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

Yesterday we read that when came into the temple (after He had cleansed the temple), the chief priests and the elders of the people 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 if 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. 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."    My study bible says of this parable that the landowner represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers to whom the vineyard is leased are the leaders who are entrusted to care for the people.  The servants sent by the owner are the Old Testament prophets, who come to call people back to God.   The landowner's son is Christ Himself.  That they took the Son and cast Him out of the vineyard and killed Him, is understood on two levels:  (10)  Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem; and (2) He was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not by those of his own vineyard.  The other vinedressers to whom the vineyard is later leased are the Gentiles who are brought into the Church.  As in the events of yesterday's reading, when Jesus posed a question about John the Baptist in response to the demands of the leadership regarding His authority, the leaders convict themselves by their answer.

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.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23.    He refers to Himself as this stone.  St. John Chrysostom teaches that this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while yet in this life, therefore having the capacity to learn from mistakes.  Those on whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment.

Jesus refers us to the consequences of being told the truth, a spiritual truth that we are meant to hear.  He describes Himself as the Son in the parable, the One who follows all the prophets and their messages which call the people (especially the leadership of the people) back to God.  How we respond to that message of truth seems to be all-important, and it certainly is true for the leadership.  This may seem incredibly harsh, but we have to consider that this message is for those who've already been prepared for it.  It is given to those steeped in Scripture, who understand fully the calls of the prophets who have appeared in Jewish spiritual history all along.  This is not a message given for condemnation, but for salvation.  It is given to those considered fully prepared and ready and equipped to hear it and understand it.  Jesus' warnings come to the deliberately blind.  But what is important to consider are the "two ways" of destruction mentioned by Chrysostom.  There are times when we don't pay attention to what we know or perhaps ought to know, and we take some kind of fall in our lives. We stumble.  Often we may find this is the one and only way we become aware of personal flaws, our weak points.  We fall flat on our faces, we blindly walk into complete disaster.  One may have heard the expression, first attributed to Alexander Pope, that "fools rush in where angels fear to tread."  If you have had the experiences I have, you know by personal difficulty the meaning of this expression.  But those of us who are given something upon which to stumble may be grateful for the opportunity to learn from our mistakes, and to make corrections.  This is a spiritual viewpoint that is wise.  It views correction from Christ as something for which we are to be grateful, something which is helpful and loving to us.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus rebukes those whom He loves deeply, such as Peter, for instance, in this passage.  Peter learns from Jesus' rebukes, and becomes the leader of the apostles whom we know.  But those in truly deep circumstances are the ones who refuse to learn from a rebuke, or a pitfall, or a stumbling block.  It is they upon whom this stone will fall.  We have a lifelong learning curve, a journey of faith.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus took the leadership to task for failure to practice repentance at the message of John the Baptist, when harlots and tax collectors did listen and repent.  He spoke of judgment, of such notorious and repentant sinners standing in judgment against the failed leadership.  In today's reading, He gives a dire warning about the consequences of the failure to repent or to reconsider.  This is a failure to heed warnings, to listen to spiritual truth -- in particular to those who know better but prefer place and position to the humility of our place before God, and before the kingdom of heaven which is at hand.  Where do we fall on this scale?  Do we consider the importance of repentance?  Do we take seriously the power of the stone which Jesus likens to Himself?  Do we take note of the numerous times we've stumbled, or do we fail to notice?  Let us be grateful for stumbling, even grateful for the times we've been "broken," in Jesus' language.  In Jesus' telling, it is a way to know ourselves, to correct ourselves, to gain wisdom and spiritual insight.