The Vineyard

Again Jesus and the disciples 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 

We are all tenants of this vineyard, this world and the corner of it where we are planted. We humans act like it belongs to us, but truly it belongs to the One who created the world and all of us. In our need to control and possess, we have damaged this sacred ground, this vineyard. We have hurt those who have cared for her. Today, I am invited to remember, no matter how important a person might think themselves to be, we are all tenants in this vineyard, made in the likeness of God, and sent here to tend the people and the land. We are caretakers of the love and blessings our Creator has showered upon us, and have the joyful task of sharing that love abundantly.

Loving Creator, you planted a vineyard

a robust and verdant home for us all

a garden where there is more than enough

yet we try to keep your bounty to ourselves.

We humans think that we can divide up

and control what has never been ours

we put up walls and define borders

believing we own this place and this land.

Help us Lord, to see our true glory

the joy we have in serving our siblings

the blessings we have as tenant caretakers

as we share your love and blessings abroad. Amen.