Being Stewards of the Vineyard

ONLINE REFLECTION FOR ST. PAUL’S, FOLEY

JULY 1, 2020

TEXT:   Matthew 21:33-46

As we approach the annual Independence Day holiday, I am struck by the lesson for today’s lectionary.  I would encourage you to read it.  It is Matthew 21:33-46.  It is a widely misinterpreted parable – the Parable of the Vineyard.

It is a classic story by Jesus.  He tells of Wicked Tenants who refuse to give the owner of the Vineyard the appropriate percentage of the crop.  In fact, they ultimately beat the owner’s son, cast him out of the vineyard, and kill him.

It has been interpreted as an allegory – one-to-one symbolic story, with each person representing an actual figure in history.

The New Testament – and specifically Jesus’ teachings – is not interested in allegory.  The passage from Matthew today, the Parable of the Vineyard, is about – among other things – substituting our will with God’s will.

We see that theme again and again in scripture.  The Garden of Eden, the grumbling of the people in the Wilderness, David and Bathesheeba, and the many things which the prophets preached against in later years. Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel – all spoke to the tendency of the people substituting their will and desires for the Divine way.

Jesus invites us to humility… to trust… to prayerful discernment… to not confuse our own desires with the desires of the Holy One.

It is hard, no doubt. We are a strong people.  We have a history that we see as evidence of being blessed.  Nevertheless, we should approach our future as a nation as a people who are indeed being blessed – but not flippantly, automatically, assuming that we are always correct in interpreting the mind of God.

Scripture tells us, too, what happens when we think we are independent and always right.  Nations – even God’s own people – are cast out of the Vineyard.  Humility, prayer, and true discernment can help us here the Divine guidance we so desperately need.