Fruits of the Harvest (Matthew 21:33­–46)

A wealthy landowner hires workers to work his land.  He pays them the going rate, which isn’t much.

Life is good for the landowner.  He has land. He has a vineyard.  He has stamps in his passport.

The workers he has hired have not benefited from the landowner’s prosperity. The landowner’s wealth has not trickled down.

This is a story that Jesus told to a group of Pharisees. The Pharisees had a good relationship with Rome. The Pharisees were able to share in the success and prosperity of the Roman Empire.

The Pharisees had a lot in common with the landowner in the story.

In the story, the wealthy landowner sent his slaves – and even his own son – to collect the harvest; but the workers killed those who came to collect the harvest, and they kept the harvest for themselves.

Jesus asked the Pharisees, “So, what do you think?”

Of course, the Pharisees identified with the landowner. The landowner had been robbed! His property (in the form of the harvest) was taken from him, and his property (in the form of his slaves) had been destroyed!

Even the landowner’s most prized possession – his son – had been taken. And those responsible should be punished!

That’s what the Pharisees thought of this story; but Jesus saw things differently.

Jesus said: “You think the kingdom is yours.  You think the riches of this life are yours forever. You think you are secure, that no one can take away what you have…”

Jesus said: “The kingdom WILL be taken away from you.  The wealth of the kingdom will be given to those at the bottom, those who do the work, those who actually produce the fruit of the kingdom.”

Jesus said: “You have not shared the prosperity you have received. You align yourselves with those at the top, those with wealth and power; and those at the bottom you ignore.”

Jesus said: “What you ignore, God will lift up. ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.’ The people you have treated so poorly will be exalted in God’s kingdom.”

And the Pharisees and others aligned with the powers of Rome heard this, and they were determined to arrest Jesus, find some way to get rid of him, because he was a threat.

What Jesus wanted was for every person to be treated fairly. A worker deserves a living wage – that’s really what this is about. A worker deserves his share of the wealth that he is helping to create. A worker deserves his share of the pie.

The wealthy landowner wanted it all to himself.  He didn’t want to share.  Just like the Romans, and those who aligned themselves with the Romans.

An attitude like that has no place in the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom of God, everyone enjoys the fruits of the harvest.

In the kingdom of God, everyone gets a piece of the pie.

In the kingdom of God, there is room at the table for everyone.

This is something that Barton Warren Stone, Thomas Campbell, and Alexander Campbell understood 200 years ago. 200 years ago, they started a movement within the church that removed the barriers that allowed only some people to gather at the table.

Barton Warren Stone, Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell believed that the fruits of God’s harvest were for everyone.

200 years later, we are continuing their work for wholeness and unity. 200 years later, we continue to invite the world to gather at the Lord’s Table.

Today, on World Communion Sunday, we remember that, around the world, in hundreds of languages, in thousands of churches, people gather around this one table.

For some, it may be a beautifully carved masterpiece.  For some, it might be some old scraps of wood, or even an old tree stump.  But it is still all one table.

At this one table, we are rich and poor.  We are male and female. We are old and young. We are gay and straight and bisexual. We are educated and illiterate. We are native-born and immigrant.

As we look around this one table, into each other’s eyes, we recognize our call to make a better world – a world in which all people share in the fruits of the harvest.

Because the kingdom of God is not ours alone. It is for all the world.

Those who try to hold on to the kingdom, and claim it as their own, will lose it.  It will be taken from them, and given to those who had been shut outside.

This is why we welcome all to the Lord’s Table.  This is why we are an Open and Affirming congregation. Because the harvest belongs to everyone, and we are called to share.