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

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 him 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

In yesterday's reading, we read of the chief priests and scribes and temple elders confronting and questioning Jesus. After His arrival in Jerusalem, He cleansed the temple - by driving out the people who were buying and selling animals for sacrifice. This is a messianic act. Jesus was also preaching the gospel in the temple to the people, who deeply wished to hear Him. So, after this, the chief priests and scribes and elders were questioning Him: "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?" They wish to trap Him. Jesus then proceeded to elude their question by posing one of His own: "The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?" Because the temple leadership were afraid of the opinions of the people - who considered John the Baptist a prophet - they could not answer. So Jesus replied, "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 vine dressers beat him and sent him 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!" My study bible notes here: "This parable recounts the history of Israel. God the Father is the owner. The vineyard is Israel. The vinedressers are the religious leaders. The servants are the prophets. The beloved son is Jesus the Messiah. The others are the Gentiles." Clearly the leadership understands this parable - we can see this by their reaction. They know that He has told it against them.

Let us consider some aspects of the story Jesus tells. The vineyard owner is God the Father - He has done the planting. He is the Creator of our world, our cosmos, indeed all of creation. And God the Father is, seemingly, far away from us, steeped in mystery. We can also understand the parable as Jesus gives it - it is about Israel, the people of God. These are the people planted as seeds in the world, to bear fruit and to carry that faith - the relationship of trust and stewardship with the owner. But where are the spiritual fruits of this investment, and trust and relationship? The prophets bearing the word of God have been sent throughout the centuries, and repeated the same message. We - if we count ourselves among the people of God - are those entrusted with relationship, right-relatedness to God and to one another. But the vinedressers do not see this relationship in this sense: they see themselves as owners or exploiters of that vineyard. Stewardship is another concept altogether. Those who threaten this free-for-all pseudo-ownership, the prophets, are beaten, stoned, killed. And so the owner sends his beloved son - Jesus, as Christ, the Messiah. The words of dialogue in this story are important. The Father reasons, "Probably they will respect him when they see him." But the vinedressers are thinking in a different way: they want ownership for themselves. "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours." By destroying that which we envy, human beings all too often make the mistake of believing that this way they gain ownership of something which never belonged to them in the first place - and so it is with this powerful story about judgment. How do we go about being in right-relatedness to that which belongs to God the Father? How do we understand stewardship - as opposed to ownership and exploitation?

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'?" My study bible says, "This quotation from Ps. 118:22 refers to Christ, the foundation stone rejected by the religious leaders, who becomes chief cornerstone of the Church." Again, Jesus refers to prophecy, and the temple leadership knows that He is referring to them. In the early church, there was a depth of understanding of this saying. From the letters of St. Peter, we already have reference to believers as "living stones" in this Church.

"Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." My study bible notes, "To attack or resist Christ means to suffer judgment and utter destruction." I think it's significant that Jesus gives different levels of consequences here: there are those who stumble, and those who are crushed by the stone. To err and to be unable to accept something is one thing, but to seek to destroy, while having knowledge, is quite another level of responsibility. Judgment is of course in the realm of mystery, it is not something we can make ourselves -- it belongs to that chief cornerstone and is solely in His hands.

So let us consider again the parable and what it implies for us. We, who consider ourselves the continuation of Israel, the people of God, have a lot to ponder in it for ourselves. Do we understand our role as stewards, vinedressers? Do we know that we are to tend what we are given and to bear fruit? Or do we also fall into the error at times of considering ourselves owners of this vineyard? Do we delude ourselves with this understanding, a perspective of selfishness and ownership and entitlement, which is in effect a form of stealing? I think that perhaps the greatest ailment comes to churches when any level of membership forgets stewardship and considers themselves owners instead. (And, indeed, this would apply to any institution, from a family to a corporation or nation.) It is a seemingly subtle difference to our human perception, but in the end, it makes all the difference in the world to how we act in the world, and indeed, how effectively the church teaches the message of Christ and tends to the flock - or leaves the spiritual reality behind, lost in material considerations of power and rank. Because the behavior of the selfish perspective borders on any sort of effort to claim that ownership, and stewardship gives us right-relatedness, we must be ever on our guard. And the same is true, of course, for the whole of creation and our lives which we've been given as a gift. "Right-relatedness" conveys a different attitude toward the whole of this vineyard and its owner - to God and to one another. So we, as those who consider themselves the "living stones" belonging to the chief cornerstone, must take this parable to heart for ourselves. How are we living out our mandate here and tending the vines to bear fruit worthy of the owner's trust? Let us consider the difference then between ownership and stewardship - and recall that we are always to be aware of the chief cornerstone, let we stumble over it, or it fall upon us.