Think About the Son

Matthew 21:33-46

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

 ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’

 Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
“The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
   and it is amazing in our eyes”?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Reflection

What about the son? The son was sent to these evil people. The son was killed!

Somehow this sounds so familiar. I don't think of myself as one who would kill but in some way I am guilty. How many times have I killed Jesus? How many times have I rejected him in public and hid my devotion to Jesus? How many times have I failed to love God and to love my neighbor? It's a common sin.

God gives us everything. Everything we have is from God. And we live in this vineyard that God has given to each one of us. We live and love and laugh and suffer and sin. But we still live by the gracious nature of God. God has given us everlasting life through the very Son he sent to us in our vineyard and we killed him.

We have another chance that God gives to us as well. We can choose to turn from this death we have inflicted upon God's Son and accept the gift of life through Jesus. And just as the thief on the cross we can live in paradise with the Son.

This is God's world. Our life belongs to God not to us and our selfish desires to rule and overpower those God has given to us.

Prayer
Lord, heal me from my selfish desires to own my life, my land, my will, my way and my people. Give me a humble heart that I may give all of this up and do your will and follow your call in my life... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen