The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent hi away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone'?

Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

- Luke 20:9-18

Yesterday we read that on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel,  the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent hi away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"   Jesus gives a parable to the leadership.  Traditionally it is understood that the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are those leaders who are entrusted to care for the people, and particularly the religious leadership as the vineyard is a symbolic context of God's people.  Each servant sent by the owner is an Old Testament prophet sent to call the people back to God.  The beloved son is of course Christ Himself.  My study bible adds that when the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, this is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  That the leadership reply, "Certainly not!" to this parable tells us they certainly do understand precisely what Jesus meant to say.

Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:   'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22.   That stone upon which some may fall and which may fall upon others is Christ.  My study bible says that it illustrates two ways of destruction.  According to John Chrysostom, those who fall on the stone are those who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet in the world, while those on whom the stone falls as the unrepentant who become powder in the final Judgment. 

What is Judgment?  We might as well ask the same question the leadership has asked Jesus (in yesterday's reading, above), "By what authority are You doing these things?  Or who gave You this authority?"  Judgment is all about authority, the authority of the ultimate Truth.  Only the Person who is Truth could really be this chief cornerstone.  Only the ultimate truth and authority can function as that stone on which some will fall, and at the same time is also that will fall upon others.  Either way, it is this stone that is the force to be reckoned with -- the truth that decides the ultimate reckoning of value, worth, and reality.  Here in this illustration is where we truly begin to understand what authority is possessed by Christ.  He is the One whom they seek to destroy who is also the peace of Jerusalem.   In Saturday's reading, Jesus wept over the city, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."   Because of Jerusalem's rejection of Him, He prophesied that "[the Roman army] will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  This is one illustration of the stone that becomes the chief cornerstone:  there are those who stumble upon that stone and their rejection of it falls back upon them.  In other words, it is a force to be reckoned with -- unavoidable, ultimate reality.  One accepts or rejects, but Judgment is the result of such decisions.  It is an unmovable object, non-negotiable:  to reject this truth is like rejecting the forces of nature in navigating our lives, seeking to avoid gravity or the fact that fire gives heat and can burn.  But Jesus' truth is not like a fact of life or even a physical reality.  Jesus' truth is encountered in relationship with Him.  He is the Person who is Truth, as the Church has taught from its ancient roots.  He is the Truth that loves, that created us, that gives us our truth and creativity, our capacity for love, that teaches us love.  This truth is the door to all things for us, our salvation.  That is, He is the way, the truth, and the life that gives us substance, life, reality -- leading us into the fullness of being persons created in His image.  And so, the stone we may reject is the one that offers us everything.  And by our rejection we lose everything.  How do you encounter the Person who is Truth?  How do you find His love for yourself?  What is it one must give up in order to receive all that He offers?   How  does the life He offers outweigh the value and substance of everything else?