Scripture Reflection, October 5, 2008: God never gives up!

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 5: 1-7
Psalm 80
Philippians 4: 6-9
Matthew 21: 33-43

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Each one of us experiences disappointment in some of our relationships with others. Sometimes we even come to know the pain of rejection. That experience can leave an indelible mark on our hearts and minds. Such moments of disappointment and rejection run the gamut from the more ordinary to the traumatic: not getting chosen for the team when we were young; having friends talk behind our backs or fail to be loyal to us in other ways; not being accepted into the college that was at the top of our list; the refusal by people with whom we live or work to take our ideas and suggestions seriously; alienation in a marriage or other family relationship.

Not long ago I was speaking with a man who has struggled with clinical depression for a number of years. It has been a difficult, roller coaster journey for him. His illness has led to separation in his marriage and severe strains in his relationships with his married children. He realizes that, in his illness, he has made some significant mistakes in these relationships in the past. But he finds it hard to understand why his children are unable to accept his illness and why they do not want to have anything to do with him. He feels rejected by his children, and he honestly expressed to me the pain and frustration with which he is grappling.

The Scripture readings for this Sunday speak to us about God’s passionate love for us. They also suggest that God is sometimes frustrated in his dealings with us. God, too, knows something of the pain of rejection. The beautiful and plaintive “song of the vineyard” from Isaiah likens God’s care for his people to the planter of a vineyard who spares no expense or effort. He does everything possible to construct and care for the vineyard so that it will produce an abundant and choice crop of grapes. Despite these persistent efforts, a good crop of grapes fails to come forth. When that happens, judgment finally takes place. This image of the vineyard bespeaks God’s frustration at the response of his covenant people. He looks for justice but all that he sees is violence and injustice among these people with whom he has entered into a special relationship. Despite God’s tender care for them, their attitudes and actions represent a personal rejection of the God who loves them so much.

The situation is similar in the parable that Jesus addresses to the religious leaders of his own day. He likens God to the vineyard owner who keeps sending servants to his tenants to obtain his share of the crop. After they seize and kill the servants whom he sends, this owner inexplicably sends them his own son. The tenants respond to the presence of the son with the same violent rejection. This story which Jesus tells reflects his own personal experience in his ministry. Though he has faithfully proclaimed the reign of God, and made God’s reign present through his words and actions, he has encountered indifference and even outright opposition.

As usual, the Scripture readings for the Eucharist are a source of consolation and of challenge to us. They remind us that God knows what it is like to experience disappointment and even personal rejection in relationship. When we suffer the pain of rejection in our own lives, we often feel quite alone and desolate. These Scriptures remind us that Christ knew such pain in his own life and that he is present to us as a source of solace and strength in these moments. They encourage us to turn to Christ in this experience and to realize that we are not alone.

The Scriptures also challenge us to reflect on our personal response to God’s presence in our lives. We believe in the God whom we call “all-powerful” – the God who created this vast and ancient universe in which we abide. This is the God whose plans will ultimately be victorious, even in the face of evil – the God who will have the final word in human history and in our individual lives. But we also believe in this God as One who enters into covenant with us, as he did with the people of the Bible. God reaches out to us to establish a relationship that is meant to be mutual. To a certain extent, God has made himself dependent on our response to him. God does not force us to accept his love. God knocks at the door of our hearts but he does not break down the door and barge in. God does not take away our power to reject him and the life he offers. God does not even take away our ability to say “no” to the peace he offers us in Christ – the peace that Saint Paul talks about so beautifully in his letter to the Philippians. We do have the power to frustrate God’s designs in our lives.

The challenge of these Scripture readings is not meant to be a “downer” for us. Rather, it is based on a reality that is quite reassuring and hope-filled. This is the reality of the faithful, long-suffering love of God. These Scriptures suggest that God remains in personal relationship with his people and continues to care for them even when they are unfaithful. In the gospel parable of the vineyard it is really ludicrous for the owner to send his son to the tenants after they have just treated his servants with such violence. That does not make any sense at all. Yet that is exactly what our God did in sending us Jesus his Son. Those were the lengths to which God went in his saving love for us. It is this steadfast, long-suffering love of God which gives us hope and which enables us to respond to him in a positive way. As we approach the table of the Lord this Sunday and say our “amen” to the gift of the body and blood of Christ, let us tell the Lord that we truly want to accept his love more completely and to reflect his faithful love to others by the way we live.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp