After the Parade

Matthew 21.33-46

‘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

This is the Palm Sunday lesson for Vespers, the evening service. This morning we read Matthew 21.1-11, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The people rejoiced while the leaders reacted warily. In these verses, Jesus shares a parable – one that is pungent and all but impossible to misunderstand.


Jesus came to the capitol not to lead an insurrection but to tell the truth. The authorities are wary of what he has to say but the refrain from acting because the people are with Jesus. Soon enough, though, that will change. When it becomes clear that Jesus isn’t the kind of Messiah they desire, that he is challenging not only those in power but everyone, they will feel as threatened as their leaders, and they, too, will turn on Jesus.


It’s a cautionary lesson for us all. We proclaim our devotion to the Messiah, but what, really, do we want of him? What, really, are we willing to do for him? What, really, are we willing to let him do in us and through us? The hosannas have faded and we’ve now begun our Holy Week journey. As we travel, we are each called to consider these questions prayerfully and faithfully.

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