God's Vineyard

“God tells us through Malachi: The lips of the priest are to preserve knowledge, and men shall look to him for the law, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Finally, that is also the reason why the Lord warns us through Isaiah: Cry out and be not still; raise your voice in a trumpet call.

Anyone ordained a priest undertakes the task of preaching, so that with a loud cry he may go on ahead of the terrible judge who follows. If, then, a priest does not know how to preach, what kind of cry can such a dumb herald utter? It was to bring this home that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues on the first pastors, for he causes those whom he has filled, to speak out spontaneously. From the Pastoral Guide by Saint Gregory the Great, pope”

(Lib. 2, 4: PL 77, 30-31)

This is a very clever parable.

Killing the prophets so that they don’t tell the vineyard owner that there is no produce, that there are now wild grapes.

Good fruit.

Just converts? Yes. But also other things: St. Paul enumerates the fruits in his Letter to the Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Jesus says he will become the Cornerstone. What’s a cornerstone? A stone that every other stone in the building is referencing. Vineyards are cool, but we live in a church.

1) are you living in accord with the cornerstone?

2) do you enjoy the fruits of the spirit?

whatever is true, whatever is honorable,

whatever is just, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,

if there is any excellence

and if there is anything worthy of praise,

think about these things. Phil 4:6-9

If the grapes, symbolize, good people, then God has asked others to take care of these people, and God always remembers the poor and the lowly. Now, if we abuse the poor and the lowly in those little ones who are in our care, woe to those leaders, and there are many leaders in the world that aren’t looking out for the little ones, but rather themselves, and if we think there’s not corruption in the Church, there is, but the Lord will have judgment on all of us, and especially harshly on us leaders. And so while I want you to like me, I don’t want to sacrifice my own salvation so that you like me.

What then can you do?, you peon!

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

make your requests known to God.”Phil 4:6-9

So we can worry today about the wars going on and how America appears to be like the piggy bank, we see inflation rising, and we can be tempted to despair!

and yet Saint Paul gives us his line do not have any anxiety like I know what’s going on, and this is the most good you can do because there will always be people trying to take us away from God. They might not know it, but Satan does.

But I’m just a little grape, how can I make a difference with what the tenants in the leaders are doing? , God I got here’s the cry of the poor, and The Rock, who is Christ, our salvation, will fall upon us, like it says in the next verse that we did not read today…

Matthew 21:44–46 (NABRE): 44 [ The one who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.]” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they

Conclusion, you too are a contractor tenant

And while yes, as a priest, a tenant, a contractor, standing in the place of Christ for you all, so too you stand for Christ in your own little Kingdom, the extension of the Church that finds its branches in your own home and family. So just as I have a little bit of time with all of you, you have a lot of time with those who belong to you, and it’s your responsibility, and just as I am held accountable in front of God, so too, you will be held accountable and I walk ahead of the judge who is coming, the examiner, the one who will see if the graves you are growing, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is good, and true, or fake and wild