Sermon - Glebe-St. James United Church - Oct. 2, 2011

“The Watchtower”                              Matthew 21: 33-46

By Rev. Dr. Christine Johnson

These workers show intense  perseverance.

They don’t want to let anyone into their vineyard,

            even though they don’t own it.                                                                              

They don’t want to let anyone into their paradise,

            because to do so would mean they have to give something up.

So out of protective self-interest,

            they destroy the messengers that want what is the owner’s due.

On Worldwide Communion Sunday,

            we might ask a question inspired by this story.

Who is being refused entry into the vineyard?

Who, in our own society, is being refused entry into paradise?

Now, the vineyard could be so many places.

It could be a high school.

Although all of us are required to attend high school,

            how many of us really felt we belonged?

Perhaps, there are bullies up in the watchtower,

            watching out for vulnerable persons who are different,

            ready to attack.

Just on Thursday I had a to read an article in The Toronto Star twice

            because I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

A 12-year-old boy, 12 years old, committed suicide

            because of bullying.

A vineyard can be a workplace.

You might have a boss who doesn’t like your style,

            or just doesn’t like you.

And somehow you find your hours cut slowly

            until you’re so part-time you don’t understand what’s going on.

Instead of discussing the issue with you,

            you’re just slowly squeezed out and wondering why you’re rejected.

If you’ve ever had something like this happen to you, you’ll recognize it.

And it hurts.

I know, because as a young woman, I went through it.

A vineyard can be a hockey rink.

A coach can decide that his daughter makes the team

            while your daughter is cut.

You’re confused because you know your child is a better player.

A vineyard can be a country.

In Canada, we decide all the time who can come in and who can’t.

And if you say you’re a refugee, but you’re not in enough danger,

            they’ll send you back to where you came from.

For those wanting to get into paradise,

            this rejection is hard.

It means that you have to return to all the conditions that make life hard

            even if it means severe famine, and possible death.

A vineyard can be a church.

For a long time, homosexuals were told their activity was a sin.

So, while our signs said “All are welcome”

            we didn’t really mean it.

A friend of mine told me that he had been attending a church for four and a half years.

At one point, the Sunday School superintendent told him

            she didn’t want any “gays teaching children in the Sunday School.”

He realized that she had no idea who she was speaking to.

He realized that he was being rejected, not because of his character,

            but because of who he was.

That kind of rejection kills.

Another gay friend was told by his sister that he could not touch his nieces and nephews.

That kind of rejection kills.

From the garden of Eden, God creates the world.

The brokenness that happens as a result of humankind’s misuse of the knowledge

            of good and evil separates us from the kingdom of God.

Even God’s own son, sent to show us the true nature of abundant life,

            is rejected from the garden.

But Jesus has some strong words for those, the Pharisees and chief priests,

 who create outcasts and call others unclean.

He says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;

this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.”

In other words, be careful who you reject,

            you might be amazed to find out they are actually the cornerstones.

Jesus teaches us that all persons are first-class citizens in the kingdom of God.

Jesus teaches us that no one owns the vineyard.

Jesus teaches us that the very one we reject might be the one against whom we perish.

These workers stood in the watchtower trying to keep their vineyard

            free of its owner’s influence

            and as a result, created pain and suffering.

We need to climb up into that watchtower and reclaim the earth

            for its true owner, for God.

And when we reclaim it for its true owner,

            we’ll stop hoarding its riches and poisoning its garden.

We’ll stand tall in the watchtower burning a candle of hope

            instead of pointing fingers.

We’ll climb the watchtower and put up a cell phone tower

            in order to call everyone up

and tell them that God is personally inviting them to the banquet of life.

And that’s why we have this meal.

For in the midst of our struggle to welcome all to the vineyard,

            we have this meal that represents all our hopes and dreams of seeing this come true.

So for today, we eat and drink

 and know we are part of God’s paradise.