The sign outside says that this sermon is about the “workers in the patch.” I would encourage those of you who have not yet signed up for the Pumpkin Patch to check the sheet in the Narthex. We can all be considered workers in the Patch, stewards of the vineyard, and citizens of the kingdom. But I want to go back and start with our first lesson.
Exodus 20 – the Ten Commandments is somewhat familiar. The Ten Commandments were the first laws – handed down from God on the Holy Mountain. They are really about how to maintain a relationship - both with God and with people. They can be divided into 2 groups - relationship with God and relationship with others.
The first group (commandments 1 – 4) has to do with our relationship with God. This covenant tells us our responsibility to God; we are to love God only; we are not to entertain other gods; we are not to idolize anything other than God; we are not to use his name improperly and we are to spend time with him every week.
This laws about Sabbath and parents are actually a bridge between the laws describing our relationship with God and our relationship with others. It’s the beginning of how we are to live our lives here on earth. We take time to rest – to re-create – to commune (or communicate) with God so that we can begin the new week with renewed vim, vigor and direction.
The second bridge law is about relationship with your parents. You are to honor your mother and father – they were co-creators with God in bringing you to life. Without them, you would not exist — you would not be you.
The rest of the laws have to do with our relationship with each other here on earth. You shall not murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, nor covet your neighbor’s possessions or their spouse.
And it says the people witnessed the lightning and thunder and trumpet and smoke and they were afraid. Well, here on the Texas Gulf Coast we know firsthand about the forces of nature that are very scary and the effect they can have on our lives. No wonder the people told Moses – you speak to us – but don’t let God come anywhere near us. And Moses told them, “Do not be afraid.”
And then in our second lesson we see Paul talking about being a born and bred, card carrying, law abiding Jew, righteous under the law – and he goes on to say that he doesn’t want the kind of righteousness that comes from the law – but only that which comes from faith in Christ.
Those ten are only the beginning fo the laws that Jews had to follow. Now, I admit that I have made fun of those 6 hundred 15 laws that a righteous Jew was supposed to follow. When you think about it, a lot of those laws dealt with the same kinds of things that today’s laws deal with. Would anyone here like to give a guess about how many laws there are in America today? There are whole libraries dedicated to stating and explaining the laws that have been passed by the national and state legislatures. The reason we have to have laws is because there are always people who are going to do things that end up hurting others – and without laws there would be chaos and anarchy.
In a perfect world everyone would be kind and courteous to everyone else and we would need no laws. Problem is we don’t live in a perfect world. When I taught school, we usually ended up the year with many more rules than we started with – because each time a student would do something (that we had not anticipated) that injured someone or caused some kind of trouble or disruption, a new rule would have to be made.
So could you imagine living without laws? Even traffic laws – something as simple as coming to a full stop and treating a non-operating traffic signal as if it were a stop sign – can be important if there is a power outage.
And then we come to one of those gospel stories – it is a parable and it is an allegory. There are many different layers and we are going to look at several.
This is a story about stewardship. This is a story about faithfulness. This is a story about relationship.
A landowner planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.
This allegory is telling the story of what is happening. The landowner, of course, represents God, the vineyard is the kingdom of God and the tenants are the religious leaders of Israel. The slaves are the prophets and the son is Jesus. Jesus is telling the story of what has happened in the history of Israel and projecting it into the future concerning his own fate.
The thing I find interesting as we examine this parable is the patience of God. He sends his slaves to collect the portion of the harvest that belongs to him - their rent, so to speak. When the tenants beat one, stone one and kill one, the landowner doesn’t immediately rush in and punish the them. He sends more slaves to collect the tithe owed to him, and the tenants treat them the same as they had the first.
So the landowner finally sends his son, the heir to the property. And the tenants seem to think they can kill him and then the property will be theirs. We see the patience on the part of the landowner, for he is willing to give the tenants a chance to do the right thing – not just one chance, but multiple chances. Notice that Jesus leaves the parable there – he does not complete it. He poses the question, allowing the religious leaders to draw their own conclusions. They know -
So if we are the new tenants of the vineyard that means we are the ones responsible for producing new fruit and presenting it to God. How are we going to respond as the new tenant of the vineyard? How are we going to be different from the original tenants? It is now our turn to give back to God from what he has given to us.
This says so much more about the way we are to live our lives and conduct our affairs. How do we tend our vineyard? God created this wonderful place for us to live and he filled it with all good things – all the things that combined with the knowledge and wisdom and willingness (or ability) to work – can be used to provide us with a really good life. Are we careful with the things that God has given us? Do we tend this vineyard and take care of those things which God has provided for us? Do we give credit to God for those things which make our life worth living? Do we have an attitude of gratitude for the things that God has placed in our lives? That attitude of gratitude can be developed - each day, remember to name one thing for which you are grateful. Today, I am grateful for the music that Paul provides for us.
So, if God give this earth for our use, what kinds of stewards are we of it and all those things that God has provided? Do we give back to him from the first fruits of our bounty? Do we honor that which God has given us? Those are questions that each of us have to answer for ourselves.
Just to recap - the law that Moses brought down from the mountain helped to define who the Israelites were – and Paul tells us that we can’t earn salvation simply by obeying the law – and Jesus tells us that we need to be good stewards regardless of the law… So we follow the laws because we understand that 1) they teach us about relationship [with God and with others] - and 2) they bring order to our life and are for our good and our protection. We also give God praise and thanksgiving for caring about us and giving us good things in this life, and we need to remember to give back to him from what he gives to us.
Please pray with me: Oh Lord God, we praise you for your love, for your gifts, and for your generosity. Open our eyes to recognize these gifts on a daily basis. Keep us mindful that it is you who have created this vineyard - this world - in which we live. Help us to remain faithful stewards in all that we do and to give thanks for all that we have. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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