Musical Prelude and Service

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 & Matthew 21:33-46
When we think of Jesus, what are the images that come to mind?
A gentle shepherd?
A kind and caring healer?
A patient teacher?
What images do you see?
The images I suggested all make sense and they are certainly prominent thoughts around Jesus.
But when I am honest with myself, I also recognize that Jesus is also someone who would make me
extremely uncomfortable. Consider: Jesus shows up at the Temple and begins turning over tables
that everyone has come to take for granted as being part of the set up. He uses a rope to whip the
money changers in a fit of anger. Not exactly a gentle lesson.
He keeps telling parables where the message is far from clear, or where someone who at first seems
to be an obedient follower of God’s law is punished horribly by that same God.
Jesus is the revelation of God’s love – God’s presence in our world. In coming to understand how God
loves us and works with us, we look to Jesus. And instead of giving us constant warm and fuzzy
feelings we are left, frequently, with a sense of being unbalanced. An understanding we have more
to learn; that we have made mistakes or been a bit too selfish and judgmental.
When we take the time to really consider what Jesus is teaching us, we can easily recognize that
Jesus is not at all afraid to spare our feelings.
It’s not that Jesus does not love us. He does, and he recognizes what we are capable of in terms of
love and generosity. But he also sets targets he expects us to meet and isn’t afraid to let us know
through parable and teachings when we miss it.
Today’s gospel reading is the second of the parables Jesus offers on the self righteousness of the
authorities who challenged him earlier. He offers us the image of vineyard that God established.
The owner of the vineyard sends slaves to collect his share of the produce, only to see those slaves
or servants killed. Then he sends his son; they wouldn’t dare kill his son. Of course, in this parable
the son is killed. What do you expect the owner to do to these tenants? Jesus asks.
When we take a step back from this parable, it is clear Jesus is comparing the world to this vineyard.
I find this allegory comparing the world to a vineyard compelling. I am not farmer. I am not a
vintner. I cannot speak with authority on these matters, but I know enough to know that vineyards
do not grow wild. They do not begin producing fruit immediately after planting. They take time. They
take work. They require patience and care from a whole community of people looking after the vines.
God creates our world but looks to us to work with God to make this vineyard something special so
that we may all enjoy the fruits of our labours. But we cannot ignore and evict God from the vineyard
once we think we have all we need. The fruit and the wine that come from the vineyard is for all to
enjoy while expressing our gratitude. This is not something reserved for those who attempt to take
control of the vineyard.
The 10 commandments are a fascinating part of the story of Moses. The Decalogue as the
commandments that are often named are a pivotal moment in the relationship between God and
creation. They are the framework of how God wishes humanity to relate to the holy and to one
another.
There is often a suggestion that there is so much in this story and in these 10 rules of living as a
society that it cannot be managed in one sermon. This requires a series of reflections, and I can see
that, but I also can’t see dedicating a whole sermon to the commandments do not murder or do not
steal.
Maybe I should. But right now, the notion that God saw the need to engrave these 10
commandments for the Hebrews lost in the desert is of more interest.
Let’s presume that there are a few thousand Hebrews wandering the desert seeking their promised
land. For generations they have lived under increasingly harsh conditions ruled by their Egyptian
overlords. We are told they have been enslaved in this country. How do they survive in the
wilderness as they learn who they are and how they relate to each other and live in peace in a harsh
environment? And so, God steps in and tells them.
Laws about how they relate to one another, and laws that outline the basics of their relationship to
God their creator. The God who freed them from captivity and is guiding them through the
wilderness. No other God before me. No worshiping of false idols. Keep the sabbath. Give yourself
time to rest and recover. Don’t use God’s name in the wrong manner. For me a lot of this comes
down to keeping God foremost in how you live your life. In other words, Love God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your might.
I am left with the image of God making it clear that wherever this wandering host of people; former
slaves go, God is with them. God is moving in and about this community. God is not controlling their
every action. God has provided a set of directions on how to make a peaceful and just community.
The people are expected to be full participants in creating this functional and peaceful community.
In other words, God has planted the vines for the vineyard that is our community, but we need to be
a part of making it flourish over time. Over the generations. Pruning branches, providing fertilizer,
tending to the ground and protecting what is created and valuing the fruit that is produced. And
beyond that, never forgetting who established this vineyard and to whom it and we belong.
We have a responsibility to care for this creation. To care for ourselves and for one another. I find it
very challenging to ignore a number of news items from the past weeks in light of this message.
We cannot hide from those responsibilities when groups are denying the harm this country inflicted
on the first peoples of this land over multiple generations. We cannot hide when we learn of how a
large group of young men participated in or ignored the sexual assault of a young woman. Or when
more men insist the responsibility rests with her.
God desires that we help create a world that is grounded in love, in justice and compassion. Jesus
keeps telling us that we have a responsibility to love one another and look out for one another. Not
to protect those who do harm from their consequences, but to stand up and be part of creating a
world where everyone can feel safe and flourish.
On this World Communion Sunday, we remember to whom we belong.
Our metaphors can get a little mixed up here. We tend to the vineyard that is God’s, but Jesus also
tells us we are part of the vine that grows out of the root that is Jesus.
Jesus makes great use of metaphor and allegory. They create images to help us consider our
relationship to God and to one another. We are joined together in a web of mutuality. God desires
that we work together to create something new and extraordinary, and at the heart of it all –
perhaps in the very air we breath, there is God.
We join with churches around the world today to share in the gift of communion. A holy meal that
remembers the life and the work and the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. We remember that Jesus is still
alive and at work in our lives. That he is present with us now in this holy meal.
Through this work of communion, we are linked. We are linked with Jesus, but we are also linked
with our fellow Christians, and our fellow followers of Jesus all over the world. We are connected to
those who have been part of this holy meal through out the millennia leading up to this moment, and
we are connected with those who partake of this meal in the years and centuries to come. We are
part of a line of generations before and yet to come as God works with and through us and those
who before and after us, to create and maintain this vineyard of which we are apart.
Thanks be to God. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number 2701258 and One License # A-731789