Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading:: Isaiah 5:1-7 – Against the Lord’s vineyard.

Responsorial Psalm:Psalm 79(80):9, 12-16, 19-20 – The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Second Reading:Philippians 4:6-9 – If there is anything you need, pray for it.

Gospel:Matthew 21:33-43 – This is the landlord’s heir: come, let us kill him.

Appointment and disappointment are opposite sides of the same coin. Where one is found, the other is usually lurking not far away. In fact the word “dis-appoint” literally means “to not be appointed again”, which mean “to fail to meet the expectation of”.  Appointment is normally a precursor to disappointment in the sense that disappointment happens only when there has been previous appointment or expectation. In this regard, one who disappoints is usually the one who was “appointed” but who fails to meet expectations. An appointment carries with it a lot of expectations and hopes especially when the appointee was provided with necessary and sufficient conditions to succeed in the task given to him. However, if there is a breach of trust and the expectations are not met, then disappointment sets in.

The allegory of the vineyard of Isaiah in the first reading as well of that of Matthew in the gospel, refer to the people of Israel as a nation. Isaiah observed that the people of Israel were “appointed” by being chosen by Yahweh and nurtured to bear fruits. But instead, they disappointed by bearing sour grapes. They failed to meet the expectations for which they were chosen in the first place. It is said that to whom much is given, much is expected. But in the case of the people of Israel, that expectation fell flat as they couldn’t deliver. It was therefore justified for the vineyard to be “destroyed” since the reason for its very existence was not realized.

This Isaiah scenario was played out again in the gospel, only that this time, the “appointees” went a bit further by turning against the one who appointed them, becoming barbaric, and killing his messengers, including his own very son. Again here, the expectation was that they should tend the vineyard in such a way that it could produce fruits. But they did not meet up with that expectation. This is the reason Jesus said that the kingdom will be taken away from them and given to a people who will produce its fruits.

By means of these two allegories, we are being reminded that through baptism and adoption, we are the new people of God appointed to produce good fruits. But like the old people of God – the Israelites, we stand the risk of disappointing just like any person who is appointed. Appointment is a rare privilege given; and it carries with it great responsibility. We often fail in that responsibility because of two major reasons:

(A) Because everything is given to us on a platter of gold, because we are provided with every necessary ingredient to succeed, we take things for granted and don’t make effort to grab the opportunities open to us. This was the very case in the Isaiah’s vineyard of the first reading. Isaiah’s description of the vineyard of his friend reminds me of an infamous coconut tree in one of the parishes I have worked back in Nigeria. This coconut tree was the freshest-looking tree in the whole of the area. It was so conspicuously fresh-looking that any visitor to the parish noticed it first before anything else. It was planted in the middle of the compound. The problem, however, was that it has never born any fruit. One day, my predecessor (who actually planted the coconut tree) visited me and our discussion quickly turned to the coconut tree. He revealed to me how he planted and took extra care of this particular tree by nurturing it and preparing it to be the most prominent – being in the centre of the compound. According to him, he constantly manured and watered the tree, and was very happy when it started growing with such freshness. However, until he left the parish, the coconut did not bear a single fruit despite the fact that other coconut trees planted at the same time had started bearing fruits. He was surprised that after several years, this one was still yet to bear any fruits. It was then that I jokingly told him that he caused the fruit’s barrenness; that by providing too much care in terms of manure and water, the tree became more interested in enjoying the manure forgetting that it was planted to bear fruits. The lesson here is: Be careful when everything is going easy for you.

(B) The second reason is depicted by the tenants of the vineyard in the Gospel. When a tenant, out of personal aggrandizement, feels that he/she should overthrow the landlord and take over possession, then it becomes impossible for that person to fulfil his/her responsibility. The responsibility of the tenant is not to own the vineyard but to look after and take care of it. God has given us different vineyards in form of individual gifts and talents, and indeed, the entire world. We are only caretakers of those gifts and talents and the world because they all belong to God as the “landlord”. But it is strange to see how we try to “possess” the world and individual gifts as if they belong to us and no longer to God. It is in our selfish bid to own what does not belong to us that we end up worrying ourselves to death and planning evil against our fellow human beings. The world is big enough to contain all of us.

If only we could harken to the advice of St. Paul in the second reading, we will be at peace with ourselves and with the world around us. St. Paul admonished us that if there is anything we need, we should pray for it. The emphasis here is on the “need” and not on the “want”. God will always provide our needs if we ask for it in prayer and thanksgiving. There will be no need trying to overthrow God and take over from him. Our duty as tenants is to take care of God’s vineyard which he has bequeathed to us free of charge.