Thought for the Day = Sunday 4 October

Thought for the Day – Sunday 4th October Here is our Lectionary Reading for today, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Tenants’ followed by a Reflection on the passage from Spill the Beans. ‘“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.’ (Matthew 21: 33-46) The Tenant’s Lament It was a beautiful vineyard and an honour to be trusted with it. We were given everything we needed for good guardianship: a secure boundary fence; a well-constructed wine press and even a watchtower. It was all put in our hands. The Landlord leased it to us and went off elsewhere. We got to work, planting and tending the vines. Patient, careful work. We were a great team, all pulling our weight. Satisfying labour. Healthy, leafy vines promising a fine harvest. We kept everything in good order and our efforts paid off. So much fruit! The branches were hanging with it. As the first fruits reached their ripest, we began to pick, and got the wine press into action, looking forward to the wonderful end product. Then the slaves showed up, as they should at harvest time. Sent by our Landlord. Three of them. From the moment of their arrival, all our lives changed forever. We brought it on ourselves. We behaved as if we owned the place. We treated them like intruders. Tenants turned murderers. A beating, a stabbing and a stoning, and they were gone and our hands were stained. And nothing happened for a week. When the second group came - five of them - we set on them with even less mercy. The reddened earth cried out our guilt but we did not listen. The third week of harvest, the Landlord’s son came. His heir. The next rightful owner of the land we leased. If he was gone, it would be ours. Why did we convince ourselves of that vile logic? The son, too, died at our hands. Another week passed and the vineyard in all its beauty stayed fruitful and the wine was close to perfection. We could not drink it. The shame of our crimes was all that flowed. The Landlord came himself, finally. He threw us out and gave his vineyard to new tenants. They are doing well. They are remembering to whom the land belongs. Well, it is apparent that this parable is one which is not locked in Biblical times – it is one which is so relevant today particularly in this time when people continue to take advantage, for their own ends, of the resources of this planet – which is after all our global vineyard – and make decisions more on their selfish desires than on the values of God’s kingdom. We need to realise from this parable that we are the tenants of God’s kingdom and we need to remember at all times to whom the land actually belongs and make sure our decisions are based not on the values of the world, or our own selfish desires but always on God’s values. Prayer Loving Lord, planet-weaver, star-spinner, the skies declare your glory, the vault of heaven proclaims your handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, night to night declares knowledge - yet there are no words, their voices cannot be heard, but creation’s pure sound reverberates throughout the cosmos for in the heavens you have set a tent for the sun and on earth a place for us all. Yet Lord, we often forget that we are creations of your breath, tenants of your vineyard. We silence your voice. We subjugate your land. We mar your image within and around. We reject the cornerstone and kill your son. Yet you do not shy away. You meet our hate with love, our violence with steadfast loving kindness, our forgetfulness with remembrance. Lord, remind us this day and this night that we can kill your love but we cannot keep it dead and buried. Redeem us each day and each night that we might live in tune with the words of your son, with the reverberations of your cosmos thus enabling the words of our mouths and the meditation of all our hearts to be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Blessing May you feel God’s love, Christ’s inclusion, and the Spirit’s presence as you go, this day, this week, and evermore.