God’s Vineyard - The Rev. Martie Johnson

Today’s Gospel begins with a parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard. I had never seen a vineyard until I moved to California and drove to Temecula. The view of row after row of vines was beautiful and striking. Seeing them made me appreciate how much work it takes to create and maintain one. 

The landowner in today’s parable must have invested considerable time, money, and effort to build his vineyard. He planted the vines, built a fence, dug a winepress, and even a watchtower to protect this precious vineyard. He then leased it to tenants, trusting them to care for it and harvest its fruit.

When harvest time arrived, the landowner sent his servants to collect the produce. But the tenants wanted more than their agreed share. They wanted complete control. They beat one servant, killed another, and abused the other messengers the landowner sent. Finally, the landowner sent his own son, thinking, “Surely they will respect my son.” But they killed him too. The tenants had convinced themselves they deserved the vineyard. They had worked it, cared for it, and harvested its fruit. They thought, “Why should someone else reap the benefits of all our work?”

So how does this connect with the first reading of the Ten Commandments? Exodus begins with God reminding the Israelites: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Before giving the commandments, God reminds them of His love and of what He did for them by leading them into a new life. 

Now, the first three commandments show us how to honor God. The remaining commandments explain how to live with one another, showing respect, honesty, faithfulness, and love. The commandments were not a list of rules meant to control people. Their purpose was to show God's people how to live in relationship with Him and with one another. God gave the Israelites the Commandments and the entire Hebrew Scriptures to teach future generations about God and His covenant with them.

The Pharisees studied Scripture and took their responsibility to preserve the laws as written very seriously. Over time, conflict between the people and the Pharisees grew. The Pharisees accepted no excuses when someone strayed from the letter of the law, and they controlled the people through fear of punishment. When Jesus came to reveal the true, deeper meaning of the commandments and laws, the Pharisees saw Him as a threat because they believed they had the right and duty to decide who and what God accepted.

Jesus did not come to disregard the Commandments. He presented them as a way of life shaped by love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion, rather than as strict rules to follow. Jesus taught us that following God is not about asking, “What am I allowed to do?” It is about asking, “How can I love God and my neighbor?”

Jesus taught that God's mercy was greater than human judgment. He welcomed sinners, forgave those who failed, touched people considered unacceptable, and taught that God's love was not just for those who felt righteous because they followed the rules perfectly. Perhaps that is the heart of the vineyard parable.

We wonder how those tenants could believe the vineyard belonged to them, a belief that led to such violence against the landowner. But perhaps Jesus is asking us to look more closely at ourselves. How easily do we begin to think that what God has given us actually belongs to us? How easily do we forget that His vineyard, the Scriptures, was never ours alone?

We are the tenants. We are caretakers. We have been entrusted with God's gifts of creation, the Commandments, the Scriptures, and His love. Sadly, we can easily become possessive of our faith, our traditions, our churches, and, worse, of our understanding of who is worthy of God's love.

Paul understood this deeply. He was a learned Pharisee who studied and knew the laws and Scriptures. He had devoted himself to what he believed was protecting God's truth and led persecutions against those who followed Jesus’ teaching. But once he understood Our Lord’s message of God's love for all His children, his heart was transformed.

Paul realized that God's grace was not reserved for a select few. It was offered to everyone. The very person who had once been so certain he knew who God would choose, became one of God's greatest messengers of God's all-encompassing love.

God has entrusted each of us with His vineyard, and one day He will ask what we did with it. Hopefully, we will say, “Lord, I knew it was never really mine. You gave it to me to care for, and I tried to make it fruitful and to share its truth. I tried to love. I tried to forgive. I tried to welcome. I tried to leave the vineyard a little more beautiful than I found it.” Ultimately, that is what God asks of us—not to own the vineyard, but to tend it with love. Amen.