The Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ. There's
a vineyard out there. So a parable about a vineyard
is not that unusual. We know how it works, more
or less. We're surrounded by vineyards in Sonoma
County. That vineyard was planted by John Vandeventer
back in 2001 before he moved to Texas. It's now
being cared for by a friend of the parish. In
fact, there's someone out there working right
now, a vine dresser. He asks this friend of the
parish, he asks nothing for his labors and for
the people he hires. And when the harvest time
comes, when the time of the fruit draws near,
it's just like the gospel. We receive the fruits
thereof. This man's a good servant, unlike those
in the gospel account of the parable we just
heard. This is an important parable. It sounds
terrifying, but actually, if we listen carefully,
we see how merciful God is. This parable was
spoken by our Lord just after Palm Sunday. Chapter
21 of the Gospel of Matthew, we're getting near
the end. The parable was spoken just after he
had come into the great temple in Jerusalem,
and St. Matthew recounts that Jesus went into
the temple and overthrew the tables of the money
changers. He said to them, it is written, my
house shall be called a house of prayer, but
you have made it a den of thieves. And the chief
priests, says St. Matthew, were sore displeased.
In other words, they were quite angry. They were
angry because he was accusing them, rightly so,
as church history and archaeology and history
tells us, of taking property and money from,
well, the temple parishioners, basically, extorting
them. making deals with the Romans to line their
own pockets. This was the temple priesthood.
The Levites in the Old Testament were the only
tribe to not receive a portion of the land because
they were the ones that would care for the temple
and the sacrifices. But they were gobbling up
all the land. So when Jesus turned to them and
said, you've made the house of God a den of thieves,
They were angry because he was right. Now this
happened just days before the crucifixion. And
the parable gives an extremely clear accusation.
It's clear in its message to the chief priests.
Is it clear to us? The story of accountability
before God. It's not about retribution. It's
not about God's anger. Two things about that.
In the parable, the Lord says, the master sent
servants. Of course, we understand that to be,
in this parable, to be a prophecy and the history
of salvation. He sent servants, the prophets.
And they were stoned. They were harmed. Some
were killed. And then he sent more. To say, the
time of the harvest is at hand. And they were
killed. And then it sends, then... Jesus says
the master sent his son, for they will reverence
and respect my son. But he was taken outside
the vineyard, just as Jesus was taken outside
the walls of Jerusalem onto Golgotha, and he
was killed. And Jesus asks a question in the
parable. Note, read carefully these parables.
Jesus asks this question of those listening to
him. What will the master of the vineyard do
to those miserable men who killed the son? Jesus
is asking that question to the priests. And what
do they say to him? Oh, he will certainly kill
him, all those people, and give the vineyard
to other people who will take care of it. Jesus
then repeats this verse. From Psalm 118. The
stone, the word stone and sun in Hebrew sound
the same, ebon and ben. The stone which the builders
rejected, that one has become the cornerstone.
The vineyard continues for the salvation of the
world. God has been merciful step by step. He
did not destroy those miserable men. No, he didn't.
Patience. Let me point out that this parable
is not about condemning the Jewish nation and
the Jewish priests because they're not here.
It's given to us. The temple is gone. Listen
to what St. Paul says. If some of the branches
of the vine have been broken off and you, that
is Gentiles, all of us. Though a wild olive shoot
have been grafted in among the others and now
share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
do not consider yourself to be superior to those
other branches. If you do consider this, he says,
you do not support the root, but the root supports
you. You will say then, branches were broken
off. So that I could be grafted in. Granted.
But they were broken off because of unbelief.
And you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but
tremble. For if God did not spare the natural
branches, he will not spare you either. Romans
11. Do you notice how St. Paul clearly says that
the branches, in this case he's talking about
olive trees. We have those too. Are grafted in
among the others. This means that the house of
Israel. The assembly of Israel. Not the country
in the Middle East. The assembly is the church.
Is God's people. They are the children of God.
St. Paul says they have the covenant. The glory.
The promises. And we are brought into that covenant.
With Jesus. Who is the new covenant. He joins
us, he grafts us by faith, and we become children
of God. Listen to the further words of St. Paul.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There
is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither bond
nor free. There is neither male. nor female,
with access to the Father, for all are one in
Christ Jesus. In the church, it's about the kingdom
of God, not the kingdom of man. It's that which
is above, which we enter into. It's not figuring
out ways to insert the kingdom of God into the
kingdom of man or a political party. And racism
and sexism and bigotry and prejudice and anti
-Semitism, anti -black, anti -white, anti -whatever,
none of these attitudes have a place in the Christian
heart. We discern where sin is and where evil
is. Of course we discern that. If we can't tell
the difference between right and wrong, then
there's no hope for us. But we don't have those
attitudes in our heart. hatred or violence, divisiveness,
foul speech. Get off the internet arguments.
Get off of it, brothers and sisters. You're wasting
your time. Seek the cleansing of your heart and
prayer. Then you will know God's plan for you.
Seek the fruit of the Spirit, love and joy and
peace. Remember we talked about that months ago.
We were all going to practice one of those. virtues,
once a week, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control,
and we'd start over when we were done. As Orthodox
Christians, we are branches in the vine of Christ.
The Lord told his apostles, that's us, I am the
vine, you are the branches. He who abides in
me, and I in him bears much fruit. Do yourself
a test. I'll ask myself, if everyone in the parish
was like me, what kind of parish would it be?
Well, we wouldn't be in here, that's for sure.
There'd probably be nobody here but me. Ask yourself
in terms of your attendance to church. A couple
times a month. If everybody in the parish was
like that, you're tithing. If everybody in the
parish was like that, you're prayer life. The
Lord is seeking fruit from us. For without me,
you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide
in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.
And they gather them and throw them into the
fire and they are burned. If you abide in me
and my words abide in you. You will ask what
you desire, and it shall be done for you. By
this my Father is glorified, that you bear much
fruit. Let's remember there will be an accounting
for our life. To the one that much is given,
and so much has been given to us. Each one of
you, I know, has been given a wealth of blessings
from God. So much knowledge, so many blessings,
so many understandings. of the faith so many
wonderful things we are responsible to those
around us for the fruit and we will have to bear
that to the master at the end there is an accountability
that's what the Lord is trying to tell his people
in chapter 21 of the gospel of Saint Matthew
let's remember it And be joyful because the Lord
has given us the opportunity to bear incredible
fruit. To him who is our life, be glory now and
ever to ages of ages. Amen.