This parable, brothers and sisters, is very important to us. It refers, above all, historically, to the chosen Hebrew people, the one that was supposed to keep the genuine faith and the one that was supposed to give to God true fruits, i.e. pure faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit - virtuous life. But they, instead of knowing Christ, instead of accepting the prophets, they beat them and hit them with stones. Later God sent other servants to preach the coming of the Messiah, our Savior Lord Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven, but these were also killed, and in the end, He sent his only-begotten son Lord Jesus Christ, Who for our salvation was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man and came to save us. Unfortunately, those who kept the vineyard, i.e. the shepherds of the chosen Hebrew people, instead of accepting Christ and announce him as the true God and Saviour, they took him out of the vineyard, i.e. out of Jerusalem and killed him, thinking by doing so they would inherit his portion.

But they only caused damage as God banned them and gave the vineyard to other people, i.e. the heathen people, such as any other people except the Hebrews, including us, Macedonians. We received the Gospel from the holy apostles, we started to believe in Lord Jesus Christ, we christened and we keep it.

If we interpret this parable, then the landowner is God, and the vineyard is all the people. The fencing of the vineyard is the setting of the law of God to keep us within the Church in virtuous and sinless life. Then the digging of a well is the Holy Mystery of the Holy Communion, i.e. the Eucharist - the Liturgy, while the tower is the Church itself, both as a temple and as the chosen people of God that gather together to drink from that well, i.e. the to take the Holy Communion. The vineyard He gave to the vine-growers, i.e. the shepherds the first Episcopes, whom we commemorate today - St. Eutyches. He was a disciple of St. Jon the Theologian and he suffered because of the faith and the vineyard, i.e. because of the people of God. That is why we keep remembrance of him.

Unfortunately, as I said before, the vineyard-keepers did not accept Him. But let us think of ourselves - don’t we act in the same way? The well - the holy Eucharist, the tower - the Church of God, which is the people of God. Let us think how many of us are true members of the Church of Christ and how many of us lead a virtuous and holy life? Our churches are empty. Let us consider the question of the well - the holy Communion - do we drink of it, do we confess and prepare for the holy Communion, do we fulfill the commandments of God, do we act according to God’s will? If we are just a bit honest we will see that we call ourselves orthodox Christians, but by our deeds do not show that we really are.

Brothers and sisters, it is time that we repent for all our mistakes, for all of our sins, and enter into the vineyard, and give fruits that God expects us to give, and not make God expel us from His vineyard - as He did with the Hebrews and gave the vineyard to other people that were not evil and fulfilled His commandments. It might happen that other people here in Australia become orthodox and we might stay outside the fence, fighting for our positions and our ideals that are too far from the plan of God. The return to he vineyard is its fencing by the fulfillment of God’s commandments and by leading a virtuous life, by repentance, obedience, humbleness, mercy, love, brotherhood, humbling to each other in obedience and confession, which would make us worthy of drinking from the well, i.e. worthy to receive the Holy communion, and thus become one with Christ and give fruit on time. Amen.