:33.480 and the bad Pharisees, and all the people that 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:37.000 turn away from Jesus Christ. This gospel is speaking 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.019 to you and me. What's the point of reading it 00:06:40.019 --> 00:06:45.759 if we don't take it personally? This is for us. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:56.399 But remember, St. Paul is very specific in his 00:06:56.399 --> 00:07:00.879 epistle to the Romans. He says, has God cast 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:06.139 away his people? Certainly not. For I am also 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:08.860 an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.660 of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:17.860 whom he foreknew. He has plans for them. It would 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:25.160 seem that thinking about our own response, my 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.939 own sorrowful sins before God, my lack of any 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:33.569 spiritual fruit, it would seem that what we have 00:07:33.569 --> 00:07:38.629 experienced in the church life, God's love, the 00:07:38.629 --> 00:07:43.189 Holy Spirit, the visit of just recently of that 00:07:43.189 --> 00:07:48.149 precious Mers streaming icon, should prompt us 00:07:48.149 --> 00:07:52.490 to feats of love, feats of love of God and our 00:07:52.490 --> 00:07:55.870 neighbor. We see the cross, and there is the 00:07:55.870 --> 00:07:59.649 example of sacrificial love and his love pouring 00:07:59.649 --> 00:08:04.810 out to us so we can be like him, to be in communion 00:08:04.810 --> 00:08:09.490 with him, to be his light. Let's remind ourselves, 00:08:09.689 --> 00:08:16.610 brothers and sisters, as the liturgy does at 00:08:16.610 --> 00:08:19.290 the Anaphora, about all that we have from God, 00:08:19.430 --> 00:08:22.620 all that he's given us. Take yourself back to 00:08:22.620 --> 00:08:25.459 Pascha, to the night and morning of Christ's 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:28.579 resurrection, to what was said in all of the 00:08:28.579 --> 00:08:31.980 weeks following Pascha, the saints, all saints, 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:34.639 the Feast of Pentecost, all saints of America, 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.120 the visitation of the precious icon two weeks 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:41.039 ago, all the accounts of God's love and his healing 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:45.960 and trust in us. What is our spiritual maturity? 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:52.120 Why do we keep turning away from the Lord? Do 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.279 we have misplaced expectations of God, disappointments, 00:08:55.279 --> 00:09:00.580 being mad at God, upset at God because he owes 00:09:00.580 --> 00:09:07.039 us something? Do we have shame? So we can't move 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:10.679 forward. Like those Galatians that St. Paul says, 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:14.039 foolish Galatians, who has taught you another 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:20.399 gospel so soon? I'm amazed. He's telling them, 00:09:20.730 --> 00:09:23.769 You can't be ashamed of the cross of Christ and 00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:27.470 his message. This is the life and salvation for 00:09:27.470 --> 00:09:31.889 the world. Is it because of some besetting sin 00:09:31.889 --> 00:09:35.230 that we bear no spiritual fruit? Our passions 00:09:35.230 --> 00:09:38.970 keeping us away? Is it avoidance of confession 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:42.710 and the grace and the forgiveness we will receive 00:09:42.710 --> 00:09:46.509 from Christ? The actualization of the love of 00:09:46.509 --> 00:09:50.080 God on the cross. is what we receive in confession. 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:56.200 This is an amazing mystery of the church. Do 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:01.700 we justify our sin before God? Are we ignorant 00:10:01.700 --> 00:10:05.419 of all that God has done because we don't read 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:07.899 the scriptures, because we don't listen to the 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:10.779 gospel when it's read, or the epistles, and if 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:12.840 we don't understand what we hear in church, we 00:10:12.840 --> 00:10:16.960 don't take the initiative to look into it for 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:23.460 that week. Remember, yes, the gospel stories 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:26.580 these last few weeks are speaking about a terrible 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:31.259 rejection of Christ. But never forget the parables 00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:35.960 of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:40.700 son. We call that the prodigal son. All of this 00:10:40.700 --> 00:10:45.860 can be healed. Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, the 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:49.080 late and great Metropolitan of London. said this 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:52.700 in a sermon. Consider all this that I've just 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:56.960 said and ask yourself, am I not a worker in the 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:01.559 vineyard? And am I not one of those who pushes 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:04.720 Christ away from every time he enters my life? 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:10.000 Do I not say, get off my path, get out of my 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:13.519 life. I want to be the God, the master. I want 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:17.080 to manage everything. Thus speaks each one of 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:21.500 us, not so rudely, not so blasphemously, but 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:26.159 in actions and in rotten words. We must come 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.759 to our senses. I have said many times, says the 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:32.759 Metropolitan, that we are saved because God loves 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:37.259 us. Yet not by the love of God only, but by our 00:11:37.259 --> 00:11:41.970 response to this love. If our wish is merely 00:11:41.970 --> 00:11:45.090 to reap the fruits of the cross, of the crucifixion, 00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:49.850 of the passion, and return nothing to God, and 00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:52.970 give nothing to our neighbor for whom God has 00:11:52.970 --> 00:11:57.350 died, except a momentary thought, we are alien 00:11:57.350 --> 00:12:00.870 to everything that God has accomplished for us. 00:12:02.250 --> 00:12:06.090 This isn't a sermon today to make us feel good. 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:11.419 I'm looking at myself first. When I speak like 00:12:11.419 --> 00:12:15.639 this, and I figure I'm probably not the only 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:21.340 one. I do hear confessions frequently. We all 00:12:21.340 --> 00:12:24.840 need to remember that the Lord expects an account. 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:30.019 Now, this is not something we can put off until 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:32.179 we think he's going to come again, whenever that's 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:34.740 going to be, or we die. He expects an account 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:39.659 of the fruit from what he has given us. So let 00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:47.259 us joyfully, consistently, knowledgeably serve 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:51.259 him and we will bear that fruit of the grace 00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:53.980 of the gift of the Holy Spirit and receive that 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:56.820 peace of heart which no one can take away from 00:12:56.820 --> 00:13:01.120 us. And we're being built up now. We're being 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:04.620 built up as stones in this great edifice of God's 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:05.759 life. Amen.