Blessed be God,
Praise be to Jesus Christ
now and forever. Amen.
Come Holy Spirit
fill us with joy,
set our hearts ablaze
with your presence.
A few months ago,
I planted a small garden.
Nothing fancy.
A few tomatoes, squash, eggplant,
cucumbers, okra, and peas.
The peas did pretty well.
The early pickings were good.
But then the heat came.
The dry weather settled in.
The squirrels showed up.
The birds helped themselves.
The ants moved in.
The scorching sun began to take its toll.
Before long,
there were not many tomatoes.
Not many cucumbers.
Not many eggplants.
No squash at all.
And while all those challenges were real,
if I'm being honest,
they were not the whole story.
Because every day
there were other responsibilities
calling my name.
Work needed attention.
Ministry needed attention.
Aging parents needed attention.
Family needed attention.
Grandchildren needed attention.
And so the garden was often put off until tomorrow.
Then tomorrow became next week.
And next week became another missed opportunity.
Looking back, I realized something.
God had given me everything I needed
to grow fruit in that garden.
The seed was there.
The soil was there.
The water was there.
The sunlight was there.
But too many other things crowded
out the time and attention
needed to tend it.
And as I reflected on that little garden,
I began to wonder if that is not exactly
what God is saying to us in today's readings.
God has planted a garden too.
And that garden is us.
The prophet Isaiah speaks of a vineyard
lovingly planted by God.
The owner did everything right.
He prepared the ground.
He planted the vines.
He protected them.
He cared for them.
He withheld nothing.
Yet when harvest time came,
the fruit was not what he expected.
He looked for justice.
He found bloodshed.
He looked for righteousness.
He found rebellion.
He looked for covenant faithfulness.
He found hearts that had wandered away.
The problem was not God's generosity.
The problem was the response.
The vineyard had been given everything it needed.
The Psalm shares the cry of a people
who finally recognize what has happened.
They remember that God planted them.
God sustained them.
God cared for them.
But they wandered.
And now they pray,
"Lord, restore us."
"Turn us back to You."
"Make us fruitful again."
Perhaps that prayer
belongs on our lips as well.
Because if we're honest,
God has been generous with us too.
He has planted His grace within us.
He has watered us with His mercy.
He has fed us with His Word.
He has strengthened us with the Eucharist.
He has surrounded us with opportunities to grow.
Yet sometimes our lives look a little like my garden.
Not because God failed to provide.
But because so many other things take priority.
The urgent
crowds out the important.
The noise crowds
out prayer.
The schedule
crowds out silence.
The demands of life
crowd out the work of the soul.
And little by little,
the fruit becomes scarce.
St. Paul gives us a remedy.
Pray instead of worry.
Give thanks instead of complain.
Fill your mind with what is true,
honorable, just, pure, and lovely.
And then put your faith into practice.
Notice that Paul does not simply tell us--
believe the right things.
He tells us to live them.
Because fruit never grows from good intentions alone.
Fruit grows through daily faithfulness.
One prayer at a time.
One act of kindness at a time.
One act of obedience at a time.
One surrender at a time.
Jesus takes Isaiah's vineyard and brings it to its fulfillment.
The tenants were entrusted
with a vineyard that belonged to someone else.
But they began living as though it belonged to them.
They rejected the servants.
They rejected the prophets.
And finally, they rejected the owner's son.
The tragedy was not ignorance.
The tragedy was refusal.
They knew what was expected.
They simply would not give the owner
the fruit that belonged to him.
Jesus gives a warning that still echoes today:
Being in the vineyard is not enough.
Receiving blessings is not enough.
Having religious activity is not enough.
God is looking for fruit.
Not merely busy lives.
Fruitful lives.
Lives marked by justice.
Lives marked by holiness.
Lives marked by love.
Lives marked by obedience.
Lives marked by peace.
Lives marked by gratitude.
Lives marked by faithfulness.
Every one of us has been given a garden.
A soul to cultivate.
A family to nurture.
Relationships to strengthen.
Gifts to share.
A faith to live.
God has not withheld anything necessary for growth.
The question is not whether God has provided.
The question is whether we are tending what He has given.
The Lord does not come to condemn.
He comes like the patient gardener.
Calling us back to the vineyard.
Inviting us back to the work.
Reminding us that it is not too late.
Lord, restore us.
Turn Your face toward us.
By Your grace, make us fruitful disciples.
Help us to be good.
Help us to be holy.
Help us to proclaim the Gospel,
not only with our words, but with our lives.
May we love one another as Christ has loved us.
May we forgive as we have been forgiven.
And may the fruit of our lives lead others to You.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen
