Sunday Homily 9-28-08, 26th, Ordinary Time
Readings: Ezekiel 18, 25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2, 1-11; Matthew 21, 28-32
Ezekiel: One of the Big 3, along with Isaiah & Jeremiah. This is mostly due to the fact that these three books are bigger than the other, smaller books.
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Time: ca. 585, the time of the Babylonian captivity.
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Place: probably composed in Babylon
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Most famous story: the valley of the dry bones that take on life because of Ezekiel, chapter 37.
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Today's message: the wicked will perish, the good will have life. Is the life metaphorical?
Working the Vineyard
Last Friday I was back in the grocery story again. This time it was the Kroger's on the corner of Maple Ave. & Douglas in the Oaklawn area near downtown Dallas. Fridays I visit a lady in her 90's who is finding it more difficult to get around. Many of you know her, Elizabeth. Because of her limited mobility, I buy groceries for the week for her.
On this particular trip in the late morning, I was pushing a cart from the parking lot and entered the store through an initial area where the carts are stored. A small, middle aged Hispanic lady was sweeping up in the middle of the space. I stopped while she finished where I wanted to pass. When she realized that she had been responsible for my waiting, she humbly apologized. I responded, "No problem, thanks for what you are doing." Her smile in return was touching.
The day before Rosemary was walking in the neighborhood in the evening. She has a favorite house because it has a beautiful flower display. This particular evening she sees the lady from the house and compliments her on her work. The lady is delighted and thanks her for her compliment.
I think of these simple small events when I hear the story of the two brothers. Of course, you have heard me talk for years about either or spirituality, namely one brother or the other. But in fact, there is no either or spirituality. We are both.
What I would like to explore today, however, is the vineyard. Obviously, this parable is metaphorical, that is, symbolic of something bigger than two boys, a father, and a vineyard. The boys symbolize you and me and all people, the father is God, and the vineyard–what is it? I would suggest that the vineyard is a labor with at least at least three parts.
The first part is the world, beginning with our local world. The job is to make it better because of my presence. When I was a kid and we used to go camping as Boy Scouts, my dad and others used to teach us, 'Always leave your campsite better than you found it.' An equally popular teaching is, 'Bloom where you are planted.
This may involve nothing more complicated than picking up trash in the street or park. Inspiration from these teachings was what got me started planting trees in Dallas back in '88, and even before that in Tanzania & Kenya. About a year ago when Ron Kovatis was in charge of the Great Trinity Forest, we had a big crowd of the community tackle the litter & trash in the forest. One of our community, my bicycle partner, Bill Hammond, even works on the Richardson Beautification Committee.
There is a second labor in the vineyard: people. Helping others to get through this life. Teachers do it professionally, coaches & scout leaders do it often freely and with great influence. Parents obviously. I am grateful to Tom & Lynda Fleming for inviting us and challenging us to help with local Habitat houses. Julia and Al Grenier's astounding work in setting up the Collin Co. Adult Clinic. How many totally poor people get medical help on Thursday evenings! It is a privilege to help the clinic with our outreach contributions.
The third labor in the vineyard: myself. To treasure the gift of myself. This may take work. I both treasure the gift and improve it. Planting trees at middle schools and high schools is often pretty daunting because of vandalism. How many times watering the trees at Plano Senior do we see a tree whacked off or pulled out. I know so well that the kids doing this are certainly not seeing themselves as a treasure. They are usually angry and underneath are hurting. Consequently, I don't get wigged out about the vandalism. If the tree is gone, I give it a year, hoping the kid grows beyond the anger and hurt. Or graduates! Then I replant.
The vineyard is there, folks, all three parts, all needing attention.
How is the work going in your vineyard?
AUDIO: http://mysite.verizon.net/reso7rjy/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/2008-09-28.mp3
