Each of the parables Jesus used to teach about God and God’s reign have their own twists and challenges. He taught using everyday situations and elements from the lives of his listeners. There are always various layers of meaning to the parables and while (with context) some are simpler to sort out on than others, most parables are confusing or baffling to some degree. This week’s gospel reading includes a parable with both reasonable and absurd elements.
A landowner planted a vineyard and prepared it for growing and harvest. Once all was prepared, he leased the vineyard out to tenants. When the time came for the tenants to pay the landowner’s share of the harvest, the landowner sent servants to collect it. They were beaten or killed or attacked by the tenants. The landowner sent more servants who were treated the same way. Finally, the landowner sent his son, saying, “They will respect my son.” Instead, the tenants plotted to get the get the vineyard and killed the son.
So many questions arise for me in reading this parable: Didn’t the landowner screen the tenants? Why didn’t the tenants pay up? What in the world made the landowner think the tenants would respect his son? What made the tenants think killing the son would lead them to receive the vineyard? What is Jesus’ point in telling this parable? And why does he start talking about cornerstones right afterward?
This parable is part of the ongoing struggle between Jesus and the religious leaders, playing out in front of the crowds. If we think of Jesus as the rejected cornerstone, we see that his teachings offer a new starting point; a new understanding of God and the ways we are called to live with each other and serve God. In the vineyard, perhaps the religious leaders (who cannot make sense of what Jesus is teaching) are the ones struggling to hang onto the vineyard at any cost. In either case, though the landowner’s actions, we are reminded that God’s hope-filled and generous ways with us are unwise from most perspectives, but continually seek out avenues to welcome and engage us. No matter how absurdly self-centered and selfish humans are, God is absurdly faithful and generous, continuing to reach out to us with love, forgiveness, compassion, and inclusion.
Peace,
weekly prayer | Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard owner and tenants in Matthew 21