He (Jesus) began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What [then] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes’?” They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.
The question to address in this passage is: "Christ comes to my lifeworld. Do I receive him?"
This is a puzzling question to address through the uncomfortable lens of this passage. Jesus when speaking to us often uses the Jewish habit of hyperbole to drive home a point. The first step this morning is for me to retell the story as it is revealed to me. A man creates a vineyard. The clear inference is to God's creation of, well, everything. The vineyard is rented to farmers and I am expected to see myself as part of the group. Rather than appreciating, honoring and responding to the owner, we, and I have to include myself here, abuse, reject and kill the representatives of the owner who is, of course, God. Finally, God sends his son, his beloved son and we kill him.
Buried at the end of the story is the owner's response to the outrageous behavior. He will come, kill the tenants, and give the vineyard to others.
What does this mean for me? Do I choose to be among the ungrateful tenants? No, I do not but does that mean I am not still among their number? I don't know. I don't know if the choices I make, the things I do, and the way I behave will allow me to escape the fate of the tenants. It is not a decision I get to make. God reserves that privilege for himself. The best I can do is to pray I am given mercy I didn't earn rather than receive the justice I earned.
Back to the question. Do I receive with open arms and gratitude or am I resentful and angry? My words say I welcome him. I intend to welcome him. I want to welcome him but are actions consistently welcoming or am I one of the ungrateful sometimes? I fear the answer puts me in a light I fear.
On this sabbath morning, I receive him with gratitude as the morning overcomes the night. I build today on the rejected cornerstone and pray my faith will hold fast through unexpected currents of the day.
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