Sermon - 2017-10-08
This parable that is given to us today is a continuation of the parable that we heard last week. The parable of the two sons, how one son says no to his father but then goes and does the work in the vineyard and the other son who says he will go but does not do any work. The Pharisees were the ones whom Jesus was telling the parable to but he could tell that they did not understand the message that he was telling them. So Jesus tries again with another parable. This parable.
Now Jesus paints the picture even more and in such a way that people standing right before they could walk down the street and know exactly what he was talking about. “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.” This was absolutely everything that they would need to care and tend the vineyard. Everything they would need, they were given. It would be like today, hiring someone to work the land that you own and providing the tractor, the tiller, spray for fertilizer or water, the combine, and even the semi to haul the grain to the silos. You could use the equipment but it was not truly owned by you, it was given to you. Now within the parable, it was harvest time. Fitting considering it is harvest time for many of our farmers around us. We witness the combines in the fields and the semis hauling the grain to the silos for storage.
However, at this time of harvest, the hired hand does not put the grain the land owner's name or give anything to the owner but wants it all to themselves. When the landowner sends slaves or in modern time a lawyer. (And no, that is not a direct connection.) They beat them and kill some of them. Now the landowner sends his son. But instead of respecting him, they kill him so that they can truly have it all. So the landowner now has had several slaves and even his own son die at the hands of these tenants, these hired hands. They have proven that they are not just going to give up. So Jesus asks the Pharisees what the landowner should do.
Their answer: “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.” Yea, this makes complete sense, this seems like justice and seems appropriate. They killed others, let’s kill them. Jesus answers: “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’?” These learned scholars who were supposed to be so well educated in the scriptures missed the big picture of the scriptures. They were so focused on the details of who, what, where and how but they missed the most important message of why.
To put it more simply the characters within the parable can be identified as the following: the landowner, who provides everything to the tenants is God. The slaves that sent is Noah, Moses, and the several prophets. The wicked tenants who refuse to give God the produce is us and the Pharisees. The son is Jesus, standing right before the Pharisees but they still refuse to acknowledge and want to kill him to have the inheritance be their own. Even some of you may want to claim, but I worked hard for my house and the things that I bought. I am not denying that you did not work hard but you did not create the thing that you bought, God created it and placed the elements into your hands and even created you. Yet again, we dwell on the details and miss the big picture. God continues to come back to us and wants a relationship with us. And here is the reason why: God loves you. God provides all that you need because God loves you. That’s the message of the Scripture. That’s the way it has been throughout history, that’s the way it is now and that’s the same message that will be there tomorrow for you.
Today as we also prepare for Consecration Sunday, I would invite you to look at the bigger picture of your life. Asking the questions of what do I need? What has God truly blessed me with? Above all, what is God calling me to share with the people around us who are in need? For our generosity is one of the outward signs of our faith, it is a discipline that helps us remember God through every transaction, through every earned dollar, and through our whole life. Yet thanks be to God that God himself has given us so much and loves us so much. Amen.
Now Jesus paints the picture even more and in such a way that people standing right before they could walk down the street and know exactly what he was talking about. “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.” This was absolutely everything that they would need to care and tend the vineyard. Everything they would need, they were given. It would be like today, hiring someone to work the land that you own and providing the tractor, the tiller, spray for fertilizer or water, the combine, and even the semi to haul the grain to the silos. You could use the equipment but it was not truly owned by you, it was given to you. Now within the parable, it was harvest time. Fitting considering it is harvest time for many of our farmers around us. We witness the combines in the fields and the semis hauling the grain to the silos for storage.
However, at this time of harvest, the hired hand does not put the grain the land owner's name or give anything to the owner but wants it all to themselves. When the landowner sends slaves or in modern time a lawyer. (And no, that is not a direct connection.) They beat them and kill some of them. Now the landowner sends his son. But instead of respecting him, they kill him so that they can truly have it all. So the landowner now has had several slaves and even his own son die at the hands of these tenants, these hired hands. They have proven that they are not just going to give up. So Jesus asks the Pharisees what the landowner should do.
Their answer: “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.” Yea, this makes complete sense, this seems like justice and seems appropriate. They killed others, let’s kill them. Jesus answers: “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’?” These learned scholars who were supposed to be so well educated in the scriptures missed the big picture of the scriptures. They were so focused on the details of who, what, where and how but they missed the most important message of why.
To put it more simply the characters within the parable can be identified as the following: the landowner, who provides everything to the tenants is God. The slaves that sent is Noah, Moses, and the several prophets. The wicked tenants who refuse to give God the produce is us and the Pharisees. The son is Jesus, standing right before the Pharisees but they still refuse to acknowledge and want to kill him to have the inheritance be their own. Even some of you may want to claim, but I worked hard for my house and the things that I bought. I am not denying that you did not work hard but you did not create the thing that you bought, God created it and placed the elements into your hands and even created you. Yet again, we dwell on the details and miss the big picture. God continues to come back to us and wants a relationship with us. And here is the reason why: God loves you. God provides all that you need because God loves you. That’s the message of the Scripture. That’s the way it has been throughout history, that’s the way it is now and that’s the same message that will be there tomorrow for you.
Today as we also prepare for Consecration Sunday, I would invite you to look at the bigger picture of your life. Asking the questions of what do I need? What has God truly blessed me with? Above all, what is God calling me to share with the people around us who are in need? For our generosity is one of the outward signs of our faith, it is a discipline that helps us remember God through every transaction, through every earned dollar, and through our whole life. Yet thanks be to God that God himself has given us so much and loves us so much. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment