WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:08.359 There is precedence for a clergy to sit down 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:12.539 because there are some references in the New 00:00:12.539 --> 00:00:19.559 Testament where it says that Jesus, seeing the 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:26.079 crowd, sat down and preached. Now, I don't want 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:30.010 to establish a precedence here because That has 00:00:30.010 --> 00:00:34.750 to go through the rector. Glory be to Jesus Christ. 00:00:35.170 --> 00:00:45.789 Glory forever. Yes, glory be to him who has revealed 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:55.969 the light and truth through Jesus Christ, the 00:00:55.969 --> 00:01:05.750 heavenly giver. There is no better way for us 00:01:05.750 --> 00:01:15.730 than to follow Christ's way. There is no better 00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:22.810 way to walk than to walk in the wisdom of the 00:01:22.810 --> 00:01:30.859 Lord. There is no greater joy. and blessing that 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:36.739 can come our way than being obedient to what 00:01:36.739 --> 00:01:47.000 God has revealed in Christ. Some years ago, we 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:53.019 had a young man in our parish who went to study 00:01:53.019 --> 00:02:06.219 abroad. And when he came back, he became the 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:11.340 self -appointed, sophisticated agnostic of the 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:19.180 parish. And at one of those social events, he 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:23.699 said to me, do you think I'll ever find God? 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:35.479 I said, I can't answer that question. But I can 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:43.219 say to you, declaring independence from God is 00:02:43.219 --> 00:02:50.500 synonymous with death. Listen very carefully, 00:02:50.659 --> 00:02:59.949 I said to him. You will find God. sooner or later. 00:03:03.669 --> 00:03:09.610 He relocated and after a year or so he sent me 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:15.550 a letter in which he said that there were some 00:03:15.550 --> 00:03:23.349 setbacks he endured. And he said something very 00:03:23.349 --> 00:03:31.750 interesting. I felt God's right hand and his 00:03:31.750 --> 00:03:37.610 left hand. I presume he experienced God's love 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:47.530 and judgment. At the bottom of the letter, in 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:53.490 big letters, he said, Glory be to Jesus Christ. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:01.340 Now I mention this event because, dear people, 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:12.439 sometimes we get in the way of God's way. Think 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:17.259 about that for a moment. We get in the way of 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:23.980 God's way. Sometimes we are blind to God's blessings 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:31.990 and presence. Sometimes we lean too heavily on 00:04:31.990 --> 00:04:37.970 our own human limited logic and reasoning and 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:45.670 not enough on embracing the eternal love of God. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.759 The parable which we heard today is taken from 00:04:56.759 --> 00:05:02.600 the 23rd chapter of Matthew. And the hearers 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:08.040 knew very well what Christ was saying. But for 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:11.220 us today, the references are not that clear. 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.779 And so let me restate the parable in these words. 00:05:16.339 --> 00:05:23.470 The vineyard which Jesus spoke refers... to the 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:29.430 nation of Israel. The owner of the vineyard is 00:05:29.430 --> 00:05:35.529 God himself because it was God who chose the 00:05:35.529 --> 00:05:42.029 Jewish people. And the tenants were the religious 00:05:42.029 --> 00:05:45.490 leaders who were charged with the responsibility 00:05:45.490 --> 00:05:54.129 of ensuring that the people would grow spiritually 00:05:54.129 --> 00:05:58.889 and in the direction which God had established 00:05:58.889 --> 00:06:08.050 for them. The prophets were those sent by God 00:06:08.050 --> 00:06:14.290 to remind the nation that they were standing 00:06:14.290 --> 00:06:20.709 in the way of God's direction. And we are told 00:06:20.709 --> 00:06:25.339 that Even though God sent the prophets periodically, 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:30.100 they were not only rejected, but they were killed. 00:06:32.220 --> 00:06:37.500 And the scripture tells us that finally God said, 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:44.600 I will send my own son. Surely, surely they will 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:53.209 receive him. You know the outcome. he too was 00:06:53.209 --> 00:07:03.129 killed. The evangelist John, in his first chapter, 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:11.449 sums up the tragic history of the people of Israel. 00:07:12.910 --> 00:07:17.170 And we hear this passage on Pascha night, interestingly 00:07:17.170 --> 00:07:25.639 enough. John Mike's Christ came to his own and 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:33.839 his own received him not. By rejecting Christ, 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:41.439 the leaders brought about a serious consequence. 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:49.300 By their own rejection of Christ and his teachings, 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:56.420 They forfeited the right, forfeited the right 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:04.819 to call themselves the chosen people. As a result, 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:12.259 the Old Testament church comes to an end and 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:20.620 the New Testament church is established. Here 00:08:20.620 --> 00:08:24.959 the question must be raised. If God expected 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:30.899 from his own people the fruit of spiritual living 00:08:30.899 --> 00:08:38.059 and obedience, will he not expect the same from 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:47.659 us who have become the chosen people? The New 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:56.519 Testament. The new vineyard. The parable gives 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:01.360 a very vivid description of how God cared for 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:06.360 his people. He cared with patience and love. 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:14.759 He gave them ample opportunities and extracted 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:20.360 them from many unfortunate circumstances. Yet, 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:28.980 They turned their back on God. They stood in 00:09:28.980 --> 00:09:38.340 the way of God's plans. Sin has very many definitions. 00:09:40.059 --> 00:09:44.039 But basically we could say it means being in 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:50.639 opposition to God. To the will of God. Or in 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.879 the words, Of the crooner Sinatra. Who sang. 00:09:55.799 --> 00:10:01.120 I'll do it my way. And we keep doing it our way. 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.899 Don't we? We say in our prayer. Our father. Thy 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:11.419 will be done. But is that true? We often say. 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:23.840 My will be done. To profess God. In one. but 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:32.299 to live in another way causes a sense of distortion 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:44.059 and imbalance. There is one element or teaching 00:10:44.059 --> 00:10:48.700 in this parable which certainly we should apply 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:54.340 to ourselves. It's the principle of leadership 00:10:54.340 --> 00:11:00.159 which the tenants of the Old Testament vineyard 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:11.779 miserably failed to practice. It's interesting 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:19.039 that we who have been baptized are the new tenants. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:28.620 The stewards of Christ. His vineyard. Both clergy 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:39.779 and laity. At the hierarchical liturgy. The bishop 00:11:39.779 --> 00:11:43.759 blesses the congregation with this prayer. Look 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:50.259 down from heaven. Oh God. And visit. this vineyard 00:11:50.259 --> 00:12:00.440 which thou hast planted. My dear people, we can 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:05.379 only convince this unbelieving world of our faith 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:11.399 by being true stewards, true witnesses, true 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:16.919 collaborators and cultivators of the vineyard. 00:12:18.990 --> 00:12:25.730 Let our lips and our lives express the gospel 00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:32.750 that we profess. Or as our dear Lord said, let 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:38.230 your light so shine before others that they may 00:12:38.230 --> 00:12:44.049 see your good works and glorify your Father in 00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:47.169 heaven. Glory be to Jesus Christ.