Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46
Ordinary 18A; Proper 22
World Communion Sunday
Jesus leans into controversy this week.
He is in Jerusalem. The tense exchanges with the religious authorities persist. One might think Jesus should stop talking and refrain from engaging with a hostile group who holds a lot of power. Instead he does the equivalent of saying, “And another thing…” to those bent on silencing him. He tells yet another parable that indicts those already furious with him. Matthew tells us Jesus’ message gets through to those at whom it is directed. We read in verse 45 that the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that Jesus was talking about them. Jesus, rather than stepping away from danger and conflict, dares to fan the flames of it to make sure he gets his point across. But what, exactly, is his point?
This week’s parable is the one about the tenants who beat and kill the vineyard owner’s servants sent to collect the harvest. The owner sends his servants repeatedly only to have them disrespected and abused. Finally, in a desperate attempt to collect the produce, he sends his son. “Surely,” the owner of the land reasons, “they will respect my son.” Unfortunately, rather than extend respect, the tenants see an opportunity to usurp the vineyard owner’s property and purview for good. They speculate: “This is the heir. Come let us kill him and have his inheritance.” In the parable, they carry out their nefarious plans and then Jesus asks, “What do you think the landowner will do to those tenants?” The chief priests and Pharisees know the answer and speak it: the landowner will kill the murderous tenants and lease the land to others. Then, in a “you are the man” move, Jesus tells them they answered correctly, and they are, in fact, those disobedient tenants. No wonder the religious leaders want to silence Jesus. Would we want such judgment directed toward us?
One of the temptations this text presents is the supersessionism reading too often offered up through the years. Christians through the ages used this parable as a means of replacement theology, reasoning that those first tenants who refused to heed the prophets and plotted to kill the son get supplanted by Christians who recognize Jesus as the Messiah. This dangerous interpretation has fueled anti-Semitism. Preachers and teachers in today’s context need to be especially mindful of this history and this danger. The tenants of whom Jesus speaks in this parable are neither Jew nor Greek — they are human beings, none of them righteous, all sinners, each in need of this cautionary tale. We are all tenants, not the landowner. We are all entrusted with stewarding the harvest and respecting the vineyard, its produce, its owner, the other tenants and those whom the owner sends to execute the owner’s will.
That’s Jesus’ point. In other words: Are we aware of our status in relation to the Creator and as a result of that knowledge, do we act accordingly in every aspect of our lives?
The two other appointed texts for this week bolster the parable’s point. The Exodus reading of the Ten Commandments begins with this: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” This sets the stage for all that follows. Our right relationships with creation and with others begin with a clear, unequivocal understanding of who God is and therefore who we are. Our God makes a covenant with us, keeps covenant with us, saves and sustains us. In light of this truth, no other gods ought to command our worship or loyalty. We are tenants, not owners, but the owner is trustworthy, good and gracious. Why then do we refuse to heed God’s will made known to us through God’s servants? Why do we plot to kill even the son?
Paul documents his pedigree and reasons for boasting. No one can compete with his résumé and linage. If ever there was a person able to claim favored divine status and deserve preferential treatment, it is Paul. Shouldn’t he be counted as more than a tenant? Isn’t he at least in a lease-to-own kind of category, or maybe chief among equals? Paul emphatically says that all that he counted as gain is loss, and nothing compares with knowing Jesus. There is nothing greater than being a tenant in God’s vineyard, a worker for Christ. Who needs to own the land? Being invited to participate in bringing in the harvest for the owner is an unspeakable honor and privilege that makes everything heretofore pale in comparison to what God is bringing forth now and in the future.
Jesus is in Jerusalem. The tensions continue to rise. The face-off between God’s only son and earthly powers and principalities is coming to a head. Good news does not go uncontested. Human beings then and now capitulate to idolatry, participate in evil that perpetuates their own privilege and fail to hear and heed the grace-upon-grace, full-of-truth-and-glory Word right in front of them. We forget that we are tenants, not owners, those invited to work in bringing in a life-giving harvest. We are gifted with the Son of God and when we receive and recognize that gift, everything else pales in comparison.
Haven’t you read the Scriptures? The Word made flesh that tells of salvation and mercy? Abundance and love? Forgiveness and redemption? Rescue from Egypt? Feeding of 5,000? Storms calmed, lepers cleansed, demons exorcised, tax collectors transformed, the dead raised? Knowing this, knowing Christ, how can we not press forward to what lies ahead? Why would we want anything other than to participate in God’s good, abundant future? Why would we want to be anything other than a tenant in such a glorious, life-filled, beautiful vineyard?
This week:
- What do you make of Jesus telling yet another parable that further angers those already angry with him? Does this inform our understanding of when to speak and when to keep silent?
- What do you count as loss now that you know Jesus Christ? What do you count as gain?
- Can you put into words that are meaningful to you the first four verse of Exodus 20?
- What comes to your mind when you think about idolatry? What are your – and our – contemporary idols? How do they relate to the parable Jesus tells?
- Do you think of yourself as a tenant in God’s creation? Are their other roles or images that you would use to describe your relationship to God? To creation?
- How do you reconcile the violence and judgment described by Jesus in this parable with God’s character and promise of love, grace and mercy?
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