Again, they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.’ They argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why then did you not believe him?” But shall we say, “Of human origin”?’—they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So, they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’ Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again, he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, “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, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’ When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So, they left him and went away. Mark 11:27-12:12
Jesus seems to be confronted by the religious leaders of his day. They saw him as a threat to their power and control. The religious leaders did not like his criticism of them and tried to trap him. When that didn't work, they came with the force of the government to have him arrested and killed. They wanted their lives to look clean and neat. We live in a time when our leaders want this country to look clean and neat, instead of diverse, strong and vibrant. We sorely need our immigrant workers, yet the leaders see them as criminals, who are doing the jobs others won't do. Jesus us is speaking to all those in management, in authority, who think they own the vineyard and do everything to look like they're in control, neat and clean. This strive for control and "beautification" is the worst of human behaviors. May we move to honor the beauty and vineyards we are caretakers of and be grateful at all times for the abundance we have been blessed with.
Loving Creator, you give us all that we need
showering us with rain and abundant sunshine
giving us trees for shade and plants for food
and communities that teach us to live humbly.
Lord, we want to control others and the land
yet it is not ours but a gift you gave to us all
we ache to run off anyone who challenges us
yet you sent them all to teach us how to live.
Lord, make us humble tenants and caretakers
loving the small and weak more than the mighty
give us your compassion and your kindness
so we might serve the world in your loving name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment