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

 "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

Our readings are now covering the period we call Holy Week, and Jesus is in Jerusalem.  We read of His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the cleansing of the temple.  Yesterday, we read that when Jesus came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "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?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go.  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.  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."  In this parable, the landowner represents God the Father, the vineyard is God's people.  The vinedressers are the spiritual leaders entrusted to care for the people.  The servants sent by the owner are the Old Testament prophets, calling people back to God.  The son is Christ Himself.  My study bible says that when the son is cast out of the vineyard and killed, it is understood on two levels.  First, Jesus was killed at Golgotha, which was outside of the city (Jerusalem).  Second, Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not those of His own vineyard. 

"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."   Just as in yesterday's reading, when Jesus told them the parable about the children doing the bidding of their father, the leadership here gives the answer that implicates themselves.  The other vinedressers are the Gentiles to whom the faith and the gospel message will go.

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."    Jesus quotes  Psalm 118:22-23.  The stone He describes is Himself.  St. John Chrysostom tells us it describes the two ways of destruction.  There are those who fall on the stone and suffer the consequences of their sins while yet living in this world; they are the broken. Those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who fail to reconsider, and suffer obliteration in the final judgment.  To be ground to powder is similar to saying that a person's name is blotted out from the book of the living, eternally forgotten (Psalm 69:28, Revelation 3:5). 

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.  Again, the chief priests and Pharisees respond as in yesterday's reading, fearing the crowds who believe that Jesus is a prophet.

In the text of the book of Maccabees, there is a clear parallel expressed to what Jesus is teaching here, the idea of being broken by the stone so that one may repent.  In 2 Maccabees chapter 7 there is the story of the mother and her seven sons, tortured one by one and refusing to disavow the laws of Moses in favor of the foreign king's command.  The youngest son tells the torturer and executioner of the struggle of the Jews under duress:  "We, indeed, are suffering because of our sins. Though for a little while our living Lord has been angry, correcting and chastising us, he will again be reconciled with his servants. But you, wretch, most vile of mortals, do not, in your insolence, buoy yourself up with unfounded hopes, as you raise your hand against the children of heaven. You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty and all-seeing God. Our brothers, after enduring brief pain, have drunk of never-failing life, under God’s covenant. But you, by the judgment of God, shall receive just punishments for your arrogance."   (See 2 Maccabees 32-36).    We can see a glimmer of the understanding that Chrysostom's comment on Jesus' teaching gives us, that to be broken is to have opportunity for repentance, but to be ground to powder is to lose life totally and eternally.  In the image of brokenness one can find many things, but it makes us consider what it is to reap the consequences of our own actions in our lives, to stumble and also to make mistakes.  Those of us who have understood this type of brokenness may be grateful for having been exposed to our own flaws, perhaps in the only way we could come to recognize them.  There are times in life when falling flat on one's own face is the only way we come face to face with our blindness.  That is, the things within us that we were blind to, even the plank in our own eye.  There are also times when one knowingly does something hurtful or shameful, or takes risks that shouldn't be taken.  Even to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind may be a time of opportunity for repentance. To be "broken" by falling on the stone can be to have what we commonly call a "wake up call."  If we look closely at Jesus' parable above, we should realize that the repeated sending of servants to the vinedressers (the prophets to Israel, such as Hosea who spoke of sowing the wind), is a repeated call and opportunity for repentance.  However we look at this stone, it is clear that the One who is speaking is the ultimate authority, the chief cornerstone.   In this we must have faith when the going gets tough.  So much depends on what we understand of His authority and the meaning that authority gives to our lives.  We put our trust in Him, and we follow and endure through all things.  To pray with this in mind is always to seek the best way forward, to live as the Lord and author of life would teach us; to find His way of life through a world of brokenness and forgetfulness.