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

Yesterday we read that on one of those days, as Jesus 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."   My study bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father.  The vineyard refers to God's people, Israel.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet, who comes to call people back to God.  The beloved son is, of course, Christ Himself.  That the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not those of His own vineyard.  The others to whom is later given the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church. 

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."  That stone is Christ, my study bible tells us.  It notes that, according to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  The ones who fall on the stone are those who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet living in this world.  But those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant, who become powder in the final judgment.

We often think of such a story, with such an ending as Christ notes here, as purely negative.  That is, it's all about Judgment, and indeed it is.  The stone is Christ.  But that stone also characterizes truth, spiritual truth.  The good news here, hidden in this story, is the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom, who notes that those who fall on the stone are those who suffer the consequences of their own sinfulness, poor choices or habits, ways of life learned from the world, that are not a part of the truth of that stone.  Why is this good news?  Because what it teaches us is that when we stumble in life, it's an opportunity for learning, for growth.  It's a chance for spiritual fruition and maturity, a chance to reconsider and to rebuild.  It gives us an opportunity for repentance, or for change of mind (which is what the word for repentance, metanoia in the Greek, literally means).  We fail to consider, in our "success-minded" points of view in popular culture, that learning and repentance are part and parcel of a well-lived life in this world.  There are really none who are perfect among us.  We all have something to learn.  Life, as Christ presents it, and as the Gospels tell it, is all about a long learning curve.  Do the apostles -- at the time of their call to discipleship -- really already have all the answers?  Do they even understand and know Christ, who He truly is?  Do they know what it means to be bishops and pillars of the Church?  Certainly not.  But discipleship is precisely that walk with Christ wherein we learn what we are to be about in this life.  We learn good goals, and we grow out of our habits and understandings that are mistaken, imperfect, and not in accordance with the goals that Christ would give us.  We learn how to serve.  The very word for disciple in the Greek of the New Testament is μαθητής/mathetes, which literally means "learner."   In this sense, our very "brokenness" is an opportunity, a gift -- if we turn to Christ for the perspective of the Cross.  When we lose sight of our goal, a walk with Christ in which we grow in image and likeness, and in which we come gradually to learn who we truly are through this communion, then we begin thinking in terms of a legalistic perfection.  Christ's preaching, teaching, actions in human history as Jesus, teach us anything but such a notion.  The very fact that His struggle with the religious leadership is over such things as the fact that tax collectors and sinners come to hear Him, or that He has performed healings on the Sabbath day (which they believe is a breach of the Sabbath law), teach us the opposite thing.  We are all meant to be learners through our faith.  With Christ as the stone that may be our stumbling block, we are on the right road through repentance, reconsideration, a willingness to connect with Creator to find our way, and our true lives in the process.  Let us consider the gift from the One whose very rebuke to us is an act of love.