The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

"Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the LORD's doing,

And it is marvelous in our eyes'?

"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

- Matthew 21:33-46

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was confronted in the temple by the chief priests and elders, after He had cleansed the temple the day before - driving out those who bought and sold and overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. They asked Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John -- where was it from? From heaven or from men?" The leadership worried that if they said it was from men, then the crowd would be angry as the people thought John to be a prophet, but if they admitted it was from heaven then Jesus would ask why they didn't believe John. So they told Jesus, "We do not know." So Jesus replied, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Jesus then told a parable: A man had two sons. He told them both to go work in his vineyard. One said he wouldn't go, but then changed his mind and went anyway. The other said he would go, but then did not do so. Jesus asked, "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."

"Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country." My study bible says that God the Father is the landowner who planted a vineyard, and the tenant vinedressers are the religious leaders entrusted with the care of God's people. If we think of this parable in this way, it seems that God is far from us: but we have those among us in whom is our religious care, the care of the word of God. To produce fruits and to make good wine is therefore the sign of Covenant, as indeed wine is used symbolically both since ancient times at wedding feasts, and in our Eucharist.

"Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them." What is the fruit of this vine, this tender planting and care? My study bible says, "The landowner's servants are the prophets, sent by God to proclaim His word. For instead of tending the vineyard, the vinedressers had devoured it." Later, in chapter 23, Jesus will name the prophets He will send in His name and also the ancient prophets and innocent killed by the leadership of their own time, beginning from Abel to Zechariah "whom you murdered between the temple and the altar." In this parable of the vineyard, it is the Garden God planted in the world for mankind, and yet those who are to have tended it have wanted it all for themselves, so that they don't truly serve the word of God for all people.

"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him." Here, Jesus refers to His own death and what is to come. Jesus comes bearing a New Covenant, calling His people. The sending of the Son is an act of mercy, another "wake up call" (as we have discussed in the previous two readings). But can those who have been used to violence and manipulation, all throughout history as the way of the greedy, really listen to the One who calls them to order - although they have abused the prophets who come in His name?

"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." The leadership answers the question reasonably -- not understanding that Jesus had told the parable against them.

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." The quotation is from Psalm 118, and my study bible also refers us to Isaiah 28. Again, as in the earlier reading in which Jesus was welcomed to Jerusalem as Messiah, we note the quotation is from Psalm 118, which was recited at the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated the coming Kingdom. With the coming of this Kingdom also comes Judgment, the new reality in which "justice is the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet." Isaiah's words echo the condemnation of violence and lies, a covenant with death, to which Jesus' parable alludes -- and also to the formation of a New Covenant established with God's people.

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. Once again, fear and death are at work in the ways in which they hear, and the ways in which they turn to be at work to rid themselves of Jesus. The "wake up call" isn't heeded, change of mind is not possible where the willingness to reconsider doesn't happen. It's not the fear of God, nor the opinion of God that counts, it's their fear for their places of authority, and the crowds that might react.

With Jesus' parable I think we are to understand something about this Kingdom He is bringing into the world. We have said (agreeing with the interpretation of my study bible) that Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem isn't just about Him being welcomed as Messiah 2,000 years ago, but the inauguration of a Kingdom that is also heavenly, an entry (as my study bible put it) into the "celestial Jerusalem." As such, time and space have different properties in this Kingdom in addition to our worldly ones. The inauguration of this Kingdom, in today's parable by Jesus, is also an inauguration of an age which will culminate in Judgment, in which the measuring line and plummet of justice and righteousness are that of the Holy Spirit, sent to all the world to prove out all things. As such, this parable and its warning is for all of us. As is the case so often, Scripture speaks both to the specific and even the historical -- in this case, to the leadership standing before Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem at that time, and yet also in a timeless sense to all of us. I think especially it speaks to those of us who believe we are a part of this New Covenant. We must be ever-aware that our concern is with the opinion of God, with that measuring line of justice and the plummet of righteousness -- and most especially to the work of the Spirit among us and with us. Reconsideration and "wake up calls" certainly applied to the visitation of the Son to this world, the Garden given us by God. But they also apply in each of our lives, and they are at work among us even so as we remain within this age which He inaugurated of the coming of the Kingdom. The work of the vinedressers, and the fruit of the vine, remain the things we mustn't forget. This is the covenant of life in abundance, which defeats death.