Once again we are confronted with angry
passages about the failure of Israel to hold up their end of the
covenant with God. Or maybe it's about their desire to control what
God has given them for selfish purposes and gain. The problem,
though, is that the parables we have been hearing recently with the
theme of replacements eventually gave rise to something called
supersessionism; a theology stating that Christianity is the full and
complete revelation of God that replaces and eliminates Judaism. As
you might expect, this can have catastrophic consequences for Jewish
people.
Using this theology it is easy for us
to say that we are the new chosen people. It is easy for us to say
that we are better or more special than others. And when we begin
thinking that way it's not beyond imagination that we become overly
possessive of what we feel is rightly ours, even to the point of
resorting to violence in order to keep it. But again, using this
parable as a story about Jews losing favor with God and being
replaced by Christians is a convenient way for us to dodge our
responsibilities as Christians. In other words, we cannot look at
biblical texts meant for a specific audience and think we are off the
hook.
This parable was not only directed at
the religious leaders of Jesus' day, but it is directed at all people
down through the ages who put their own self-interests above the
mission of God. And with that in mind, I think the key line in this
passage is this: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that produces fruits of the kingdom.”
Jesus talks several times about
producing good fruit. Obviously in this parable, but also in the
parable of the sower and a few others where he says that bad trees
don't produce good fruit, and vice-versa. But even though he talks
about his followers or the children of the kingdom producing good
fruit, he never actually says what good fruit is – only that we
will know it when we see it.
For guidelines on what good fruit is,
we need to look elsewhere, and there's probably no better place to
look than in Paul's letter to the Galatians. The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruits of the kingdom.
These are the behaviors that come about when we love God, love our
neighbor, and have a kingdom mindset.
Paul sets those traits over and above
bad fruit: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. Whereas the
behaviors above, those kingdom behaviors, or the fruit of the Spirit,
are outwardly directed, these behaviors, what Paul calls the works of
the flesh, are inwardly directed. They are all about us. And this
is where we get into trouble. This is where we run the risk of being
removed from the kingdom and having it given to others who will
produce good fruit.
There are a few things on that bad
fruit list I want to address.
Idolatry: There are lots of ways to
define idolatry, but basically it is the worship of a thing over and
above that which it represents. Worshiping the Bible over and above
God. Worshiping the flag over and above the best ideals of the
country. Some people view icons this way, as a worshiping of a
picture or statue over and above God. We need to ask ourselves what
we are worshiping and if we are more attached to the thing or to what
is behind the thing.
Envy and Anger: These two things
often, not always, but often, go hand in hand. We become envious of
what someone else has, or for what we don't have, or for a perceived
entitlement that we think is undeserved, and that enviousness can
lead to anger. That anger can take many forms. Maybe it's anger at
having to treat people equally. Maybe it's anger at not being able
to spout racist or misogynistic views in public. Envy and anger can
be very deep-seated and, if left unchecked, can explode in hateful
and deadly acts – like deciding to shoot people in a movie theater,
elementary school, or outdoor concert.
The people in the vineyard were put
there to care for it and see that it produced good fruit. Instead,
they idolized their position to a point where they forgot who was the
source of that vineyard. And then they became envious and angry to
the point of abusing and killing those representing the landowner –
God.
It's easy to allow the works of the
flesh to gain control because it's easy to care only about ourselves.
It's easy to focus on me, myself, and I without regard to others.
But we are not called to follow an easy path. We are called to do
the hard work of producing good fruit. We are called to express
love, patience, generosity, and self-control.
It has been my experience that, for the
most part, we here are producing good fruit. However, because we are
imperfect humans, we also occasionally fall into the trap of being
inwardly focused. But I also think that we are self-aware enough to
know when we fall into that trap and are self-assured enough to say,
“I think we missed here.”
Let us continue to look beyond
ourselves. Let us continue to produce good fruit. Let us continue
to use these parables not as proof of our goodness, but as a warning
to stay focused on the mission of God over and above the catering to
our own selfish desires.
Amen.
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