Ordinary Time Week 17

Psalm: Psalm 19 or Psalm 80:7-15 
Old Testament: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

  or Isaiah 5:1-7 

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46 

Epistle: Philippians 3:4b-14

In today’s readings, we kind of see the transition from Israel as the sole people of God, to the gradual change of the Gentiles being grafted into the family. Israel was always called to be a witness and bring people to the knowledge of God, but since they never really lived faithfully to the covenant, it was nearly impossible for them to fulfill their mission in the world. The theme this week revolves around the idea of a vineyard, a metaphor for God’s Kingdom.

In Isaiah chapter 5, we have the prototype of the image of Israel as a Vineyard. God is seen as the beloved farmer who puts his whole self into the vineyard. He does everything correctly in terms of agriculture and provides for defense from invaders. He evens builds a wine press for when the harvest comes. Naturally, he is expecting that when harvest time comes he will get good grapes. In verses 3-4, Isaiah places an indictment on Israel: Why, when God did everything to prepare for good grapes, is he getting worthless ones, or “wild ones?” Despite God’s preparing and calling of Israel, it is as if he had done nothing and he is getting the opposite of cultivated usable grapes. The grapes inside the Vineyard, Israel as a nation and as a territory, are no different from those from the heathen nations who don’t know God.

The results of this unfaithfulness are understandable. God declares that he will remove all the defenses, let the weeds and waste come, and send no rain on the land. Isaiah, as many of the prophets did, declared that judgment and exile were coming because of Israel’s disobedience. I want to point out one literary note here because it is something we miss when we read the text in English and it gives us a sense of the beauty of some of the Old Testament books. In verse 7, we get a great play on words comparing what God expected and what he actually got:

And he looked for justice (mishpat), but saw bloodshed (mishpah);

            for righteousness (se’eqah), but heard cries (sedeqah) of distress.

Everything had become corrupted and twisted and judgment needed to come for the people to return back to God. This is an important point because God never abandoned Israel; the purpose was always for their restoration and return.

Jesus picks up the idea of the vineyard in Matthew chapter 21. His audience knew the Isaiah passage and understood Jesus was talking about Israel. Jesus also continues the theme of condemnation for Israel. They had first rejected the prophets God had sent and now they were soon to reject God’s son and heir. Jesus takes the well-known imagery of the vineyard and puts himself in the story as God’s ultimate representative.

But, the parable Jesus tells takes a different turn than Isaiah’s. Isaiah’s vision doesn’t end on a positive note; you have to read farther into Isaiah to get any sense of hope. Jesus’ parable on the other hand takes the unfaithfulness of Israel (particularly the chief priests and Pharisees in the context) as an opportunity for others to become caretakers of the Vineyard. God doesn’t destroy the vineyard, but allows for other tenants to care for it. In this new image, hopefully the good grapes God desired will come to harvest.

This type of message, one that appears to be completely anti-Jewish, must be tempered by so many other things Scripture, not the least of which are two different statements in Matthew that say that Jesus’ mission is to the house of Israel specifically—not to the Gentiles (10:5-6; 15:21-28). We must also remember the image of the Gentiles being grafted into God’s tree which we discussed a few weeks from Romans 11. Just as Israel is the natural branch to the tree we have been graciously grafted onto, so are they the natural tenants to God’s vineyard. Israel always has the opportunity to be welcomed back into God’s Kingdom just as we can be removed like they were with repeated and unrepentant disobedience to God.

This is the type of realization Paul comes to when he writes the words in Phil 3. He has realized that his heritage and family can’t save him, and neither can his pharisaic adherence to the Law. Paul even went the extra step of actively trying to stamp out the perceived enemy of God, Christians. Paul thought he was perfectly caring for the Vineyard; he was following in his family’s line of business. Yet, he was able to write that he counts all of that as rubbish compared to the salvation found in Christ. In Christ, we are truly able to care for the Vineyard in faithfulness to God. Jesus Christ is the Son sent to the vineyard to tell us of God’s vision for his creation.

My prayer this week is that we can get to where Paul was--to be in a place where our dependence is on Christ alone. We are the caretakers of God’s vineyard and he is calling us to faithfulness and obedience. Let us live as faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us--both as his people (like Israel) and individually.

Grace and Peace.