4 October 2026 Feast of St Francis

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20   Psalm 19   Philippians 3:4b-14   Matthew 21:33-46

 Does violence beget violence.  Is violence as a response to violence acceptable.  Our nation, our community, is plagued by violence but what should be our response?  The analogy in this parable is usually drawn between the landowner’s son and Jesus and the fact that both are taken and killed.  But rather than returning violence for violence, in the cross Jesus, God, absorbs our violence and responds with life, with resurrection, with Jesus triumphant over death and offering peace, not retribution.  And post resurrection the risen Jesus instructs the disciples to take the good news into every corner of the world promising to be with them forever.

 Even when violence seems to be winning, “he will put those wretches to a miserable death’, even when we despair of the tragedies surrounding us in the world; we have the promise that violence is not the only option.  There is another way forward.  And while Jesus’ words, and our words, and Matthew’s words all matter, Jesus’ deeds matter more, as Jesus’ death and resurrection creates more possibilities than any we can see, including the possibility of peace.

 We only have to look in our Scriptures:

John tells us Jesus says: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

And from Matthew: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul says: Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.  Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

And again from Matthew: remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

 It will not erase our despair at the violence around us, or reduce our ‘default’ response to respond in kind, but it does offer us hope, and hope is where faithful action, compassion and resolve begin. 

 As the Archbishop says, the tenants in this parable appear to have forgotten ‘who’ they are, they are stewards not owners of the vineyard.  And as stewards they need to give to the owner the rightful share of the harvest.  They appear to have forgotten that everything belongs to the landowner, and they own nothing.  Their calling, their vocation, is to care for, to tend, to safeguard and cultivate and protect on behalf of another.  And it is not difficult to put ourselves in the place of those tenants.  We have been placed in the position of caring for, of stewarding, of tending, of safeguarding, cultivating and protecting, creation.  And I am not sure we have done a good job of it.  Have we listened to the ‘prophets’ who are telling us and advising us on the best way to steward this land, or are we treating it as ‘ours’ to do with as we choose.  There have been reports of trees that were growing across the road from a line of houses suddenly dying so the householders can have ‘their’ view of the ocean.  We destroy native vegetation at the drop of a hat so that we can make a profit by turning it into a housing estate.  We divert watercourses so they do not ‘disturb’ our gardens with the effect of it running through and flooding the yards below us on the hill.

 We are supposed to be caretakers of a vineyard God cares about deeply, a vineyard that will not thrive or even survive if we keep treating it as a disposable commodity.  8.8million tons of plastics enter the ocean each year; 25% of all mammals are currently threatened with extinction; sea levels will rise by 1-8 feet by the year 2100.  And that scenario will only change if we change.

 Today we celebrate the feast of St Francis of Assisi, a 12th century monk who cared deeply about creation.  We will soon bless the animals who have joined us recognising God’s care for the creatures that live among us.

As we conclude this Season of Creation, it is fitting that today’s gospel speaks about the fact that our job in this world is to care for God’s vineyard, to care for God’s people and to care for all God’s creation.  It is never too late to change our ways and start, or increase, the ways in which we care for our climate, all creation, all God’s creatures.  We own none of creation, it all belongs to God, and the fact that God trusts us to steward any of it, is pure miracle.