But are we listening for an answer?
In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet takes the people of Israel to task for their infidelity to
God, who has planted the choicest vines
in his vineyard, hoping to celebrate
the good fruit his vines – the people
themselves – would produce. He cares for
his vineyard in every possible way, but what
it yielded was wild grapes, a radical (and unwelcome) shift in how the
hearts of the people are directed, which is to say, according to their own
desire for control, away from the Lord rather than toward him. They clearly are not listening. Echoing this passage from Isaiah, Psalm 80 begs the Lord to take care of this
vine and protect what God’s right
hand has planted, promising that the people will no more withdraw from God, will turn back to God rather than
dwell in the wasteland they themselves have created.
The chief priests
and elders of the people in Jesus’ time would have been entirely aware of this
lesson from Isaiah as Jesus confronts them, in Matthew’s Gospel, with a parable
about – what else? – a landowner who planted a vineyard. Here, it is the tenants of the vineyard who
are indicted for turning from God; Jesus also predicts that they will seize the son, throw him out of the
vineyard, and kill him. The chief
priests and elders have rejected the one God has sent; they have read their
scripture, but do they understand Jesus’ message? Do they realize that he is giving them the
opportunity to turn around, to turn back?
Are they listening?
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians suggests one path back to God:
by prayer and petition. It is through prayer that we open ourselves
to God, rather than remaining anxious, closing down, turning away from the Lord. When we open to God, allowing God to work in
our lives, we are filled with all that is true
and honorable and just, all that is pure and lovely and gracious. We are called to this conscious act, called
to turn to God always with our needs, through prayer and petition, and, of course, to listen, that we might
know, not bloodshed but the very peace of God.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
Image source: Wordle
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