What does it take to maintain relationship with God?
The people of Judah had a great deal of difficulty maintaining a strong and faithful relationship with God. The prophet Isaiah likens this relationship to that of a vineyard owner with his vineyard. The vineyard owner does all he can so that the vineyard will prosper: he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines… God has also taken care of God’s people, sending blessings upon them. But when times are good, Isaiah says, the people of Judah, God’s cherished plant, are incapable of keeping covenant with God, yielding only injustice and poor judgment -- wild grapes, in Isaiah’s terms. Psalm 80 echoes this story, and goes on to ask God to restore God’s people, giving them back the prosperity they once enjoyed. Protect what your right hand has planted, the psalmist says, then we will no more withdraw from you. Even here, however, fidelity is promised only if God fulfills the psalmist’s request.
Jesus accuses the chief priests and elders of the people of similar malfeasance in Matthew’s Gospel in his recounting of the parable of the tenants. Likening the priests and elders to the tenants who fail to give the produce they owe to the landowner’s servants and even go so far as to kill the landowner’s son, Jesus illustrates how the Jewish leadership has failed to help the people to produce good fruit. Rather than recognizing the need to cultivate relationship with God through love instead of laws, the priests and elders reject God’s son, promoting their own vision of God’s Kingdom rather than the vision Jesus has come to bring. If the Kingdom of God is to produce good fruit, Jesus suggests, concerted effort – and radical transformation – will be necessary. Paul tells the Philippians that such effort involves prayer, petition and thanksgiving – all of which direct us to God. It is through opening ourselves to God, making an effort at relationship, and then trusting in that relationship, that we can rest assured that the God of peace will be with us. Prayer, petition and thanksgiving all point to whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious: all that is excellent comes from persistent attention to the only relationship that truly sustains, our relationship with the God who brought us into existence.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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