Two
Rivers Pastoral Charge
Sunday October 4 – Worldwide Communion Sunday
Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:33-46
Some of you know that I have many favourite stories from scripture, so you may
be surprised to hear that the passage we heard today is NOT one of them. I really don’t like this story that Jesus is
telling; and I especially don’t like reading it on Worldwide Communion
Sunday. How can we reconcile a story
that is essentially kicking some of the workers out of the vineyard, alongside
a table of abundance where there is a seat for everyone? How do we reconcile a story where Jesus
explicitly says, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you” with a feast
where everyone is welcome at the table?
So it’s fair to say that I struggled with the scripture reading this week! And I’m not sure that I came to any fully
satisfactory conclusions either.
Last week, I mentioned that most of our readings from late September through to
the end of November this year are going to be coming from the last week of
Jesus’s life. At this point in the
story, it’s the day after Palm Sunday, and only 3 days before Jesus is going to
be arrested, 4 days before he is going to be crucified.
Not only are tensions high because Jesus has been doing and saying some things
that have challenged the authorities, but tensions are also high because the
city of Jerusalem has probably 3 times as many people as usual due to the
Passover celebration so streets are crowded, and Roman soldiers would have been
especially alert to any sign of disturbance.
And Jesus doesn’t lay low either. In the
last week of his life, he confronts the religious authorities – they ask him
questions to try and trip him up, and Jesus tells some very pointed parables –
like the one we heard this morning – that aren’t designed to comfort his
listeners but to make them uncomfortable.
But what do we make of that statement, “the kingdom of God will be taken from
you”? I will say that this verse has
been interpreted in very harmful ways in the past, with people interpreting it
as Jesus saying that Jewish people have been kicked out of God’s favour. But since Jesus himself was Jewish, as was
the author of the gospel, as were the first readers of the gospel, that is
definitely not what Jesus was saying.
So what might he have meant? I really
struggle with this verse.
When I look back to the parable that precedes this statement, I asked myself, what
did the workers in the vineyard do wrong?
They decided that they were in charge.
They weren’t going to honour the owner of the vineyard, and eventually
they killed the child of the vineyard owner.
This parable follows immediately after the parable we read last week, and last
week I mentioned that one of the keys to understanding Jesus’s parables is that
you can usually equate whoever has power in the story with God. So in this parable, God would be the owner of
the vineyard.
So then the next question becomes, how, in the world outside of the parable, do
we disrespect the owner of the vineyard, try to take over, and maybe even kill
the messengers and children of the owner?
Those of you who don’t like it when I get lower-case-p political, this is your
cue to tune out for the next couple of minutes.
But I think that we can see this across time and across space. The actions of the workers in the vineyard is
a pattern that we can see repeated again and again. People with power try to interpret God’s
message to suit their own ends; and people who speak truth to power, who try to
point the way back to God, the owner of the vineyard, don’t usually meet a good
end.
A historic example might come from Central America in the 80s – various countries were using the church and church teachings to oppress people who were poor, and Archbishop
Romero was one of many liberation theologians who tried to turn the church and
their country back to an understanding of God always being on the side of anyone
who is poor and oppressed; and Archbishop Romero was one among many who were
killed for bringing this message.
But I also see this happening in the world today. The rise of Christian Nationalism in so many
places around the world screams to me corrupt workers in the vineyard – people wanting power, taking
God’s beautiful message and twisting it to favour themselves and people who
think and believe like them. And in some
places, the parallels between Christian Nationalism and Jesus’s parable are even more striking, as God’s beloved
children are detained, arrested, sent to detention centres, tortured, and even
killed.
I really don’t like this parable that Jesus tells, but I have to admit that I
see this parable playing out in the world around me.
But that brings us to Jesus’s concluding statement – the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to people that produce the fruits of the kingdom.
Do I believe that God chooses to remove Their grace from someone? No – that doesn’t fit with my understanding
of a God who is endlessly and unconditionally loving and forgiving. But do I think that there are some people who
choose to remove themselves from God’s presence? Maybe.
When we gather at the table in a couple of minutes, the invitation is an
invitation to everyone – no matter who you are, no matter where you come from,
no matter how you pray, no matter who or how you love, no matter the language
you speak or the colour of your skin, there is a place at the table for you and
this invitation is for you. And I wonder
if there might be some people out there who wouldn’t be comfortable sitting at
such a diverse and expansive table as this.
I wonder if there might be some people who would choose to remove
themselves from the table rather than be asked to sit next to “that person,” whoever "that person" might be.
It’s still not an easy parable that Jesus tells, but I think that it is one
that calls us to honour God and God’s vision for the world. Don’t be like the workers in the vineyard,
thinking that we have sole ownership over God’s message, bringing harm to God’s
beloved children. And there is always a
place at the table for you. Thanks be to
God!
"Jesus in the Wine Press"
Used with Permission
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