Raising my younger brother Napoleon was challenging for my father. Napoleon is two years younger than me. He is a very bright person, who is now a civil engineer. He was a rebellious child. In High School, Napoleon was often being called to the principal’s office. My father got frustrated because Napoleon seemed unwilling to change his ways. My father eventually gave up being his “guardian” for School matters. The school principal was a very nice person and had high esteem for my brother. He kind of took my brother under his wing and stopped bothering my father with complaints about him.

I recalled this part of my brother’s childhood this past week as I reflected on today’s first reading and gospel. The story of the people of Israel in the Old Testament is one of a rebellious people who did not obey God.

The prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading presents us the famous passage of the Song of the Vineyard. The Vineyard represents Israel, the people of God. God had selected them as his chosen people and had brought them from Egypt to the promised Land. God had also given them his commandments and had set up everything for their success as a nation and a community of faith.

However, instead of following the Lord’s guidance, Israel repeatedly did not listen and went after strange gods. As a loving father who wants the conversion of a son, God similarly spoke his words to his people to warn them of the consequences of their infidelity and stubborn disobedience.

The Song of the Vineyard represented God’s last appeal to Israel for conversion. God threatened to abandon them and leave them on their own. God never wanted to do that; the threat was intended to compel their conversion of heart. Yet, Israel never obeyed, and God left them on their own.

Just as my father who unofficially gave up my brother’s School guardianship because there was no positive change, in the same way God did finally “abandon” Israel to their own devices. And since sin brings its own bad consequences, the people of God brought about their own downfall. The Babylon exile came to be the punishment that Isarel imposed upon itself.

In several parts of the Bible, we hear of God’s anger. Anger attributed to God is very different from our human anger. God’s anger is his passion to set things right. God’s warning to Israel that He would retract his guardianship if they did not turn to him is an example of this. God did not want to abandon Israel but to set it right.

The prophet Isaiah cleverly disguised the real theme of the Song of the Vineyard, namely Israel’s infidelity. He did it with the intention of getting the hearers to participate in the unfavorable judgement the Song called for. God through the prophet asked, “What more could be done for my vineyard that I did not do? The resounding answer was that nothing else could be done. When God offers his care, God offers his all.

God’s message through Isaiah applies to us today. Israel as God’s vineyard foreshadowed the Church as the new vineyard of God. The words of Isaiah are also valid for the Church and you and me today. Isaiahs’s words are an urgent call to conversion before it is too late.   

The Lord challenges us with the question today, “What more could be done for the Church that I have not done?” The answer is still the same, nothing. What more could God be done for each one of us that He has not done? Again, nothing. God almighty gives us his all, his very life. The only Son of God gave up his life for our sake. God almighty gives us his very essence, which is the Holy Spirit. And yet, many of us Christians do not totally believe his words and obey his commandments, let alone yield good deeds.

Let us humbly ask the Lord to grant his grace to listen to his warnings and experience a conversion of heart, longing to obey him.