Preaching on Matthew 21:33–42, Fr. Stephen Osburn called us to hear Christ’s parable of the vineyard not as a story about others long ago, but as a direct warning to our own community today. In the parable, Christ tells of a landowner who planted a vineyard, hedged it about, dug a winepress, and built a tower. He entrusted it to tenants and went away. When the time came for fruit, the landowner sent servants to collect what was his due, but the tenants beat, stoned, and killed them. Finally, the landowner sent his son, and they cast him out and killed him as well. Christ explained that this parable was about Israel’s rejection of the prophets and ultimately of Himself, the Son of God.

Yet Fr. Stephen reminded us that the parable does not belong to the past alone. It speaks to us, here and now, as a warning and a challenge. We are tenants of the Lord’s vineyard, entrusted with the precious gift of the Gospel. The Lord has placed us in His Church not so that we could remain comfortable and complacent, but so that we would grow, labor, and bear fruit for the Kingdom.

The Vineyard of the Lord
The image of the vineyard runs throughout Scripture as a symbol of God’s people. In Isaiah, God laments that He planted a vineyard but it yielded only wild grapes. In the parable, Christ takes up this image to show how God has entrusted His people with everything they need: protection, provision, and purpose. The vineyard is carefully prepared; nothing is lacking. The failure lies not in the landowner’s provision but in the tenants’ faithlessness.

Fr. Stephen emphasized that our parish is likewise a vineyard entrusted to us by God. We have been given the faith once delivered to the saints, the fullness of the sacraments, the richness of Holy Tradition, and the presence of Christ Himself in the Eucharist. Nothing is lacking. The question is whether we will cultivate this vineyard faithfully or squander the gift.

The Call to Bear Fruit
Christ makes clear that the vineyard is meant to bear fruit. The Lord looks for growth, not stagnation. The fruit He seeks is the salvation of souls, the spread of the Gospel, and the transformation of lives. To be Orthodox is not simply to preserve what we have but to share it, to labor for the Kingdom, and to multiply the gift we have been given.

Fr. Stephen warned that if we neglect this mission, the vineyard will not remain idle. Just as in the parable, if the tenants refuse to bear fruit, the landowner will entrust the vineyard to others. This is not about God abandoning His people but about the sober reality that a community that refuses to evangelize, to labor, and to grow may wither and lose the very gift it was given.

The Danger of Complacency
One of the greatest dangers facing the Church today is complacency. It is easy to become comfortable, to enjoy the beauty of our services and the fellowship of our community, but to neglect the work of mission. We can settle into maintenance mode, content to keep things as they are, while forgetting that Christ commands us to “go and make disciples of all nations.”

Fr. Stephen explained that complacency is not only a personal danger but a communal one. A parish that does not grow risks slowly fading away. Worse, in that vacuum, false teachers and ideologies step in, offering a counterfeit hope that draws people away from Christ. If we do not proclaim the Gospel with clarity and conviction, the world will proclaim its false gospel with zeal.

The Responsibility of Evangelism
Evangelism is not optional. It is at the heart of what it means to be the Church. To be Orthodox is to be apostolic, and to be apostolic is to be missionary. Evangelism does not always mean dramatic preaching on street corners. It begins in our homes, our workplaces, and our daily encounters. It is lived through our example, our willingness to invite others to services, our readiness to explain our faith, and our commitment to pray for those outside the Church.

Fr. Stephen reminded us that evangelism is not about numbers or programs but about faithfulness. It is about taking seriously the salvation of souls, beginning with our own and extending to those around us. If we do not invite others to Christ, we risk becoming like the tenants who refused to give the landowner his due.

St. Paul’s Example
The Apostle Paul exemplifies this urgency. He wrote, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). For Paul, evangelism was not an optional extra but the very essence of his life in Christ. He endured beatings, imprisonments, and hardships for the sake of bringing the Gospel to others. His example challenges us to ask: Do we share even a fraction of his urgency? Do we truly believe that souls are at stake, that eternal life hangs in the balance?

The Cost of Discipleship
Following Christ always involves sacrifice. The tenants in the parable failed because they wanted to keep the vineyard for themselves. They rejected the servants and the son because they feared losing their comfort and control. Likewise, our own failure to evangelize often comes from fear, laziness, or the desire to protect our comfort.

But Christ calls us to die to ourselves so that we may live for Him. Evangelism will cost us something—our time, our pride, perhaps even our reputation. But it also bears fruit that endures to eternal life. To labor in the vineyard is to join Christ in His mission, to share His love with a world that desperately needs it.

The Warning and the Promise
The parable contains both a warning and a promise. The warning is clear: if we neglect the vineyard, it will be given to others. The promise is equally clear: if we labor faithfully, the fruit will come. Christ Himself guarantees that the Kingdom will bear fruit. The only question is whether we will be faithful tenants who share in the harvest or unfaithful ones who forfeit the gift.

A Call to Our Parish
Fr. Stephen applied this parable directly to our parish. We are not here simply to preserve what we have but to grow. We must take seriously the call to evangelism, the salvation of souls, and the building up of the Body of Christ in Savannah and beyond. This means praying fervently for the lost, inviting our neighbors to services, supporting missions, and living lives that reflect the light of Christ.

It also means examining ourselves honestly. Are we more concerned with comfort than with mission? Are we more focused on maintaining our traditions than on sharing them? Are we willing to labor in the vineyard, even when it is hard, or do we shrink back from the task? These are questions the parable forces us to confront.

Conclusion
On August 31st, 2025, Fr. Stephen Osburn preached a homily that challenged us to hear Christ’s parable of the vineyard as a message for our community. The Lord entrusted us with His vineyard not for comfort but for fruitfulness. If we neglect the mission of evangelism and the salvation of souls, others will step in with false promises that lead away from Christ.

The danger is real, but so is the opportunity. A church that labors faithfully will not only survive but thrive. It will bear fruit that lasts into eternity. The parable warns us against complacency but also invites us into the joy of laboring with Christ. May we not be found idle or unfaithful tenants, but faithful stewards who offer the Lord the harvest He desires: lives transformed by His love, souls brought into His Kingdom, and a community rich in mercy, faith, and hope.