Pentecost 21 Year A

Pentecost 21 Year A Matt: 21:33-46 The Rev. Benton Quest

You know, I am just about to hang up my preacher hat and call it a day. Really! Sometimes the theologian and the psychologist just get into a battle about things and there seems to be no way to work it out. Our gospel reading for this morning is just such a case.

In this reading we have the story of a landowner, a vineyard, and some tenants. Now the landowner works really hard to get this vineyard ready. He plants the vineyard, builds a fence, hews out a wine press, and builds a watchtower. He works to create the most wonderful vineyard in existence. He leaves nothing to chance. Well, almost nothing. It seems that the landowner really didn’t do a very good job of choosing the tenants to work the land. The tenants the landowner chooses seem to be good at producing a harvest, but they don’t seem to be very trustworthy when it comes to paying the landowner back.

Now we would think that the tenants would be thankful to the landowner for the wondrous vineyard that was created for them and gladly pay the landowner what they owe him. That would seem to be the correct thing to do. I was thinking of saying that paying the landowner would be the righteous thing to do, but I think that is the wrong word: doing what you agree to do is the good and correct thing to do. There is not really anything righteous about fulfilling your part of the agreement. By giving the landowner his share of the harvest, the tenants were only do what they should do. The tenants had an incredible piece of land and a portion of the harvest was the correct thing to give to the landowner.

So far, nothing too controversial in the reading. And so far, nothing that would cause an ideological battle. But the story goes on, and it is here that we get into some strange territory.

In the story, the landowner sends some of his slaves to go collect the portion of the harvest that is due to the landowner. The owner is not raising the rent or anything, he is just asking for what had been agreed to. And, instead of gladly giving the portion of the harvest that is due, the ungrateful tenants kill the landowner’s servants! Instead of realizing that they would have absolutely nothing if it were not for the vineyard created by the landowner, they choose to not only back down from their deal, but to kill the slaves in the process.

So what does the landowner do? He sends more slaves. And what do the ungrateful tenants do? You guessed it! They kill those slaves too. And finally, (you would think the landowner would catch on to this, wouldn’t you?) the landowner sends his son to the tenants thinking that the tenants would at least respect the landowner’s son. But no, the tenants kill the son too.

Now this is where the ideological conflict comes up. You know the old saying; “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect different results.” Well, by that reasoning, the landowner is insane. The landowner keeps sending people to collect the payment that is due and those who are sent to collect keep getting killed. The landowner keeps sending people in the hopes that the tenants will reconsider and do what they had agreed to do. And every time, the tenants, at best, forget about their agreement with the landowner, or at worst, blatantly disregard their agreement and kill the slaves.

Finally, this insane landowner sends one final person to collect the payment for the land. The landowner sends his own son, foolishly thinking that the tenants will respect the son. Why the owner would think that is beyond me. The tenants have been shown to be totally without integrity to their agreement, why would he think that the presence of the son should make any difference? Well, true to form, the presence of the son makes no difference what so ever. If anything, it enflames the greed of the tenants. They don’t just kill the son so they won’t have to pay their portion to the owner; they kill the son so they can get the son’s inheritance! It would appear that the actions of the landowner have done nothing but embolden the tenants!

What a bunch of ingrate tenants, huh? They live and work a piece of land that was specifically planted by the landowner. They were able to produce a harvest because of the care the landowner put into the vineyard in the first place. But when it came time to show their appreciation to the landowner for the wondrous vineyard, instead the wretched tenants kill the owner’s slaves and finally the owner’s own son.

Here is where theology and psychology come into conflict: It would appear that God, as represented by the landowner, is totally insane. Even though the tenants keep killing the owner’s servants, he keeps sending them. Each time in the hope that the tenants will do what is good and correct. Hoping that the tenants will at least keep their end of the bargain and give what they had first agreed to.

Well, if God is represented by the landowner, then we can probably assume that we are represented by those wicked tenants. We are the ones who have been given the glorious vineyard as a place to live and grow but we also are the ones who cannot find it in our conscience to release a portion of these very same blessings back to God. Somewhere along the line, we forget that what we have is a gift that we have been given and start to think of it as something that we are owed.

Maybe the tenants didn’t want to give any of the harvest to the landowner because they forgot that they did not own the vineyard, they were just tending to it. Or maybe they thought they were owed more than the harvest because of the work they put into the tending of the vines. We don’t know. What we do know is that the owner kept sending people to collect, even going so far as to send his own son in the hopes that the son might remind the tenants of their agreement with the landowner.

You see, this is where the difference between love and insanity can be found. They are awfully similar, but not exactly the same. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Love is doing the same thing over and over in the hope that the person will learn and grow.

This parable may make us feel uncomfortable. We would like to think that we are the final tenants that give the produce at harvest time. But if we were to look at our calendars and checkbooks, are we actually giving of our harvest? And as we watch our economy crumble around us, are we still willing to be thankful of the harvest we have received and gladly release part of that harvest back to God, without whom the harvest would have never happened? That is the tough part!

God never looks at us and decides that we are not worth the time or effort. God continues to give to us in the hope that we may come to realize the wondrous gifts we have been given. God continues to send his messengers to remind us of our blessings. And God sent Jesus to pay the price for us. To some that may appear to be insanity, but to the eyes of faith, that is love in the extreme. And even when we don’t respond to the generosity that has been extended to us, God keeps calling us to the table.

I have a little thought experiment for you all: Let’s say I gave you ten pennies. Now, what would you think if I asked you to keep nine of those pennies and give one to God. Would you? How ‘bout ten dimes? Would you give one dime to God? Ten dollars? Could you give a dollar to God while being able to keep nine dollars? One hundred dollars? Would it be too much to give ten dollars to God? Remember, you get to keep the other ninety dollars.

Now, if we kept on going, there would be a point where our though would shift. There would come a point where we stop focusing on what money we have but start thinking about how much money we have given away. We stop being thankful for the nine thousand dollars we have and begin to regret the one thousand dollars we are asked to give. It is in this way that we become like the tenants; we are not grateful for the harvest we have, we are angered by the part of the harvest we are asked to give.

However, it is through asking us to freely give of our blessings that God, in God’s loving manner, helps us to truly be thankful for all we have been given. I am sure there are folks who are much more thankful for their homes and jobs today than they were just a couple of weeks ago. These people now see what they truly have and can be truly thankful. And I would hope that in seeing their blessings, they would be able to generously help those who are not so blessed.

God created this whole big world for us all. God doesn’t ask too much of us to allow us to live here. All we are asked is to produce fruit for the kingdom. We may feel that what is asked of us may crush us, but then we need to remember; it is only after the grape is crushed can it become wine.

Ok, so maybe God does not present the best psychological example, but God is the best example of what unconditional love looks like. aGod will keep sending messengers. God is not going to let us go. God wants what is best for us. And when we take a true look at the blessings we have through Christ, we will find the strength and the courage to share our blessings with the church and with others.