4 OCTOBER 2020
I have a list–an internal list–of the ways my life could be improved.
I could have hair.
I could live where it was always summer and never winter.
I could sing–really sing, beautifully.
I could play the piano.
I could not ache after I exercise.
I could eat whatever I want.
I could…..
Well, you get the idea. I have a list of the ways my life could be better.
I bet you do too.
And while you thought some of the things on my list were pretty stupid,
I bet if I went around this church and had everyone list the top five ways
everyone thought his or her life could be better,
we’d all think each other’s improvement lists were pretty stupid.
The truth is, our lives are pretty good, especially in this country.
How could they be better?
At this point, only greed makes us ask that question.
It is the question, however, of both the first reading and the gospel.
What more could God have done–for them,
but really, of course, the question is: What more could God have done for us?
Scholars say that the “vineyard” is used more often than any other image to
refer to God’s people and his relationship with his people.
That’s interesting, because grapes and wine,
were not the staple–especially for the poor–of life.
Barley and wheat–grains were the staples of life.
Why a vineyard–why grapes and wine?
Because the fruit of our relationship with God is not just “getting by,”
but it is meant to be joyful, the added zest of life.
The point is that God can’t do a lot more. The rest is up to us.
The reverse question is really the question of the day.
What good fruit have we produced, lately?
It’s not just a generic question, one to be tossed off lightly?
God has given us each the means to produce good fruit. Where is it?
We’re asked to look around our lives. Where is the good fruit?
Where is the joy? What have we produced?