Twenty-Seventh Sunday Ordinary time

Image: Ten Commandments, illustrative wood relief,
from a Catholic Church in southern Poland, 
from Art in the Christian Tradition,
a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

October 5, 2014

Click here for scripture readings.

"Who's in charge?" is the heart of our parable from Matthew twenty one.

The landlord demonstrated that he considered himself in charge by the careful preparations he made as he planted the vineyard, built a fence around it, dug a wine press, and built a watch tower. Obviously, he thought he was in charge.

For some reason he was preparing to leave the country.

He would not be there to tend the new vineyard or to gather in the harvest.

So he took another step that would be prudent to one who could not be there.

He entered into a lease with some tenants to take care of the vineyard in his absence.

But when the harvest was in, the one who thought he was in charge sent representatives to collect his share of the produce. And we know the rest of the story.

G. K. Chesterson wrote, "A man walking, comes to the edge of the cliff, and keeps walking, he will not break the law of gravity, he will prove it."

All that the tenants did to try to take charge did not change the simple fact of who was in charge.

The ownership of the land did not change.

The legal right the landlord had to a portion of the crop did not change.

What was broken was the relationship between those who were tenants and the landlord.

The first part of this parable speaks of trust.

God has not gone to a far country but he does not micro manage our days.

He blesses us with opportunities and then places his trust in us to be good stewards.

Just as the owner of the vineyard had taken all the steps necessary for success, so God has blessed us.

The question is what kind of stewards will we be?

The risk with all segments of our lives is that we will become possessive.

We think of the church, for example, as our church and fail to see that it is the very body of Christ..

We begin to see stewardship as a burden instead of a joyful response to all that God has done.

In all our lives, the "owner" God has expectations.

Our world is not just a play yard that he will let us live in.

The commandments of scripture are a reminder that God has expectations for the chosen, chosen not for privilege but for service, for witness.

We have viewed the world as a Garden of Eden, not as a vineyard where vines have to be tended and fruit comes from effort.

But, more importantly, a harvest is expected.

There is a warning in the parable.

When we refuse to recognize the one who is ultimately in charge, we are held accountable.

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These words of Jesus are a challenge to our culture of "ownership, autonomy, and self reliance."

The basis of this parable in Matthew is we forget in fact who owns all of life and all of creation.

It points to the risk when we start to think we own what we are a part of instead of being stewards of what God has given us to use while we pass through this life.