To Know Christ

Paul gives us an accounting of his credentials in the Jewish faith in his letter to the Philippians today. This is not to boast about what he was able to achieve but to show what he had given up when he was found by Christ on the road to Damascus. While the actual details may not interest a person of our time, what they meant was power and prestige in his community. People looked up to him, even with awe at what he was able to do. He gave that all up in order to gain Christ. Today, I suppose, the equivalent would be wealth, internet fame, or, maybe, speaker of the house. Paul is not telling the Philippians to brag about it. He is telling them to forget about all those vain ambitions. Instead look to the gains you have in Christ. Do not be like the tenants of the vineyard who thought that the harvest was theirs to have.

Since we have two stories of vineyards in our lessons today we need to explore them. There are many references to grapes, vineyards, vine dressers, and roots and branches in the Bible. That is because the Israelites, as most ancient people, were familiar with raising grapes. Familiar enough so that when Isaiah used the vineyard as a symbol for the people they understood he was talking about them. They were the choice vines God planted, the vineyard is the promised land, and the rotten grapes were their unfaithfulness. Isaiah reminded them that just as God gave, God can take away.

Jesus’ parable may well have had its fruits in this text from Isaiah. While Matthew indicates it is the Pharisees who believe this parable to be about them, Jesus was talking to all the Jews. Jesus told this parable because those upright Jews were angry that Jesus spent time with the sinners and tax collectors. In fact they rejected Jesus for this same act. Someone from God would not spend time with the poor and sinners. He would spend time with those who were righteous. Jesus, by this parable, was telling them that they had turned God’s gifts into a vanity show to see who was the most upright Jew. Instead of worshiping God they worshiped their own status, possessions, and lives.

Paul calls us away from those vanities by his example. He does not tell us that this is an easy task. He talks about sharing in Christ’s suffering so that he might gain the power of resurrection from the dead. Paul tells us he is not done but presses on to make it his own because he has been made Christ’s own. He is not saying that we must do this in order to win salvation. That has already been done by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. What he is saying is that we are called to live the life that we have been saved for. That life is a life of following Jesus. It does not mean that we can sit back and let the world go by. It means that we have to be actively involved in the world growing in faith and adapting to the ever changing ways of the world. So be prepared for the task at hand. You have been washed in the waters of baptism, fed at this table, studied the Holy Scriptures, and spent time in prayer in order to see where you have been called to spread the good news of Jesus. It is not an easy task as Paul reminds us, but it is a joyful task. Who else is called to share God’s love but us. So go and tend the vineyard of God. Pruning where it needs to be pruned. Watering where it needs to be watered. Feeding where it needs to be fed. Loving as God loves you.