The Reading
Matthew 21:33–43
Jesus said, "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures:
`The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'?
“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.”
Jesus asked the chief priests and elders, how do you interpret this story? The landowner lovingly plants a vineyard, provides everything needed for it to flourish, then allows others to come live in the vineyard and work it. When the landowner asks for the harvest, the tenants kill all the messengers, including the owner’s son. So, Jesus asks them, what do you think the owner will do to the tenants?
Kill them! They say. And give the vineyard to others.
Ugh. Well, the second part was right. But why start with “kill them”?
Jesus says nothing about killing the old tenants. I think this is intentional.
What will happen to the tenants? Not more violence. Not retribution. Not vengeance disguised as justice. That’s what a human owner might do, but that’s not what God, the giver of all good gifts, does. God calls us to a better way, always. And while, we might not do physical harm when we withhold forgiveness, or hold a grudge, we do violence to our hearts and spirits, violence that doesn’t fit in God’s vineyard. Today, may we “have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive [God’s] forgiveness.”
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Shirley Smith Graham is the Rector at CCE