Which fruit?
October 4, 2026
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Matthew 21:33-46
Who was our gospel parable meant to speak to…who is it that was Jesus addressing…and what message did this little story convey to both rich and poor? To both the Temple Authorities, as well as those in deep need who were gathered there with him? I found it curious that our first reading, that of the Ten Commandments, was placed alongside the parable of the greedy tenants in the landowner’s garden. But I think there is a certain purpose to it, in that together they speak to just who Jesus was, and to the message of freedom and liberation he came to share. By the time of Jesus…the Ten Commandments had been studied, written about, argued and debated to such a degree that each individual commandment had many explanations, many exceptions, many ‘special circumstances’, many ‘mini-commandments’ so to speak, to explain how people of the Hebrew faith were to live and practice a particular ‘Law’. The Hebrew faith had literally become a vast system of rigid and very tightly guarded rules and obligations that were nearly impossible to follow. Yet the Temple belief and teaching were that following them all, and to the letter, was the only way to truly please God, the only way to be ‘righteous’…the only way to be a righteous person, the only way to be an accepted member of the community. Jesus saw all of this, and saw how much it was holding the common people in bondage, and he spent much of his ministry seeking to liberate people from what had become a ‘love-less system’ of priestly control over public behavior. A system and practice of faith that had somehow become very different than intended, and not even close to the loving, caring, compassionate and forgiving faith that was taught by Jesus. Side by side, these two readings reveal the distance between what God intended our relationship to be with him, and what the early leaders of the faith had turned that intent into. On the one hand we have a God who seeks to liberate and to draw us forward into newness and abundantly peaceful and joyful life…and on the other hand we find a faith practice seeking more to control and 2 regulate proper behavior…with the priestly class positioning themselves as the only doorway, the only portal into a relationship with God. The Ten Commandments, the Law of the Temple…originally intended to illustrate the way to truly love and serve God, and in fact, how to love each other within community, had become so twisted and deformed by the time of Jesus, that no one could possibly please God anymore by trying to follow them. No one could follow all the rules and laws that by that time had pretty much been cemented in place by generations of priests and scribes. And so, Jesus tells a story…and he tells it in such a way that it seems harmless enough…unless he is directing it at you…as those same priests and scribes soon realized he was. ‘A landowner built a beautiful garden and entrusted its care to others…and he fully expected to see the results of his vineyard when it came to harvest time. However, those in charge of the vineyard did not want to give the landowner his due and repeatedly turned away those who came seeking after it…even to the point of killing the owner’s son when he came himself.’ 3 (As opposed to the ‘story’ that I would hold was God’s original intent…) …‘Our Lord set up a garden…a garden that was intended to produce an abundance of fruit, fruits of goodness and love, fruits of joy and freedom, fruit that was pleasing and good…fruit that was sufficient for all. And God fully expected that garden to yield in goodness and truth…and somehow…it just did not work out as planned…’ That story, that challenge Jesus posed to his listeners, still lingers among us today, still asks, ‘in which garden do we labor’? Is our faith practice, the way we share ‘who it is in whom we believe’, a practice that binds people up with endless regulation and conditions, or is it one that liberates and sets people free? Is it a way of faith that helps people find and come into relationship with our Lord of love and mercy? Or is it a practice so rigidly legalistic, so concerned with proper behavior and acceptable life-styles, with endless T’s to be crossed and I’s to be dotted, that it only serves to oppress, and in so doing places God out of reach? Does it allow or hinder a true and loving relationship with the one who so loves each one of us? 4 Unlike my generation, and those before me, younger individuals today are unwilling to accept a faith explanation just because someone else said it was so…they are often unwilling to accept a ‘God’ on someone else’s word, especially when it seems that many stories of the faith are internally contradictory…or quite far out of sync with the experiences of life they have already had. Many of those outside of the church are looking for answers, real answers to questions that so bother them deep within. They want to find the realness of God, perhaps even the wildness of a God they could begin to believe in. They need and want to know of a God whose love has room for all, without conditions, a God who understands each of our abilities, as well as our weaknesses…and a God who loves us profoundly just the same. And their many questions when it comes to faith are deep and valid. Questions such as ‘Why are there wars and so much fighting? Why is there such inequity, poverty, and struggle? Why does it seem as though fear and loneliness are constantly calling for our attention? What is your plan for my life…is there really one…or are we perhaps actually all on our own here? 5 These are their questions, and I would suggest, the questions of many of us, for all are seeking to find God in truth, all are seeking to find a God who really loves humanity…all of humanity. And I am fairly certain that no one here hasn’t wondered about these same sorts of things. Perhaps Jesus’ message to the keepers of the faith so long ago still applies today. Perhaps the real message of love found in the gospels has become so twisted and bound up with religious ‘oughts and shoulds’ when it comes to how we live out our faith, that it still remains more about how to ‘control the flock’ than to truly set it free to ‘graze in green pastures beside the still waters’ that was, and I believe remains the desire and intent of God for all of his children. So the challenge to those who would seek to follow after Jesus remains. Are we keepers of a garden that produces no fruit…or perhaps only fearful or deformed fruit? Do we indeed have fruit to offer up to the owner of our garden when his messengers come asking? Or do we still send them away? Unfortunately, I think it may still be true that when God looks to see, and then to gather in the fruits of his vineyard all he sees are twisted and bound up 6 people. People still trying to live up to impossible codes and rules that are all too often guarded and administered by a powerful few. Who are we? Who are we in this church, in this place, and at this time? Are we keepers of a garden of grace and compassion, or are we merely keepers of laws and rules? Are we those going out in service to others, seeking to share the real good news that our God, the father of Jesus, is a God of love and compassion? One who never tires, and never fails in extending mercy and forgiveness? Are we gardeners in the garden of God’s good works aimed at liberation and freedom for all humanity? Or are we instead guardians of a narrow, tightly controlled way of faith whose membership is extended only to those who hold fast to a very specific narrative? I would hope we are about freedom. And for as long as I am here…for as long as I am pastor of this church…I will insist that we strive to continue to produce good and abundant fruit…fruit of freedom…fruit of joy…fruit of mercy and forgiveness…fruit of love. amen
