Third Sunday in Lent
Sunday, February 28th, 2016click here for past entries
Loving God, you provide us with all that we have and all that we are and invite us to walk daily with you. Help us to continue to grow both in our knowledge of you and in our love for others, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
On this journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, things are heating up. There are a series of confrontations with the religious leaders at that time, and each time they have one of these encounters with Jesus, they seem to end up plotting how to get rid of him. Yet, in today’s encounters, it is not yet time for them to arrest Jesus, and even when they try and trap him, he wriggles out of their trap.
It is entirely likely that the parable that we heard today was, in fact, told with the religious leaders in mind. In fact, it is possible for us to hear this parable and not see ourselves in it at all. We could read it and say, Oh yeah - the vineyard is Israel, and God sent one prophet after another and they abused them and killed them, and then finally God sent God’s beloved Son, and they killed him too. In fact, this is a great recipe for anti-Semitism if we really want to read it in that way.
However, to do so totally misses the ways in which this parable addresses us. One of the keys to delving into the parables that Jesus told is to look for the things that would have been absolutely shocking to those who first heard it. In this case, we might actually have to say that the behaviour of everybody involved was pretty shocking.
The tenants acted totally irrationally and violently. They kill the heir, thinking that somehow they will inherit the vineyard. Really, who would expect to inherit anything after having treated the landowner like they did? And can we really say that the behaviour of the landowner is any more understandable?
He makes a huge investment in this vineyard - not simply planting it, but putting up a fence and building a watchtower. Then, after several slaves have been mistreated, he keeps on sending more of them - many more! Some get killed, and some get beaten and abused, and none of them bring back the owner’s share of the produce. If you were the owner, would you then send your son?... Of course, the tenants don’t treat the son any differently, and he, too, is killed.
So what does this parable have to do with us? Do we act as if we own things that don’t actually belong to us? Do we get angry or violent when God asks us to return the things that have been given to us? (Like when it’s time to give our life back, or our health, or our resources...) Do we recognize how patient and persistent God has been with us and with all people, continuing to send messengers and prophets and servants?
The question that actually comes out of both parts of today’s reading is this: What do we actually own during our life on this earth? The driving force behind the tenants in the vineyard was quite simply greed. Even though they were tenants, they wanted the vineyard and everything in it for themselves. They were not willing to give even a portion of the produce to the rightful owner.
And then we have the coin that Jesus uses as a teaching tool. “Whose head is this, and whose title?” says Jesus (Mk. 12:16). Their reply is, of course, “The emperor’s.” So Jesus concludes, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mk. 12:17).
Do you see what Jesus did there, leaving more questions than answers? So if the emperor’s image is on all of the money, does that mean that it all belongs to him? And what, really, belongs to God? How would you answer that?.... Wouldn’t it be everything? Psalm 24:1 - “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” It all belongs to God. And so, what does Jesus mean? Are we really supposed to give away everything?
For some people, the answer might be Yes! Remember the man who came to Jesus and was told to sell everything and give the money to the poor? He needed to! However, most of us would end up with nowhere to live if we sold absolutely everything and gave it all away. At the same time, though, do we really need all that we have? I could quite realistically sell three quarters of the things in my house and still have everything that I need. I find that to be a pretty sad statement when there are so many who do not have even the basics.
The thing is that our attitude changes depending on how we view ownership. When we are aware that everything actually belongs to God, it becomes a lot more difficult to keep everything for ourselves. Once we know that we are actually stewards or caretakers of what God has provided, we also begin to see that resources are provided for our health and well-being as well as the health and well-being of others. It is also far easier to share the wealth when we know that it doesn’t belong to us in the first place. This is the attitude we might have when God is the one in charge of our lives.
However, as most of us have discovered by now, there are many other gods that seek our allegiance. Some people are quite simply driven by greed - always wanting more and willing to do anything to get it. Others have their possessions as their primary concern, always building bigger barns and renting more storage lockers in order to keep track of it all. And still others pour everything into sports, or cars, or fitness, or beauty, or whatever else is their primary concern.
However, there is only one God who gives life. It is life-giving when we are able to walk with God, giving thanks for all that we have received and ready to use what we have for the health and well-being of all. It is life-giving when we are able to be both joyful and generous, thankful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is life-giving when Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, directing our path and giving us life in all its fulness. For this, and for all things, we give thanks, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Lent 3 (NL 2) Mark 12:1-17
February 28, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
© 2016 Lynne Hutchison All Rights Reserved
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