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Greetings, SBT Readers:
This week, on October 4th, Pope Francis renewed his call for us to protect our common home with the publication of Laudate Deum, sequel to his encyclical, Laudate Si'. Our texts this Sunday present a wonderful opportunity to reflect what is happening to "God's Vineyard," on OUR watch. While environmental issues existed even before the industrial revolution -- as for example, in the tanning industry and the domestic use of coal as fuel-- it is glaringly apparent that in our era climate change has spiraled out of control, with catastrophic results on a global level. And it is also apparent that our careless indifference is to blame, especially with our dependency on fossil fuels and the consumption of plastic.
Pope Francis urges us to move beyond "appearing to be concerned but not having the courage to produce substantial changes," reminding us that while the measures we have to take now are costly, "the cost will be all the more burdensome the longer we wait" (56). One startling statistic is that carbon emissions per individual here in the U.S. are twice as high as in China and "about seven times greater than the average of the poorest countries" (72). When we consider how many species are becoming extinct on account of the western lifestyle and when we observe how climate change is endangering so many other beings, we can see that our present way of life is not sustainable. Pope Francis concludes, "'Praise God' is the title of this letter. For when human beings claim to take God's place, they become their own worst enemies" (73). It seems that we all need to cultivate a little more humility and be willing to make a few more sacrifices for the sake of "the Vineyard"--our beautiful planet!
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
PS If you are at a loss as to how to respond to climate change, my book, Preaching & Teaching Laudato Si' is still available on Amazon.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to Readings
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders:
"Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went away on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Again the landowner sent servants, many more than the first ones, but the tenants treated them the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw his son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.' Then they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered,
"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 time."
Mt 21:33-43
Any sense that God is incapable of emotion just by being God is shattered by both our first reading (Is 5:1-7) and the Gospel. The "vineyard song" is a dirge, a lament, a cry for justice. The owner of the vineyard has spared nothing to ensure a bountiful harvest -- a fertile hillside, good soil, choice vines and even a watch tower to ward off thieves and predators? "What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?" he cries. "Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?"
In one form or another, this cry echoes throughout the Hebrew scriptures, especially through the prophetic texts. "What shortcoming did your ancestors find in me that led them to desert me," asks the God of Jeremiah (Jer 2:5). "I reared children, I brought them up, but they rebelled against me," grieves the God of Isaiah (Is1:3). "They did not observe my statutes, and they despised commandments that bring life to those who keep them," mourns the God of Ezekiel (Ez 20:13). "One and all they sin against me, exchanging their glory for shame," laments the God of Hosea (Hos 4:7). Idolatry, child sacrifice, violence, rejection of the Law, disobedience, injustice -- these were just some of Israel's sins. Through the haunting voices of the prophets we gain insight into the Divine pathos -- the suffering of God. Instead of clinging to their Maker, the people turn to Baal and Astarte, and away from the Covenant; instead of trusting in God,
they give their allegiance to foreign powers. The exploitation of the poor, the marginalization of widows and orphans, the abusive treatment of foreigners, the worship of idols, cheating in the marketplace-- all these offenses pierce the heart of God to the core and continue to do so...
Jesus' Parable of the Tenants evokes the same sense of poignancy. Again, the vineyard owner does everything possible to ensure a good harvest, but in this case, it is not the grapes that are bitter -- in fact, the landowner is anxious to harvest his produce. Vintage time arrives but it turns out that the watch tower is no deterrent to inside crime, for the thieves and predators are the vineyard's very caretakers. In other words, it is "insiders" who hijack the property and abuse and murder all the real owner's servants, not even sparing his son.
As "insiders," we -- like the religious leaders of Jesus' day-- are responsible for the vineyard. From the vantage point of the watch tower, we can clearly see external threats, but it fails to provide us with the view we really need -- that of our own behaviors and attitudes. Lacking the 360o vision that can capture what is happening within the hedges, we can focus only on what lies beyond. Of course, it is more comfortable to arm ourselves against external threats, but the temptation is to ignore how we ourselves menace the peace and prosperity of the vineyard. Who among us, for example, has the courage to admit that our own indifference, self-centeredness, materialism, lack of commitment, addiction to comfort, and refusal to "get involved" threaten the wellbeing of the vineyard? And who among us is willing to confess that we have reduced prayer to rote observance and empty rituals, with complete disregard for the One who has given us everything and loves us with all the passion of the Beloved?
The vineyard is blood-drenched and in decay; the Earth groans under the weight of human folly and we who are flawed in our loving are incapable of understanding the terrible mystery of God's anguish.
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