The stone which the builders rejected

 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 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."

And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people--for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

- Luke 20:9-19

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus is now in Jerusalem.  His first act after His Triumphal Entry was to cleanse the temple.  On Saturday we read that on one of those days in Jerusalem, 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 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 says, "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 Gentiles."  It's clear that the leadership understands quite well this parable is told against them.  Their answer, "Certainly not!" gives it away.

Then He looked at them and said, "What is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?"  My study bible tells us, "This quotation from Psalm 118:22 refers to Christ, the foundation stone rejected by the religious leaders, who becomes chief cornerstone of the Church."

"Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."   And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people--for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  A note tells us, "To attack or resist Christ means to suffer judgment and utter destruction."  Again the Gospel gives us a sense of the alienation of the leadership not just from Christ but also from the people.  Nevertheless His pronouncement simply cements their desire to find a way to rid themselves of Him.

The quotation from Psalm 118 teaches us something about acceptance and rejection.  Sometimes there are things in life that we reject at our peril.  We could compare it to other things of nature:  a flood, a terrible illness, a lack of care about our health or things that endanger our lives.  In all these cases the one thing in common is that we risk falling aside a law of nature:  we don't take precautions about the flood, we don't take precautions about our health in one way or another, we ignore the laws of physics.  I think the message here is similar:  those sent by the Creator bring a law with them which is just like the laws of physics or physical nature around ourselves.  We ignore those things at our own peril.  God's word is one of those things.  The living Spirit is a powerful force that has to do with God's law, God's word to us.  In Scripture we find this Spirit at work, although we may be pressed to understand how Spirit speaks to us through Scripture at whatever moment we come to it in our own lives, or in the collective lives of believers, in the corporate life of the Church.  If we remember that Jesus is the One speaking in the moment, we come to see how the meaning of the Scripture becomes enlivened in the moment.  Jesus directs the parable, we're told, to all the people, but there's a particular angle to this direction.  It's told against the leadership, and all know it.  Thereby this Scripture becomes a prophecy in His mouth and His teaching:  it's a warning to them about what they want to do.  The potency of the words of Scripture is in this living Word standing before them.  He has come as Son, manifesting the power of the Scripture in Himself, in His mission.  His words of warning are clear; that He is considered a holy man is clear, a Teacher in the temple who is known for healing and a miraculous ministry.  But the warning is clear also:  and He knows they understand He is talking about them.  But their sense of themselves and their position is too strong for the words of warning, words like law that tells us to avoid crossing the laws of nature.  And this is the real key.  The power of God, living among us in the shape of the Spirit, is a power that lives and builds its realities, and yet it is so easy to ignore it -- especially when we think we have something precious to lose, like a position, a power of our own, a way of life that we find valuable.  But just like the flood, we can't really ignore what comes from the hands of God without a problem.  If we remember that God is a living reality among us, the Holy Spirit breathes life into all things, then we may be able to understand a little better the power that's in a prayer, or in a prophet, a prophecy.  It is this living power, the reality of the living Spirit, that makes all things have life -- that gives potency to a warning like that of Jesus in today's reading.  How do you hear that Spirit in your life?  In what ways do we understand a living law we can't necessarily see and touch and hear with all our physical senses?  This is the power of the stone Jesus teaches today.  Let us remember that throughout the readings since the Triumphal Entry there has been emphasis upon stones:  stones that would cry out, stones that will be left of Jerusalem and the temple without even one atop another, the living stones of the Church created through the rock of faith.  Let us remember the power of this stone, the living law that remains within us and among us, that gives power to prophecy and life to all things, that tells us the truth.  How do we hear it today?  We think we have so much control, but Christ's words teach us a different meaning to life.  We all have the power to reject, but we will also find ourselves dealing with the effects of rejection.