Hope Arkansas is a city with a least two claims to fame. Of course, it's the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton.  But you may not know that it's also home to the largest watermelons on the planet -- a phenomenon that, for decades, has cultivated a growing trend among "hopeful" gardeners. Maybe you've seen the fruits of their labors featured on the evening news each year as contestants enter their behemoths in fairs and festivals across the country. The current, heavyweight world champion watermelon was grown in 2013, tipping the scales at an incredible 350.5 pounds!

On the subject of fruit-bearing, Jesus had plenty to say to His closest followers and to the crowds who came to hear Him speak. In today's Gospel we read, "I tell you, then, that the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Mt. 21:43).  Jesus, of course, was referring to His disciples, then and now. And that includes us -- you and me. In today's Lesson, His instruction to the chief priests and the elders who have questioned His authority is known as "The Parable of the Tenants".

As the parable tells us, the owner of a vineyard leases it to some tenant farmers. For three successive years, the tenants forcibly resist the owner's efforts to claim his rightful share of the harvest. They murder his agents who come to collect. And, after three harvests, they are in a strong position to acquire ownership of the land by means of what we would call "squatters rights." If they can successfully resist the owner's claims following the fourth harvest they will be in a legal position to assert ownership for themselves. The owner's legal recourse is to lodge a formal complaint against the scheming tenants, before witnesses. To do this, the owner is required by law to physically come upon the land in question. In this case, the owner sends his son (a co-partner in the land) to represent him. "They will respect my son," he reasons. But the wicked tenants murder the son too.

Finally, the owner himself comes upon the land, gains the upper hand, ejects the murderous tenants and appoints others in their place.  Jesus' reason for speaking this parable in the final weeks of His ministry is clear.  Throughout His public life, Jesus, Son of God, had claimed the right to exercise His Father's authority over His people. Instead of respecting this claim, the Scribes and Pharisees saw it as a threat to their own dominion over God's people. They adopted a "He's got to go!" attitude and Jesus knew they would soon make their move to dispose of Him.

It was in this context then, that Jesus spoke the Parable of the Tenants.  In effect, He is saying to the Scribes and Pharisees, "you may think that getting rid of Me will resolve the matter in your favor. But remember, that is precisely what those wicked tenants imagined. Killing Me will not result in My defeat but in your own ruin. You will never be able to successfully resist My Father's claim to absolute dominion over His people -- even if you should kill His Son! Even death has no claim over God's people. He will never abandon them." Again, as we read in today's lesson, Jesus ends the parable, warning, "I tell you, then, that the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Mt. 21:43). 

In an ancient legend, an old man is digging in the earth, preparing to plant some fruit trees. A passerby begins taunting the old man. “You must be at least one hundred years old,” he says. "Surely you don’t hope to eat the fruit of the trees you are planting?”" The old man answers quietly, “I have no expectation of eating the fruit of these trees. I only hope that these plantings will ultimately bear good fruit.”

"The sheep that belong to Me listen to My voice,” Jesus says. Listen to the voice of Jesus: "I tell you, most solemnly, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest" (Jn. 12:24).  The seeds we sow now, the plantings of our earthly life, are of the utmost eternal significance. Our Christian hope is that, ultimately, in God’s own time, they will bear good fruit and yield a rich harvest -- to the honor and glory of God!

• What seeds have you planted?
• Have you used your time and talent for God?
• What are you going to do?