Citizens

 The scriptures referred to are Matthew 21:33-46.

Game of Thrones was set in a medieval world where magic exists but unlike The Lord of the Rings, this was a grittier world with people who were not all good or all bad, but where it was understood that rulers were almost always brutal. And part of that was due to the fact that, except for the dragons and ice zombies, author George R.R. Martin based a lot of the events on actual history. The War of the Five Kings in the books is inspired by the War of the Roses, where 2 noble families fought for 30 years to secure their claim to the English throne. In addition there are parallels to the Roman Empire, especially the struggle between rivals for emperor, as happened in 69 AD, and later when Constantine fought his way to the imperial throne. The great wall that protected Westeros from the scary people in the north was an exaggerated version of Hadrian's Wall, constructed by the Romans to protect them from the savage Picts. As for the infamous Red Wedding, where a noble family is murdered by their host at a feast, there are precedents for such a horrible betrayal of hospitality in both Scottish and Japanese history. Martin did not have to make up a lot of the cruel and homicidal people or events in his books. The real world provided plenty of material.

Even people who don't read history come to understand that leaders can be ruthless. And often they approve of it. This made sense when the world was populated by warring tribes, nations and empires. “Yeah,” people thought, “our king is a bastard but at least he is our bastard.” The idea is that in a hostile world you need a belligerent ruler to fight for you. And you keep him happy by giving him what he wants. He'd probably just take it anyway.

You even see this in the Bible. The “judges” in the book bearing that name were mostly military leaders who would arise periodically when the Israelites were being oppressed by one of the surrounding nations. Eventually the 12 tribes wanted a king like the other nations. And what they mostly wanted was a person to lead their armies against the Philistines. God allows this but warns them through Samuel that giving that much power to one person will lead to abuses of power. (1 Samuel 8:10-17) “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8:18) And indeed parts of the historical books of the Old Testament read like Game of Thrones.

God sees Israel's demand for a king as a rejection of God as king. Even David, who in some ways was a model king of Israel, was undone by his sexual sins that led to intrigue, murder and a rebellion led by one of his sons. And God will not let David build him a temple because he is a man of blood. His son Solomon, for all his wisdom, ended up with 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of whom were pagan and whom he allowed to worship idols. And soon after Solomon's death his united kingdom splits into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Each is conquered in turn and taken into exile. The Jews return from Babylon and try to rebuild their kingdom. There is a brief period under the Maccabees where they regain independence but then the Roman Empire takes over. By Jesus' day, people are yearning for another leader like David to deliver them from oppression and set up the kingdom of God.

So when Jesus, a descendant of David, arrives, healing people, working wonders, speaking like a prophet and talking about the kingdom of God, people take notice. They want him to set up that kingdom. The problem is the popular idea of the kingdom of God was an earthly, political entity, ruled by a holy warrior king like David, with a strict observance of the Jewish law. And that wasn't what Jesus meant by kingdom of God.

So Jesus is continually putting forth a different version of the kingdom of God and usually he does this in a parable. Of the 40 recorded parables we get in the gospels, at least 16 are about the kingdom. They emphasize things like how it starts small and grows like a mustard seed, how it is valuable like a hidden treasure, how it is joyous and inclusive like a king's wedding feast, how people are to serve it by using their talents to the best of their ability and how it is about forgiveness and grace, not might. The Beatitudes list the qualities of those who are part of God's kingdom and the whole Sermon on the Mount can be seen as a charter of how its citizens should behave.

Today we are looking at another parable of the kingdom. This one is different and the reaction it gets shows that people still do not get the essential quality of the kingdom of God. Jesus tells a story about a landowner who plants a vineyard with care and leases to some tenants while he goes out of the country. When he sends slaves to collect his portion of the produce, they get mistreated and in some cases killed. Eventually he sends his son, whom he expects his tenants to respect. But they kill him, too. Then Jesus asks his audience, “Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” His audience says, “He will horribly destroy those horrible men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him its fruits at the harvest time.” I retranslated that verse to reflect that in the Greek there is a double use of the word for bad. The evil men will come to an evil end at the hands of the vineyard's owner.

Given that Hebrew Bible often uses the image of God as the vintner and Israel as the vine, it's a fairly transparent critique of the treacherous way the caretakers of the nation have acted towards God. And notice it is the audience, not Jesus, who says the vineyard owner will take bloody revenge on his murderous tenants. In fact, they would have expected him to do it sooner, after the way his slaves were treated. You do not kill an unarmed messenger, not even during war. Jesus' audience would not only have seen the vineyard owner as amazingly tolerant but incredibly naive when he decided to send his son. Killing was too good for such wretched men; they deserved a wretched death.

Jesus does agree that the owner will take away the vineyard and give it to others but he doesn't say that the owner will do anything else to the tenants. He does speak of the Lord as a builder who does something remarkable when he takes a rejected stone and uses it as the cornerstone. He is quoting Psalm 118 and the reference seems to be the temple or house of the Lord and “the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.” (Psalm 118:20-23) His only reference to violence is what happens to those who fall on the stone or on whom it falls. The cause of their destruction is not taking into account the laws of God's creation—in this case, gravity.

In fact Jesus drops the allegory and says to his critics, the chief priests and Pharisees, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.” There's no point in having a vineyard if it doesn't produce grapes, and not just any grapes but good grapes. And there's no point to the kingdom of God if it doesn't produce good fruit.

Jesus often talked about fruit in his parables and proverbs. 41 times in the 4 gospels he refers to fruit and most of the time he is not talking about literal fruit. He said that just as an easy way to identify a tree is by its fruit, you could judge people by the moral acts and spiritual qualities they produce. Nor when talking about bad fruit was he merely referring to unripened or rotten fruit. In Matthew 7:17 he talks of how a evil tree can actually produce evil fruit. Some trees produce fruit that is toxic.

Yellow star fruit can be bad for you if you have any kidney problems or take certain medications with which it interacts. Eat too much and it can lead to kidney damage, seizures and even death! Jamaica's national fruit, ackee fruit, if not properly prepared, can cause vomiting, coma, hypoglycemia and, yes, even, death. Here in Florida the fruit of the manchineel tree were called the “little apples of death” by the conquistadors. One bite can kill you. In fact, the whole tree is toxic. Its sap causes blisters and the smoke of burning its branches and leaves can blind you. And if you go to the website Wildflowers of Israel they have an extensive list of toxic plants, some of which Jesus might be referring to.

Good fruit is nourishing. It makes you healthier. So what is the fruit Jesus is talking about? Jesus never actually defines it but Paul does in his letter to the Galatians: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Indeed in the kingdom of God the law is to love God above everything else and to love one another as Jesus loves us. And all of the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit come out of love.

Imagine a kingdom or nation where all its citizens loved one another rather than hated certain other citizens. Imagine a kingdom or nation where joy was the predominant mood rather than gloom. Imagine a kingdom or nation where peace prevailed rather than conflict. Imagine a kingdom or nation where patience was pervasive rather than impatience with one another. Imagine a kingdom or nation where kindness was the keynote rather than cruelty. Imagine a kingdom or nation where generosity was displayed by everyone rather than greed. Imagine a kingdom or nation where faithfulness to one's word was the norm rather than the exception. Imagine a kingdom or nation where gentleness was the go-to response to situations rather than harshness. Imagine a kingdom or nation where self-control was admired rather than just doing and saying whatever popped into your head. Such a kingdom or nation would be heavenly. Such a kingdom or nation could truly be called Christian.

You won't find such a nation on earth. Because mere human efforts and even human laws cannot change human nature so radically. Only the Spirit of God in Christ can. Speaking to the very brutal Pilate, Jesus said that his kingdom was not from this world. If it were, his followers would be fighting to free him. (John 18:36) When one of his followers, Peter, did fight to prevent Jesus' arrest and cut off a man's ear with his sword, Jesus rebukes Peter telling him, “Put your sword back in its place for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) And then Jesus healed the man's ear.(Luke 22:51) The kingdom of God is about healing, not harming.

The people listening to Jesus' parable about the rebellious tenants of the vineyard were responding with the logic of human nature: treat other people exactly as they treat you. Or worse. If they slap you on the right cheek, punch them in the face. If someone insults you, come up with a bigger insult for them. Never back down; always double down. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof points out, “That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.”

But that is not how it is in the kingdom of God. Its citizens realize their spiritual poverty, feel it deeply, are humble, hunger and thirst to be made right with God, are merciful, seek to purify their hearts, are peacemakers and are not dismayed when persecuted for doing the right thing. (Matthew 5:3-12) Citizens tend to imitate their leaders and we are to be like Jesus. And since Jesus is God (John 10:30) and God is love (1 John 4:8), then Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians should apply not just to God but to godly people. Which means a Christ-like person is not only patient and kind but is not envious. A person following Jesus does not brag and is not puffed up with pride. A real Christian is not rude, is not self-serving, is not easily angered or resentful. A person in Christ is not glad about injustice but rejoices in the truth. A person in whom the Spirit of God lives knows no limit to their endurance, no end to their trust, no fading of their hope and can outlast anything. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, with a nod to the J.B. Phillips translation)

And those are not the only ways in which the kingdom of God is unlike the nations of the world. As I said, the expectation in Jesus' day was that the Messiah would establish a physical, political kingdom of God. But Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) Or, because the “you” is plural in Greek, “The kingdom of God is in you as a group.” Which is why he says, “For where two or three of you are assembled in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20) Again, God is love and 2 or more people acting together in love better display the image of God than a person trying to do so alone.

So naturally the kingdom of God doesn't have borders or boundaries or limits but exists wherever we go. We are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20) We represent him and his kingdom wherever we are. So our thoughts, words and behavior reflect on Jesus. As it says in 1 John, “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:6) If we walk the walk, we cannot practice or endorse hateful or unethical behavior, because that is not what citizens of the kingdom of God do. We do not harm but help, feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick, visiting those in prison and welcoming the resident immigrant. Because not only do we represent Jesus, we are to see Jesus in the despised and disadvantaged. (Matthew 25:31-46)

The kingdoms of this world rule and expand through use of force. The kingdom of God is ruled and expands through love. It doesn't conquer people; it attracts them. They leave the things that rule their lives for what they see in Jesus, the God who is love incarnate. And our duty is not to repel but welcome those who wish to enter the kingdom. We are not to fight our enemies but love them and pray for them. (Matthew 5:44) The kingdoms of this world tries to rid themselves of enemies by harming them. This usually just makes more enemies. Jesus' method is to win hearts and minds. The best way to get rid of an enemy is make them your friend. It worked for Zacchaeus, Matthew, Nathanael, the murderer on the cross, Saul, who became Paul, and a guy named Francis. All were sinners who became friends of God through Christ and exemplary citizens of his kingdom. In fact, today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and were times normal, we would be blessing animals and doing a service filled with songs he wrote. What we can do is say a prayer, not written by him but which reflects his insights into how a person following Jesus and acting as his ambassador should behave. Let us pray.

“Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.”