Luke 20:9-19

Posted by DJL on Nov 26, 2013 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!” But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

Context, once again, is everything.

Jesus has recently driven the moneychangers from the Temple, declaring them frauds and cheats who prey upon the poor and thereby upsetting the income streams of the civil and religious authorities. Then, questioned about where he gets authority for such deeds, he has shut up his opponents with a clever rhetorical gambit. And now, as if this is the capstone to the trifecta of challenges he offers his adversaries, Jesus tells a story about ungrateful, dishonest, and ultimately murderous tenants.

The comparison Jesus is drawing between the tenants of this story and the scribes and chief priests who stand against him is clear enough to make them mad, boiling mad. But for fear of the people, they do not yet seize him.

Yet, of course, is the operative word. For they will bide their time, looking for just the right opportunity to do away with this troublesome rabbi.

It is surely important to note the mounting tension in the story, as it moves the narrative forward to its difficult climax. But if we read it merely as a political or historical drama we miss something important. For the failure of the tenants in the parable – to recognize that they are only stewards, not the rightful owners, of the vineyard – is not something of which only the first-century opponents of Jesus were guilty. We are all regularly and relentlessly tempted to believe that what we have – life, health, possessions, achievements – are ours, things we created or earned and now own. Yet each time we do so we fail to give due honor and thanks to the one who created all things and entrusts them to us for a time, to use wisely and to the benefit of others and then to return in gratitude.

We have been told that we live in an “ownership society” and are reminded again and again that we “only live once” and so should “look out for number one.” And when someone – first century rabbi or twenty-first century friend – reminds us that we are called not to be owners but stewards, not to hoard but to share, not to live primarily for gain but for love, we may, just like the folks in today’s passage, feel rather offended.

But why should ownership be more highly valued than stewardship? Is there not honor is taking care of what has been entrusted to us? Is there not satisfaction in using all that we have been given to enrich others and make the world a better place? And is there not deep joy in returning the trust of our Creator not only with praise but also with the more meaningful thanksgiving of a job well done?

How we answer these questions, I believe, greatly determines the character of our life. For this shift – from ownership to stewardship – is the hallmark of discipleship, then and now.

Prayer: Dear God, remind us you have created and equipped us to be your stewards, and empower us to share all that we have and are so that all of your children may flourish. In Jesus’ name, Amen.