Sunday, October 2, 2011 The Rev. Melissa Campbell-Langdell   In C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet, a man is swept up in the plot of a mad scientist and a wily businessman and brought as a sort of human sacrifice to another planet at the behest of the religious leader. Afraid of the creatures on that planet, the protagonist, whose name is Ransom, runs away until he finally is forced to relate to all the three different forms of intelligent life on the planet. He assumes that they wish him harm, but actually realizes that they are well-meaning. But he is called to go visit the religious leader, Oyarsa, and this makes him very afraid. He assumes he may be judged and perhaps killed. He tries to explain this fear to Oyarsa and when Oyarsa asks why he is afraid he says: “Oyarsa, I may tell you that our world is very bent. The two who brought me knew nothing of you, but only that the sorns [a race of creature on that planet] had asked for me. They thought you were a false eldil [or angel], I think. There are false eldila [or angels] in the wild parts of our world; men kill other men before them… they thought that the sorns wanted me for this or some other evil. They brought me by force. I was in terrible fear. The tellers of tales in our world make us think that if there is any life beyond our own air it is evil.”[1] Oyarsa, the divine leader on this other planet can’t make heads or tails of the human destructive impulse, that creatures would be so afraid of others, and that that fear would make us violent and coercive.  On their planet creatures have found a way to live in harmony and without killing or grasping for gain.  And it almost seems like Jesus is telling us the same tale here. If it is an analogy, with the owner of the vineyard as God, the greedy and ungrateful tenants as certain humans misinterpreting and lashing out, and Jesus as the son who will be sacrificed, we can see the tenants acting just like the greedy men in the story above, lashing out in self-defense. Just like the two men who brought the protagonist to the foreign planet in the story I mentioned, it is all about their gain, no matter who gets hurt.  It’s almost like in sending Jesus, God is saying that giving us those rules mentioned before in the Exodus, those 10 commandments (maybe you’ve heard of them) still didn’t teach us to love rather than fear. We got that part about keeping our behavior in line, but somehow we still didn’t understand that the whole point is to love rather than grasp. Basic rules just didn’t work on their own. We would still lash out and Jesus would still die as a result.  As Christians, sometimes we want basic rules though, don’t we? Even the chief priests and Pharisees seem to think this is pretty simple stuff. Well of course, those tenants will be killed and new tenants will be brought in. Several commentators point out that it is interesting that Jesus didn’t say this, the chief priests did.[2]  Almost like they were operating at the same scared and violent level that the tenants were. Because notice, Jesus’ response isn’t about retributive justice or just getting even, but restorative justice,[3] making things right: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces fruits of the kingdom (Matthew 21:43).” Nothing about killing off the offenders, all about bearing fruit, producing new life.   One might even think of the promise of eternal life.  But we sometimes don’t get that, do we? It is all too easy to get into the fear part and see God as judge and jury in some violent-leaning court. And God’s way of doing things is mysterious to us. It can take a different amount of time than we figure; we can be surprised by God’s love. I would imagine that one also gets confused about the grey area of being in so much transition for so long, as you have been. What could God be doing?  This past week, I took a course on the fundamentals of transitional ministry, and it held a few insights for me. One was how hard it is for congregations in transition. They showed a slide of a person flying through mid-air.  They said, “This is how a congregation in transition feels.   You as the Interim Minister may know that they have a direction, that we have just jumped off one trapeze and are about to land on another, but they don’t. They feel suspended in mid-air.” Many of you may have felt like you have been in mid-air for a few years now, and when you did grab the next trapeze, all of a sudden you were back in the air again, much more quickly than you expected. That’s hard stuff. But the good news I am reading in the passage today is that, despite difficult times, God will restore the Vineyard to those who wish to tend it, or if you want to go with Paul’s lovely image, to those who are “pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).”  And I am so happy for you all and impressed, because yesterday, not only were we as a church present and supportive at the founding of the new community garden, our literal semi-vineyard nearby, but also through the efforts of many parishioners, and the tremendous organizing work of Mabel, Cindy and others, we were a presence at the Multicultural Festival, and handed out hundreds of water bottles and provided children’s activities. You are tending the vineyard, and I imagine that the Lord is very proud. Because ultimately, that’s what we are about as church, and changes will rock us, but the church presses on toward the heavenly goal, building the kingdom all the while, right here and right now, trying to bear fruit where we may, knowing that God always calls us into love, for each other, for the world, love, which is the opposite of fear. May you strive to give and not to grasp, and may you see your children’s children picking the fruit of your loving efforts.  [1] C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet (New York: MacMillan, 1965), 121. [2] Susan Grove Eastman, “Exegetical Perspective: Matthew 21:33-46”, FOTW, Year A Vol 4. [3] Richard E. Spalding, “Pastoral Perspective: Matthew 21:33-46,” FOTW Year A, Vol 4.