Fruit of the vine and work of human hands

Wine holds a special place in the Catholic imagination. Throughout the Bible, wine represents God’s gift to his people, and Jesus even promises that such a great gift will be present in heaven (Lk 22:18). Mass cannot be celebrated without wine, and, in my experience, no good Catholic party can be celebrated without wine either. Wine is more than just an alcoholic drink or an elixir of life. Indeed, it is a symbol of joy and the fruit of our friendship with God and each other.

Perhaps less striking to the imagination, however, is the origin of wine: the vineyard. Nevertheless, the Gospel readings for the past three Sundays have featured this location in three separate parables announced by Jesus. On Sept. 24, the twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we read about the landowner who “went out to hire laborers for his vineyard,” (Mt 20:1-16a). On Oct. 1, the twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we read about the man with two sons who asks them both to “go and work in the vineyard today,” (Mt 21:28-32). On Oct. 8, the twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, we read about the “landowner who planted a vineyard…then…leased it to tenants,” (Mt 21:33-43). 

Jesus is not simply obsessed with vineyards, wine or landowners. Just like wine holds a special place in the Catholic imagination, the vineyard held a place in the imagination of Jesus’ disciples. They would have remembered the psalm where their salvation from slavery in Egypt was compared to the planting of a vineyard: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it” (Ps 80:9). And, as Isaiah attests, “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, the people of Judah, his cherished plant” (Is 5:7).

The “fruit of the vine” for which we bless God in the Mass comes from the “work of human hands” in the vineyard, which likewise should hold a special place in our imagination. As the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, “Lumen Gentium,” contends, “The Church is a piece of land to be cultivated, the tillage of God… That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator,” (LG 6, CCC 755). The vineyard indeed is a special gift given by God as valuable as his gift of wine.

Gift though it may be, Jesus nonetheless points to the inevitable drama in the vineyard: laborers resentful as they compare themselves and their labor, sons fickle in their word and resolve to assist their father and wicked tenants who betray the landowner. Can we not see each of these dramas play out in the long history of the Church? Yet, the vineyard is never destroyed in the parables of Jesus. It continues to bear fruit: the life-giving wine which we hold so dear.

Working in the vineyard is undoubtedly messy and difficult. Having visited some of the wineries in California, I marvel at the complexity of their operations and difficult labor that goes into making wine. Imagine how much more labor intensive and complex that process was 2,000 years ago! 

So too, the work of the Church takes many hands. Perhaps you can see the many volunteers and staff who give of their time generously for the ministries they offer. As Archbishop, I give thanks daily for the work of so many in the archdiocese who collaborate to bear good fruit for our local church in central and western Oklahoma. Imagine how this labor is multiplied in the church in the United States and around whole world!

As laborers in the Lord’s vineyard, we should see ourselves united in mission as we encourage our fellow laborers. We should respond promptly and faithfully to the Lord’s call, and we should trust the landowner and collaborate with the servants he sends.

How does one live and labor fruitfully in the vineyard? The first step is to open your eyes to see what is happening in your parish and around the archdiocese. Taking time to read your parish bulletin and the Sooner Catholic will allow you to see the breadth of the labor in the vineyard. From events at the Catholic Pastoral Center or the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, to the initiatives of the Eucharistic Revival or Oklahoma Catholic Radio, to the celebrations of parishes, communities and individuals, the Sooner Catholic and your local parish bulletin should inspire you to be proud to belong to the Church, the vineyard planted in the house of the Lord. 

Then, in reading what is happening, you might hear God’s voice inviting you to participate in one part of the labor or another. Our collaboration in the vineyard is critical to building up the kingdom of God instead of tearing it down with our criticism and resentment.

Let us take pride in the vineyard that is our Church and ask the Lord for a willing spirit to give ourselves as its laborers. May the vineyard be always as cherished as the wine it produces.