St. Luke 20:9-20
Dearly beloved,
As the psalmist speaks, so do we: "The Lord redeems the life of His
servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned"(Psalm
34:22). The Christian life is one of reliance on the Lord, Jesus. This is
God's intention for man. God plants the vineyard, hires caretakers to tend
it, then sends servants to collect the fruits. This leads to the parable
that Jesus preaches to the people in St. Luke 20.
God, the vineyard owner, plants a vineyard, hires caretakers and goes on a
long journey. Notice that the point of the vineyard in the parable is not
its productivity, but the caretaker's actions and faithfulness. What we see
is rather unusual and disturbing. The caretakers do what they do and they
become rather comfortable. They take ownership in the vineyard and they
feel a part of it. Any owner or employer would love this sort of
dedication.
It leads to a problem, though. At harvest time, the owner of the
vineyard sends one of his servants to collect some of the fruit. Notice, it
is only "some" of the fruit. That means this vineyard owner is a kind and
generous owner, who lets the caretakers enjoy the fruit of their labors, as
well. The owner of the vineyard has trusted these caretakers. He has
basically let them have freedom, and he has let them enjoy the blessings of
what the owner started.
But the caretakers see the first servant and do not welcome him. The
caretakers beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The owner of
the vineyard is patient. He sends another servant to collect and the
caretakers treat this one worse than the first. The same thing happens to
the third servant sent by the owner. At this the owner ponders what to do.
He decides to send his son, thinking they will respect the son. After all
the son is to be the heir of the vineyard. Intelligent thought would lead
one to think that it is prudent to be respectful to the future heir.
But the caretakers see the son and they desire to kill him. They see
the son and they conspire together, saying, "Let us kill him, so that the
inheritance will be ours." They throw him out of the vineyard and kill
him. What is the conclusion to the parable? "The owner of the vineyard will
come and destroy those caretakers and give the vineyard to others." This
parable is about the people of Israel and the Pharisees and their rejection
of the Son of God. The servants who were beaten and sent away shamefully
are the prophets. God is the vineyard owner.
This parable shows us some things about the dynamic between salvation
and damnation. We see the battle between God and Satan, and we can see
Satan's illogic in the caretakers' thought process. The vineyard belongs to
God–the world is His. He sends His Son into the world to redeem it.
Strangely, the caretakers of the vineyard think that if they kill him, then
what they tend will become theirs. Why would they ever think that the owner
would let them inherit the vineyard when they had live and behaved so
shamefully. What made them think that things would continue to go well for
them?
But you see, this is the illogic of Satan. As Jesus is drawn to the
cross to die, Satan having moved the pieces of evil into place, we see a
similar dynamic. Satan thinks that when Jesus dies, it is he, Satan, who
wins the victory and becomes the inheritor of the world. We see what Luther
calls "The theology of the cross" in the parable. Servants are beaten, men
are killed, and the Son of the vineyard dies. We hear the harsh words of
judgment for those who are not humble and contrite. Jesus even goes on to
say that "everyone who falls on that stone (Jesus) will be broken in pieces
and when it falls on anyone it will crush him."
In other words, Jesus is trying to send a message to the Scribes and
Pharisees listening on. The Scriptures are about Jesus. If you don't see
it, then you will be crushed. This is a dynamic that we must all understand
in the church. We live in an empty world. The teachings of the Scribes
and Pharisees have, sadly, crept into Christian churches. You live out your
life, and you may be willing to live in God's vineyard, but when you see the
Son of God coming, you don't know what to do or think.
Your children and grandchildren are increasingly living in a society and
an age that doesn't believe in absolute truth. They are taught by society,
through the media and educational influences that truth is just a matter of
one's perception. Therefore, the study of the Bible, if there is any such
study, is usually only about good morals. There is nothing wrong with good
morals, mind you. This needs to be taught. The sad reality, however, is
that all that people know to do is to approach the Bible from a moral
perspective. In other words, when they see the Son of God coming they don't
know what to do with Him. As a result, like the Pharisees they cast him out
of their midst.
Not understanding how Jesus fits into the Old Testament, for example,
leads to you not really understanding much about how God works. If you do
not understand how God works in the world, then you begin to have a bigger
problem–you don't know how God works in your life. If you do not understand
how God works in your life, then Christianity becomes just a moral exercise
for you. This may be fine until you sin. Once you commit a sin that
disrupts your life, then you cannot reconcile what you perceive as
Christianity compared to your sinful life. This derails most Christians and
leads to inactivity in the church.
Let me state this more simply: If you do not understand the
Christ-centered nature of the scriptures, then you will not understand your
life in Christ. Then there is no gospel, no love, no forgiveness, no hope.
Only hate, fighting, Pharisaical arguments, and harsh judgment. But it
doesn't have to be this way. The greatest antidote to the way of the
Scribes and Pharisees is to understand the Son's coming–to understand the
Scriptures in your midst, and to understand the reason for holy baptism and
the blessed sacrament. Why is the Old Testament about Jesus? Why is the New
Testament about Jesus? Why should preaching in the church be
Christ-centered?
The Christ-centered nature of the Scriptures, and the holy sacraments
are counter-cultural to our world and way of thinking. They are all the
statement that we are blessed and holy in spite of ourselves, not because of
ourselves. Christ as the center of everything in the Scriptures and the
church's life sends the message that in spite of your sins, you reside in
God's vineyard. Recall the details and nature of the vineyard: the
caretakers get to live there. It is as if it belongs to them and the owner
simply sends for some of the fruits, but some of the fruit stays in the
vineyard. The owner of the vineyard is kind, generous, and merciful.
This is the way the Lord intends our lives to be as we reside in
Christ. When the Son comes, you are to recognize Him and rejoice at His
coming. Therefore, this colors your very life. You are baptized into
Christ. You hear the Scriptures and recognize that they speak concerning
Christ. You receive the blessed sacrament and find yourself engaging in an
intimate fellowship with the Son of God.
Your sins are forgiven and you begin to see that Jesus lives in your
life. He journeys through the Scriptures and in the sacraments to abide
with you. He comes to you to dwell with you and it is His love for you that
imparts to you holiness and salvation. So let us in the church begin again
to see the mysterious and blessed workings of Jesus in the Scriptures and in
the church that we may take hold of hope, forgiveness, joy, mercy and peace
as our gaze is ever on the Son who approaches. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
