One thing that we all have in common is that we are all
part of a family. Like you, I am part of
the family of my parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles that I
grew up with. And I am also a part of my
own family with my wife, children, grandchildren and in-laws. There is also
another family that we all share in.
This is the greater family or community of the church of which we are
each a part. This larger family or
community unites itself around that common faith we share as Catholic Christians. In order to be a vibrant family, to function
well as a community at whatever level, to have healthy and wholesome
relationships, we must follow certain universal norms and actions that have
been made available to us. We all know
that these things are because we all practice them every day.
In the Old Testament, we see these norms and practices
being expressed in the Wisdom writings and scriptures such as Ten Commandments.
In the New Testament we see these norms and practices expressed in the teachings
and life of Jesus. In fact, St. Paul
beautifully expresses some of these practices in our second reading: “The God of Peace will be with you if you
keep on doing the things that you have learned:
Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is pleasing and beneficial to others, whatever is commendable.
Our families and communities function well, are healthy
and safe places to be when we practice our higher ideals, when we live out of those
universal principles given to us in our scriptures and wisdom literature. When we don’t, we seem to fall into
dysfunction and lose our way.
Throughout our scriptures we read that Israel has a special relationship as a family and community with God and one another. Throughout scripture, the community of Israel is often referred to as a vineyard, prepared, planted and sheltered and protected by God’s universal Presence. Israel flourishes because as a community, it chooses to live under the universal laws and actions given to them by God. But whenever they deviate from this universal order and truths, then they experience chaos; they experience a time of major dysfunction, and disaster often follows. This is illustrated in the first reading from Isaiah, a time in Israel’s history where it is falling short, and deviated from God’s plan for them. Isaiah describes this vineyard created and planted by God as producing wild grapes. I’m not sure what wild grapes are, but a better translation would be that they were producing rotten grapes, grapes that are only good to be thrown away. This vineyard, the house of Israel had moved away from righteousness in word and deed to pursue its own end, and, as a result, is being torn apart.
The fruits of the Kingdom of God manifested in their
families and communities could not be realized when its people choose to
deviate from God’s universal plan, a plan calling them to live out their lives
in accordance with God’s norms. The
grapes or fruit that was produced by such a vineyard become only sour and
rotten, and the vineyard becomes overrun with briars and thrones.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus is taking this very well-known Old Test Testament
story, and putting a new spin on it.
The landowner in Jesus’ parable is, of course, God who plants the vineyard, and prepares it for all to prosper, to yield abundant fruit. The tenants, people like ourselves, are the ones entrusted with the care of the vineyard; the ones chosen to share in its abundance as a free gift given to them. The slaves are the prophets, sent by God to remind them of God’s providential plan and truths. The son of the landowner is Jesus himself. In the parable, when the tenants get greedy and try to make God’s gift as their own possession and refuse to give back to the landowner what is rightfully His, then the chaos and dysfunction begins. The prophets are stoned and sent away, the son is killed in hopes of gaining his inheritance, and hope is lost. The ending line of the Gospel reads: “Therefore, I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from such tenants and given to those who produce the fruits of the Kingdom.” So what can we learn from this.
If we are to function and remain healthy as a family; if
we are to prosper and be whole as a community, then we must allow God to be a
part of who we are; to be a part of what we do.
God cannot abide with us in a place where there is ill will and hatred.
God cannot speak to us inside when that place is only angry noise and deceit. God cannot abide with us in a place that is
full of fear and intimidation. God
cannot abide in us if we live only out of a sense of entitlement and
privilege. The fruit of the Kingdom of
God can only be produced when people, families and communities realize that they
are His vineyard, we belong to Him. And
we fall under His protection and care. But
we are designed to follow his universal plan for our lives, and this is as true
as the air we breathe to give us life.
And of course, those of us who practice and live our
Catholic Christian faith know that if we wish to experience peace and wholeness
in ourselves, in our families, and in our communities, then this is not really
a choice. The peace and joy that comes from our faith, the fruits of the Kingdom, can only abide in those places where we allow Christ to be present. God
never turns away from us. Our chaos
begins when we turn away from God.
