O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take
care of this vine, and protect what Your right hand has planted; the Son of Man Whom You Yourself made strong. (Psalm 80: 15-18)
One of my favorite “day trips” with the family is to the Napa
Valley. Not for the wine but for the
panorama of the vineyards. All of the
beautiful colors, landscape, architecture, and of course the different variety
of grapes is magnificent! No wonder God
used the image a vineyard to describe the chosen people of Israel in Isaiah. (Isaiah 5: 1-7) Isaiah
uses the “Song of the Vineyard” to describe how his friend, God, went to
elaborate pains in constructing his vineyard, with ditches and a tower for
protection, and a winepress for squeezing out the precious grape juice that
would become delicious wine.
The reading goes on to tell how disappointed God was when all
that the vineyard produced was wild grapes, unfit for a good yield. All that
work and loving care came to nothing! God promised to tear down that vineyard
and let it revert to pasture land. Even as Isaiah was prophesying, the
Assyrians were pounding at the gates of Jerusalem, about to destroy the city.
Jesus then uses that same image of a vineyard to describe
Jerusalem in His time. Matthew 21: 33-43) He focused on the unfaithful people who, by their sin and
failure to listen to the prophets, had brought God's anger down on themselves. Jesus' reference to the killing of the King's
only Son was not lost on the Pharisees. They had already decided to kill this
Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus' words enraged them, and their
hearts were further hardened against Him.
In the early days of America, trading companies and land agents,
eager to bring Europeans to our shores, often described the new world as a
garden of the gods, rich in natural resources and opportunity. And so it was!
It was very much like the vineyard in Jesus’ parable. Yet today, unless you live under a rock, you
have to be aware that greed, selfishness, and sexual immorality are spoiling
the garden.
This is Pro-Life month. Abortion and the culture of death are
far from conquered. It is the worm killing the grapes in the vineyard and
spoiling the garden. There is an axiom in law which states that the greater the
person offended, the greater the offense itself. Since God Himself was the
victim in Jesus’ parable, the offense against Him was beyond measure. Jesus directed the story He told then at the
Pharisees. Who does He direct it to in today's society?
We are the workers in God's Vineyard which the Lord has given us
to tend. Are we working hard enough to stop what is killing the grapes?
October is also the month of the Rosary. Here is a powerful
weapon that is ours to pray each day for a restoration of America, God's Garden
that once produced such goodness and responsible citizenship.
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