The Vineyard of the Lord

I have been pondering this Sunday's readings, and as always I respond, in varying degrees, at first to each reading individually. Isaiah 5: 1-7 is the song of the vineyard, and in it, the house of Israel is likened to a vineyard that, despite the best of care, produces only wild grapes.  The vineyard is left for destruction and ruin:

Yes, I will make it a ruin:  It shall not be pruned or hoed, but will be overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to rain upon it.  The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, the people of Judah his cherished plant;  he waited for judgement, but see bloodshed!  For justice but hark, the outcry! (6-7)

The justice of the Lord is a terrifying thing, revealing what we would rather not know about ourselves, and to endure it is to be refined and renewed.  To refuse it is to allow the wild grapes to crowd out the life of God in you, to evict your soul from your body and be reduced to a mere wild creature. In the Song of the Vineyard, the Lord mercifully withholds his care of the vineyard, to reveal that there is no true life here. The language is dire, a response to the Lord is urgent, our very soul depends on it.

But do not despair, for there is more to you than your failures! The responsorial Psalm ( taken from Psalm 80) is a cry to the Lord to restore His people, and they will no more turn away from Him!  And it is spoken with a confidence in the Lord, that though they are enduring great trials, they know that they are still His chosen people. "Give us new life, and we will call upon your name."

The Gospel from Matthew is yet another parable about the vineyard:

Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 

"Hear another parable.

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,

puts a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower.

Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

When vintage time drew near,

he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain produce.

But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,

another they killed and a third they stoned.

Again he sent other servants, more numerous that the first ones,

but they treated them in the same way.

Finally, he sent his son to them thinking ,

'They will respect my son.'

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,

'This is the heir.

Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'

They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What will the owner do to those tenants when he comes?"

"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death,

and lease his vineyard to other tenants

who will give him the produce at the proper times."

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

and by the Lord has this been done

and it is wonderful to our eyes.

Therefore I say to you,

the kingdom of God will be taken from you

 and given to a people that will produce fruit."

And of course it picks up on Isaiah's theme of the vineyard.  A theme that will allow those who he is telling it to to pronounce what the owner of the vineyard should rightfully do to those wretched tenants, and, if they have the heart to hear this parable they will recognize themselves as individuals and, collectively as a people, the children of God. God has given them many chances to produce fruit, but he will give them up to their own wretchedness if they do not hear his voice with their heart, and repent like the Psalmist!  His kingdom will prevail, without you if you so choose.

These vineyard parables that Jesus has been telling the past few Sundays have sunk deeply into my soul, they have gently stirred up the envy, resentment and fear that have become tenants in my heart.  And these tenants hold me back, or provoke me to respond to situations in ways that can never produce good fruit (but they do produce some fruit, it is I who lack the will to determine if it is fruit that is of the Lord or not).

And unless the Lord, in his merciful justice, allows them to be stirred up, I might never recognize them as evil and needing to be purged from my soul. I now must choose to act, to allow the Lord to reclaim what is his.  Even when I am made aware of these tenants, I am weakened and powerless to demand that they leave on my own. I cannot bear to face their devastation in my soul. I cannot endure in my struggle against them.  Here is where these vices, now stirred up to my consciousness begin to bring down despair and discouragement.  I am the  wretched one who gave entry to the vices. Vices that have taken the choice plants that the Lord has sown and degraded them to wild grapes. They cause me to doubt that I would ever be capable of producing the type of fruit that God demands  They murmur that I will  be utterly destroyed if I allow the wild grapes in my soul to be rooted out.  If I allow the owner to rightfully access his vineyard!

And, I have learned, that I will be. I will have to die to the false identities, that are protected through envy and fear. The vices I have nurtured have diminished me, killing my soul, and are so integrated in my heart that upon the coming of the Lord I quake with fear because I know what will be found, ruins,desolation and rotted fruit.  And I know that the only remedy is the painful uprooting of the wild grapes.  The hedges that were meant to protect the choice vines are now protecting the wicked tenants, and they will need to be torn down. I will have to live in the briers and thorns that have overtaken my vineyard, exposed, to fully know that I am not a mere tenant in my soul haunted body.  I can now cry out to the Lord as the Psalmist does:

 "Give us new life, and we will call upon your name."


Hope is kindled, because in the merciful justice of God, he has allowed the enemies of my soul to be stirred up, and revealed.  But reviving me is a grueling battle, and I am tossed between self-justification and self-condemnation.

Paul's words to the Philippians now rain down just enough refreshment for my soul, they encourage me to open my eyes and see, see with the mind and heart of Christ!  To open wide my heart, and let go of my fear!  The temporal defeats are only that, temporary.  The ultimate victory is assured, and we can see the fruits of them already if we reach out to the Lord in earnest and honest prayer!

Phil.4: 6-9


Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard you hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally brothers and sisters,
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.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

God's merciful justice can be extraordinarily hard to endure, and there sometimes seems to be no point,only defeat.  Ask the Lord for what you need today to endure in the struggle, know that there is more to gain in enduring in God's mercy than a halo and wings.  The messiness of the moment are parts of the masterpiece.  But today is the day, do not let the unlawful tenants in your soul have one more day, for the Lord is coming.

Peace, Heidi

Justice vs Fairness Continued

 As we read  last Sunday, God's ways are far above ours, but we are called to open wide our hearts and minds to receive His wisdom, His transcendence. Proverbs 9:10 states that: "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy one understanding."  This Sunday's readings begins with Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 18: 25-28

Thus says the Lord:  "You say, the Lord's way is not fair!"  Hear now, House of Israel:  Is it my way that is unfair, or rather are not your ways unfair?  When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit inequity and dies, it is because of the inequity that he must die.  But if he turns from the wickedness that he has committed, he does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

It is in this reading that we see that the House of Israel's perception of what is fair, is not God's!  I am instantly brought back to last weeks post in which justice, God's justice, is compared with our human fairness.  It is not that fairness in and of itself is always wrong, but when we are cut lose from transcendent justice (God's ways), fairness is only based on the most superficial concepts of justice, and it often can only address the material realities, which leaves us blind to the ultimate unseen realities, and adrift in moral relativism! Grave injustice will always be the result, because this kind of superficial justice is blind (and not in the impartial sense) and cannot address the sickness in human souls, it can only respond to the outward manifestations of the inequities that hold individual souls hostage.  We become enslaved to the sin, because we cannot see it, and each one of us becomes weaker. And so, abortion becomes a difficult, but, compassionate solution to inequities in our social response to crises pregnancies.

 It is much harder to struggle to provide justice for the innocent child and the mother, but that is real justice, and it is not always comfortable.  True justice requires a deeper understanding of the the transcendence of God and of the ultimate eternal nature of each and every human being. We need to understand that to turn from virtue means death, eternal death.  We must be obstacles to that a turn that means death!

In the Pope's German address he says " we must rediscover our capacity to perceive God, a capacity that exists within us." In order to do this, we must understand how much we need God's mercy!  Collectively and individually.  "Ezekiel points out that we need to turn from our inequity, and we will receive God's mercy. But alas, we need a bit of perspective and perception to do that!  For this we need to allow the Spirit to give us a truer vision of the Lord, and a truer vision of who we are before the Almighty.

  And from here the readings flow into Philippians for the encouragement and further guidance needed in the light of Christ!

Phill 2 1-11

Brothers and Sisters if there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind with the same love, united in heart thinking one thing.  Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory, rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves. each looking out not for his own interest, but also for those of others.  Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, who, though was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance he humbled himself becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Because of this God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father forever!

I must admit that Paul always gives me cause to pause and self examine, "do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory" (even blogging!)  Always  "humbly regard others as more important that yourselves"  As a frail and fallible human being, and as a mother, I know that this takes practice, and guidance and a vision that is strong in perceiving beauty and truth. And since I cannot uproot Paul from Sacred Scriptures, I have to read it in light of Ezekiel, to always be aware that God's justice is much higher than mine, and the mercy we bestow must always be guided with the keen awareness of the immortality of each and every soul.  We must in every way be stumbling blocks to those who are turning or have turned from the path of virtue! And we must be humbly vigilant over our own souls as well.

  How we need to be emptied of our selfishness and our vainglory to begin to truly move forward in authentic justice and lasting mercy! How we need to recover our sight , to recognize the holiness and authority of Christ Jesus, who showed us the way to the Wisdom of God!   How we need to have our eyes opened to the glimpses of the almighty and transcendent Lord, to open our hearts and turn away from the superficial, grasping at justice, to turn away from our ideas of fairness that encourage complacency and discourage virtue. We need to open wide our hearts, minds and souls to God who is pouring his love and mercy out upon us. We need to have our spiritual vision restored, or we will be like the Pharisees in the gospel, complacent and comfortable in their understanding of the Scriptures and of God,  unable to understand authentic justice, even when He is standing right in front of us!  

May the Lord grant each of us the heart mind and humility to seek Him in truth, to show us his paths and to remember not  the sins of our past!
Heidi

Reflections on Justice vs. Fairness

Isaiah 55: 6-9:  

 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.  Let the scoundrel forsake his ways and the wicked his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God who is generous and forgiving.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts".

In preparing for this Sunday's Scripture reflection a quote from one of my favorite C.S.Lewis novels, a book called 'Till We Have Faces' quickly came to mind.  The book is a wonderful read, it contains an underlying theme that nothing we see here on earth is yet in it's true form, thus, we do not yet have the capacity to understand it all.  In the book the main character, Orual, has come to the throne of the gods with a book of complaints that she has written against them, (it is set before the Christian era).  She is in the company of a dear old mentor of hers, the Fox, when he makes the extraordinary claim that she will not get justice from the gods, at least justice as she understands it.  "Are the God's not just?" she asks the Fox, to which he replies:  "Oh no child, what would become of us if they were?"

Thank goodness God's justice is not my justice. I can speak of understanding the gravity of God's justice, but his justice is perfect, and mine can often become shallow and petty, and fairness can triumph over justice in truth.   Does seeing justice done always mean that fairness is achieved?  And is we cannot see justice in a truer light, how will we ever be able to grasp what is true mercy?  It is not fair that a woman who is raped has to bear the emotional and physical burdens of a pregnancy for nine months, but how can we call abortion justice, or mercy? Have we lost our ability to perceive transcendent realities, like an innocent immortal soul that despite the injustice that has occurred in his or her conception, God has allowed and willed to live?  If we cannot discern the higher justice in allowing the child to be born, how will we even begin to be able to have an inkling about God's justice that is so far beyond our capacity to know?  Or how deep His mercy is?  Can I accept that I do not know all ends, and I must continue to call upon the Lord, whose greatness is unsearchable so that I can begin to understand that I do not understand!

If we lose the ability to appreciate the magnificent and unfathomable transcendence of God, and that our universe is full of signs pointing to this, directing us toward it, I fear that we will stunt all of our highest aspirations, both on a personal and a cultural level. Even if we mean them to provide lasting justice, these attempts will  prove to be a crumbling facade. We will get short term fairness, but in the end we will be weakened and our ability to call upon the Lord in truth will fade, because we will not have the heart to endure His greatness.

Anyone who has children knows what it can mean to serve the tyrant of "fairness" all the time.  It means that all projects have to be carefully weighed and measured, and generosity and creativity are sacrificed for it.  I have been a room mother to more that a few school parties, and it is getting increasingly difficult to find really fun and creative games, because, well....we don't want to seem unfair to the other class if your games are more fun, the other kids will be upset (seriously)!   Sometimes, though an apparently unfair situation can root out in you an area that really needs the generous mercy of the Lord.

The Gospel of Matthew has Jesus telling another parable, this one about a landowner seeking laborers for his fields.  At the end of the day all the workers are payed the same wage, even those who have only worked the final hour of the day.  And at this the faithful workers who labored all day in the sun complain that it is not fair!  His justice is not ours; and here he has, in his mercy, revealed that the faithful laborers in the field harbor in their hearts envy.  I say 'in His mercy' because it is all to common for the spirit of envy, or anger, or fear to be deeply hidden inside of us, and it is sometimes only revealed when our superficial ideas of fairness and justice are challenged.

 Here is the beginning of knowing the truth about ourselves, not so we can despair, but so we can call out to the Lord in truth!  And when we start to call out to the Lord in truth we will begin to understand that our understanding of life, joy, happiness suffering and death are far from complete.  He will begin to root out the ways in which we thwart authentic justice and therefore, authentic mercy. We will know of mercy undeserved, yet generously poured out, like Orual discovered in the book.   Because all is not yet revealed to us.  We can discover authentic fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, a wisdom that we dearly need.

Here is an awesome reflection by Mon. Pope on the Archdiocese of Washington blog.
Peace and Grace, Heidi