Vineyard & Cornerstone

 

I felt the fiancee or the valentine not mine but in the book of Song of Solomon was with me and who invites her sweet heart in chapter 7 verse 12 “Let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grapes blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom.”  

Bible from Genesis to Revelation portrays the term Vineyard in 82 instances. Today I would like to invite you for a small waltzing through vineyards, hopefully which will help us to place Christ the cornerstone in our lives. The vineyard becomes an icon of hard work in the book of Genesis Chapter 9 verse 20 and it’s written “Noah, a man of the soil was the first to plant a vineyard. The opening lines of the book of Prophet Isaiah Chapter 5 verse 1&2 brace the above notion, “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug and cleared of stones and planted it with choice of vines.” In verse 4 Prophet becomes peevish to accept the snide outcome, “He expected it to yield grapes but it yielded wild grapes.           

Christian life as a vineyard needs hard work to squeeze the vine of virtues. Plough the land with the spade of faith, clear the stones and the thorns with the hand of hope and plant the red grape of love. Built a tower with prayer, hew the press of Sacraments. To promise us the best vine we need to prune it with gospel. And here the Gospel of St. John chapter 15 verse 2 never becomes a second thought, “Every Branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.”  

Couple of days before, I had a video on my Facebook wall. A granny along with her grandson was in a bakery to buy a birthday cake for her better half and for him of course his grandpa. Once they ordered the cake of their choice the salesman requested them to pay the bill at the cashier desk.  They were ferreting the money to be paid for the cake as they were having the jaunt to the teller desk. Unfortunately they found no sufficient money to be paid after their search in the pockets, purse and pouch. A young and astute guy was observing them and felt it would be a needle in the haystack for them. And he goes before them and clears the account. The granny and her grandson smiled at him.  He gives a sticky note to the boy as he pats him on his cheek. The line on the chit reads, “Be Blessed and Be a Blessing.” The scene twists as the grandson gives the sticky note to his grandpa. The grandpa recollects the episode in which he had given the same chit to a beggar boy who missed the boat to have a day’s meal. Yes the granddad was a blessing for the young guy in his childhood days and the grandpa is blessed in his old age days.

For Psalmist vineyard is the symbol of Blessing and it is underlined in chapter 107 verses 37& 38 “They sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. And by his blessings they multiply greatly.”  The labours at the vineyard in the gospel of Matthew chapter 20 verses 9 & 14 illustrate the same, “Those hired about five O’clock came and received their usual daily wage. And I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.”  In the Jewish tradition vineyard is culturally and economically centred in everyday life. Being a catholic we are called to be blessed and be a blessing for the other. To be blessed and to bless the other, Christ has to be the corner stone of our life. St. Paul through the letter to Philippines chapter 4 verse 8 elucidates the same idea, and I quote , “ Finally, beloved whatever is true , whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellency and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

 Another dimension or implication of Vineyard is that it signifies the new life. Gospel of Luke through the parable of the barren fig tree amidst the vineyard would give a better understanding, noted in chapter 13 verse 8, “Sir let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it.”  It’s up and running for the prophet Amos too and we read in chapter 9 verse 14, “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their vine.”  The land owner in the Gospel augurs the privy of new vineyard and it reads in Matthew chapter 21 verse 41, “And leases the vineyard to the other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time. Pablo Neruda a veteran Chilean poet and a diplomat has the same view as he versifies, “You start dying  slowly if you do not change your life.”     

Let me sign out by detonating with a climax of an Indian Movie titled ‘Vineyards for Us to Dwell In’ in Malayalam നമുക്കു പാർക്കാൻ മുന്തിരിത്തോപ്പുകൾ  . The Plot, Solomon the protagonist falls in love with the girl Sofia of the neighboring home. As he spent time with his girlfriend he realizes that his honey has agony of discrimination in her home by her stepfather. Solomon convinces everyone about his marriage to this girl which can provide her comfort and show his way of life. The idea of marriage is opposed by her stepfather and the family which led him to leave the village. After few months he comes back and meets her. As Solomon meets Sophia he asks her you thought that I wouldn't come again. Her two word reply I thought changes the whole scene. Solomon takes Sofia with him and makes her the supervisor of the next season's harvest in the vineyard and his life too.

Keep in mind that the protagonist of our life movie as Catholics, Christ will come again and to be the supervisor for all seasons of crop, let us be the vineyard of hard work, the vineyard of blessing, the vineyard of new life and place Christ as the beacon of our vineyard.