October 4, 2020
“The Truth of the Matter”
Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 3:10-14
Matthew 21:33-46
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
OK, I am going to start with a confession. I found this week’s scripture passages to be extremely challenging and difficult – they talk of murder and death and destruction – hardly “feel good” passages.
However, not every passage in the Bible is meant to make us feel good. Jesus’ parables in particular were meant to challenge his listeners – to challenge them to think and learn and grow and gain new insight – and the same can be said for us in this day and time.
While there is no universal agreement as to the meaning of today’s parable of the wicked tenants, most scholars would agree on a few points. One is that the parable is allegorical – an allegory is a literary device in which each image and character in the parable stands for something else.
So, most scholars agree that the vineyard is meant to represent Israel, God is the landowner, the religious leaders of the day are the unscrupulous tenants, the prophets are those who are killed while trying to gather the harvest, and the landowner’s son, in the parable, is Jesus.
So, where does that leave us, the modern-day reader, in finding meaning in this parable for our day and time?
Let’s start by putting it in its original context. Jesus tells this parable in direct response to temple leaders who are criticizing him.
Jesus is nearing the end of his time on earth. He has recently entered Jerusalem amid crowds of followers shouting hosannah on what we now refer to as Palm Sunday. He has entered the temple where he has overturned tables and driven out the money changers.
And now, in direct response to some of the chief priests and elders who are questioning Jesus’ authority in doing these things, Jesus tells a series of three parables, the second one being today’s Gospel lesson, the parable of the wicked tenants.
As the religious leaders listen to Jesus’ telling of this parable, and express outrage over the violent actions of the tenants in the parable, they ultimately realize it is they, themselves, who Jesus is comparing to the wicked tenants. Jesus is telling them to take a good hard look at themselves and their actions.
And I believe that is what we, also, are called to do. Especially in this time of political upheaval and division, we need to be willing to pause, step back, and take a good hard look at ourselves and where our priorities and our loyalties lie.
To quote commentator Cynthia Jarvis – she said – “If we do not realize that Jesus is speaking about us, we miss the truth of the matter.”
So, as I was thinking about this passage over the last couple of weeks, I was reminded of what I’ll call a “fad” that began a number of years ago where it became popular for Christians to wear bracelets with the initials “WWJD” – “what would Jesus do?”
I’m not sure if wearing those bracelets is even still a thing people do, but ironically as I was thinking about the “what would Jesus do” movement, I opened my email and there was a devotional posted by one of my favorite UCC Stillspeaking writers, Rev Lillian Daniel, and the title of the devotional was, “Why I Don’t Wear a WWJD Bracelet.” So, I read with much interest what she had to say about it.
I learned that the expression “what would Jesus do” actually dates back to the 1800s and was coined by a Congregational pastor during the Social Gospel movement.
Lillian Daniel’s reasons for not caring for the expression, however – and I’m paraphrasing what she wrote – has to do with her feeling that it is a symptom of what she calls “individualistic Christianity” where it’s all about “me.”
And she points out that much of what the divine Jesus did, with his many miraculous works, is far beyond anything we as mortals could possibly do.
Lillian Daniel then ends her devotional with the prayer, “I give thanks that there is a God and that it is not me.”
So, I understand and appreciate Lillian’s point of view. But for me the saying, “What would Jesus do” has more to do with Jesus’ humanity than his divinity.
No, of course, we can never truly be like Jesus. But what better example to strive towards than that of Jesus’ compassion and mercy, his care for those on the margins, his welcoming of all.
Really, what better bar to set for ourselves then to truly, genuinely ask, “what would Jesus do?” And then leave ourselves open to hear the answer – even if those answers are at times difficult to hear.
Maybe then, however, we are truly on our way to getting to the truth of the matter.
AMEN