The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

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 vine-dressers 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."  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

On Saturday we read that it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that 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 vine-dressers and give the vineyard to others."    My study bible says that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  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.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, the parable is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem (the site of Golgotha was outside of the city walls of the time); and second, that Christ was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not by those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are people from every nation 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."  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.  The stone is Christ.  We are reminded of Christ's saying, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (11:23).    According to St. John Chrysostom, the stone in this saying is Christ, and it illustrates two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet in this life.  Those upon whom the stone falls are unrepentant people who become powder in the final judgment.

If we start to think about this scene in the temple, we find ourselves in the middle of a swirl of mixed motivations and all kinds of interpretations of what is being said.  The leadership, we are told, clearly want to lay hands on Him.  But they fear the people, as in Saturday's reading, when they refused to give Christ an answer regarding the authority of the baptism of John the Baptist.  Their real motivation is a protection of their authority in the temple, and here is Christ, who comes with His truth -- not only the truth of what it is He teaches, but also the truth of His Person, His identity as Christ.  There is nothing that the leadership can do about that.  Jesus cannot pretend that He is not here to be who He is, that He is not in the world for a purpose and a reason.  This is the time for the inevitable conflict that exists simply because He is who He is, and they are not.  This is what the parable illustrates.  There is a rightful and authoritative owner of the vineyard, and there is the son and heir.  The servants have been done away with, and the son is plotted against to kill.  Those who want ownership will do whatever they can to retain what they think they have.  This is not a story -- when viewed in this historical context -- about a conflict between those who would vie for a piece of property, like kings or empires struggling over colonies and ownership of goods.  This is a story about hearts and minds and souls, for the vineyard is the vineyard of Israel, God's people.  Jesus will teach, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).  The Son is the Son; the Shepherd is the Shepherd.  We are either going to accept this truth, or we will rail and fight against it.  This is not really a story of power or ownership.  Those who can see only material power do not understand the love and care of God, nor recognize the voice of Christ the Shepherd.  Because that true authority is not a matter of decree or even of enforcement.  It is really a matter of love.  The one reason the sheep hear the voice of Christ is because they recognize it through love; that voice is the one that loves and cares for the sheep beyond all others who would call.  Jesus says, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).  This is the clue to the recognition of our Shepherd.   There is also another traditional way to view Jesus' saying about the stone, and that is to understand that we are fortunate when we stumble over it.  For we might have all kinds of notions about the "right" way to live our lives.  If we are caught up in the material perspective that says we need excessive control, manipulation, selfishness, and ruthlessness to get what we want and decide what we deserve in life, then we are fortunate if somehow those plans fall through and fail -- and we can realize that we have stumbled.  But to live an entire life without looking twice at, say, excessively cruel or selfish behavior, is to go to one's death without reconciliation in love and the fullness of the soul that Christ offers.  And there we touch upon another question of identity.  The metaphor of being ground to powder is one that illustrates what it is not simply to lose life, but to lose identity -- to become as if one never existed.  This is the illustration of the true nature of the loss of eternal life; it is a picture of oblivion, of being lost forever, of a place in which there is no trace of the self, no memory.  So in the fullness of the aspects of the teachings in today's reading lie many questions about identity.  What is the proper role of the leadership in the temple?  How should they care for the sheep, the vineyard, all the metaphors of God's people?  How must they defer to God in their capacity to accept Christ?  What is the identity of the Son?  For that matter, what was the identity of John the Baptist (the question in yesterday's reading) -- in what role did he serve God?  Who was he, really?  Finally, in relation to that stone that becomes the chief cornerstone, who are we?  What's our role, our identity?  Everything comes down to this, and it begins with the first and greatest commandment, the love of God with all one's heart and soul and mind and strength -- and depending upon how we fulfill this commandment we are capable of loving neighbor as ourselves.  Illustrated in the saying about the stone, Jesus teaches that our orientation to God determines identity, and also the loss of true identity.  These leaders will lose what they have for they fail to honor the One who sends Christ, who comes in humility and love.  And this is the place where we have to start, each day, within ourselves.  Could we recognize this love?  Would we be capable of knowing His authority in this humble person with no position, and yet with the words of life and a kind of internal authority we can't quite put our finger upon?  This is the reality of Christ.  He is here and now for us.  Great monuments, institutions, nations, and even the world's religions all recognize or honor Him on one level or another, with one identity or another.  But can we hear His voice, really?  Are we the sheep who know Him by His love and care?  This is the true root of the trust we place in Him and the authority that is in Him, for He loves us first.