Tenant Uprisings

Matthew 21:33-46

When the ancient Hebrews would teach their children about their God, they would tell a series of stories. Each story had a point to be made about who God is, what God has done, and what it all means for us to live together as the people of God. Through these stories, the people were made into a distinctive people who were to be a light to the rest of the world.

Their story began with God bringing order out of the chaos. The light and the dark were separated, and it was good. The waters and the sky were separated, and it was good. The water and the land were separated, and it was good. Plants were created to grow from the ground, and it was good. Animals were created to live in the waters, on the land, and in the air, and it was good. Adam and Eve received God’s breath and came to life, and it was good.

When the ancient Hebrews would tell this story to their children, for generations upon generations, they were declaring that “this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!” The story was less about explaining scientific principles than it was about instilling a sense of awe and wonder that naturally comes when our eyes are open to the wonders of God around us.

The story continues that while God is perfect, and everything God does is good, we can readily see that there is suffering and sin in the world. This began with the choice Adam and Eve made in the Garden of Eden. They chose deciding good and evil for themselves, rather than trusting God. And since they, and we, are less than God, our choices are not always good.

If God is just, and we make evil choices, then there would have to be consequences for our sin. The chaos of death entered into the good life God gave us. Hard work and pain became part of the human experience. And as people focused on their work, and their pain, and the evil around them, they began to live as if there was no God to worship, no God to hold us accountable, no God for whom we are stewards of what is good.

The story continued that, in a moment of great accountability, God did something to re-start the creation. God's justice was honored, as the old creation was washed away in a flood, and the new creation grew out of Noah’s ark, which contained all that God had called good. Yet, even then, the chaos of sin and death lingered in this new creation. Would God destroy the world again? No, because God still loves us, even when we make bad choices. So, God made a promise, signed with a rainbow, that there would be other ways to come for honoring God's justice.

When the ancient Hebrews would tell this story to their children, they were declaring that “this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!” There is a wonderful order to the creation. God is both powerful and just. God still shows us mercy because God loves us. These are stories which define the character of those who live as God's people.

Because it was also clear that we are still not a people who are always of good character, the story continued. Because we are still not always a people of mercy, living into God’s love, there were stories told of the struggles which surely come when we live apart from God.

From that restart of the Creation, the story goes, the people grew in power and knowledge. When knowledge and power are put together for the community’s needs, it is good. It becomes evil, however, when we trust in our power and our knowledge over the power and knowledge of God.

The people all spoke the same language. We need to talk with each other to be in community, if we want life together to be good. It becomes evil, however, when we only talk to each other, but never with God.

The people all had the same goal, which was to have mastery of the world around us. No one wants to live at the mercy of what can seem to be a chaotic world at times. It becomes evil, however, when our goals are only for our own glory, separated from the glory of God.

In their quest for power and knowledge, the people built a tower up to heaven. It was their hope that if they could see God, if they could observe God at work. If they learned how God worked, then they could become the masters of God.

What the people thought was a good choice for them was an evil choice before God. It was an evil choice because they wanted to live as if there was no God, and no need for God. To discourage this choice from being made again, God then scattered the people, and confused their languages, because it is wrong to think ourselves greater than God.

And yet, God chose out of all those who were scattered, all those who were confused in their language, to become the Chosen People of God. Our ancestors, beginning with Abraham and Sarah, were chosen to be an example to the world on how to live before God and with each other.

When the ancient Hebrews would tell these stories to their children, there were declaring that “this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!” With these stories, we have a sense of both honor and humility. We are chosen for God's purposes, which brings us honor. We were not chosen because of some inherent value we have that is missing in others, which brings us humility.

The story does not end there. Even among the Chosen People, there were times when they were not honorable. There were times when they were not humble. And because of that, they still made choices apart from God, and relied on their own wisdom and knowledge.

The choices they made would lead to suffering and enslavement. The consequence of those choices would lead to wandering and war. And the consequences of those choices would lead to estrangement and exile.

Yet, each time, in each generation, when it seemed that the darkness of sin would win the day, God would intervene. God chose Joseph to feed the people. God chose Moses to free the slaves and to share the Law. God chose Joshua to lead the people in the Promised Land. God chose Elijah to prophesy for God. God chose David to establish Jerusalem. God chose Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the city after the exile.

And there are other stories, stories of women and men, and even stories of foreigners, and strangers, and sojourners that God would raise up. God would work through them, just as God can work through each of us, to achieve God's redemptive purposes. And when the ancient Hebrews would tell their children these stories, they were declaring that “this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!”

This is the rhythm throughout our faith story as the people of God. God does amazing things, and when we see it and affirm it and live into it, we know ourselves to be blessed. But when we stop seeing how the Lord is at work among us, we start to suffer. When we stop seeing how the Lord is with us, we start to sin. When we stop seeing that this is all a gift and a stewardship from God, then we start to try to be little gods ourselves.

When we forget our story, when we separate ourselves from God, we start believing that when anything good happens, it is because of what we are doing. When we forget our story, we are amazed with ourselves at what we have accomplished on our own. When we forget our story, we look around and decide that we are amazing in our own eyes!

And on the other hand, when we forget our story, when we separate ourselves from God who comes to us in our neighbors, we start believing that when anything bad happens to others, it is their fault. If something bad happens to us, it is their fault. It has to be their fault because we are amazing in our own eyes.

We don’t want to see that consequences can predictably follow our behaviors apart from God. That’s why we are almost always surprised to discover that when we don’t trust others, the world is not a trustworthy place. We are almost always surprised to discover that when we don’t love our neighbors, our neighbors are not so lovable towards us. We are almost always surprised to discover that when we live as if there is no God to hold us accountable, others will resist us trying to hold them accountable.

We are surprised because, in our sin, we know ourselves to be amazing in our own eyes. And when you are amazing, there is no need to repent of sins. When you are amazing, there is no need to change what you are doing. When you are amazing, there is no need to do anything other than what seems good to you because, after all, you are amazing already.

When you are amazing, you don't listen to the ancient stories any more. People then, much like today, don't pay much attention to the stories of the Bible. And even when they do pay attention, they often do so only to seek an assurance that they are still amazing – at least when compared to others.

The setting for our reading today comes after Jesus and his disciples have made their entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Jesus has already cleansed the Temple by turning over the money-changers tables and releasing the animals for sacrifice. The Pharisees have already questioned the authority of Jesus. They have already put into place a plan to have Jesus betrayed and arrested.

And now, Jesus tells them their story again. The Pharisees thought they knew their story, because they could argue for hours on end about what the stories meant for their life together. This is why Jesus has to retell their story in a new way, using a parable. It had to catch their attention again, so they could once more declare that “This was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes.”

The imagery Jesus used was familiar and Biblical. The prophets had already used the imagery of a vineyard as a stand-in for God's people. The vines were planted, the watchtower was set up, and the workers were put in place as stewards. This is a vineyard, a garden, where there is a clear separation between the garden and everything else, and it is good. This is the same story told by the ancient Hebrews for all the previous generations, even as it is greatly condensed.

The problem in the parable is even the same. Instead of declaring, “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!” the workers in the vineyard started to believe that the vines were there by their own efforts. They believed the watchtower was evidence of God invading their privacy. They believed that they were the owners and not the stewards, which made them amazing in their own eyes.

So, they rebelled. They rebelled against God. The tenants of the garden were engaged in an uprising. They rejected the story of how they came to be. They fought against the rules given to them. They resisted the ones who came to set them on the right path. It is the same story that they had heard since they were children.

Finally, after all of this uprising, after all of this sinning, the vineyard owner sent his only son to make things right again. But the tenants were not interested in making things right with God. They were interested in doing what seemed right to them. So, they killed the only son of the owner.

This is a bold stroke in this story. It lets the Pharisees know that Jesus already knows about their plan to have him betrayed, arrested, and killed. Or, they would come to know this a moment later, when they finally realize that Jesus is talking about them, and the place they now hold in the story.

Before they realize this, however, Jesus puts them on the spot. What should be done with these wicked stewards of the vineyard? What are the consequences for their sin?

And the Pharisees gave Jesus a perfectly just answer – the owner will put these wretches to death, and put someone else in charge of the vineyard. This is an answer which echoes what happened with the flood. God can just erase the slate. God can wash away the evil past and start over again. And that would seem to be a good answer, honoring the justice of God, but they have forgotten part of the story. God made a promise, signed with a rainbow, that there would be other ways to honor God's justice.

Jesus has retold their story, and now gives them the conclusion they had forgotten. Even the killing of the only son is a time to declare that “This was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!”

Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, wrote: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Jesus, the Son of God, has come among them. And even though they plan to kill Jesus, God will use this for the good of those who love him. Jesus did not come to destroy them, but so that they might be saved.

God sent his son, Jesus, to save us; yet in ways great and small, we kill him still. We do this when we reject the Law of Moses. We do this when we fight against the prophets. We do this when we live as if there is no God, and there is no need for God, because we are amazing in our own eyes.

This is our story. We still live in the vineyard. We are still the stewards of God. The cross still stands as the watchtower over us. And the Son still comes to receive what we owe God. This is our story, and it find completion in the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes!

UMH 295 “In the Cross of Christ I Glory”