And 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 Jesus came into 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 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.  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 explains that in this parable, the landowner represents God the Father, and the vineyard is the people of God (or Israel).  The vinedressers are the religious leaders who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who is sent by the owner represents an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God.  The son is Christ Himself.  When the son is cast out of the vineyard and killed, my study bible explains this is understood on two levels:  First, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem; and second, that He was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not those of His own vineyard.  The other vinedressers to whom the vineyard will later be leased are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  My study bible also points out that in their response, the religious leaders convict themselves, as they did in yesterday's reading (above) with the question about John the Baptist.

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.   This stone is Christ Himself.  St. John Chrysostom is cited by my study bible as teaching that Jesus' saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  There is first those who fall on the stone:  these suffer the consequences of their sins while still in this life.  But those on whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment.  We notice also the power of the crowds and how the religious rulers fear their faith that Jesus is a prophet.  It gives us an idea also of the still-powerful impact of the image of John the Baptist, another whom the crowds believe was a prophet.

In the parable of the stone which the builders rejected, but which nevertheless became the chief cornerstone, Jesus offers us two ways in which we might fall:  the first is to stumble on the stone, and so find that we have stumbled in life in some sense.  The second is to avoid the stumble, but to go through life oblivious to our failings and perhaps escaping any consequences for our failings.  But in this second case, the spiritual consequences can be far more dire as we are unprepared for Christ's judgment.  What is that judgment?  This is a question that has puzzled theologians and laypersons throughout the centuries, and continues to be a subject of great debate.  Jesus Himself has said that it is His very word that is the judgment itself (see John 12:44-50).   As His word is life, so our inability to hear or our decision not to heed that word is basically the judgment itself.  In this sense, it is like ignoring the laws of physics.  It's not the "laws" that are the problem, it is our decision to ignore or avoid the truth of what is real that renders us in a place that is unsustainable in the long view of things.  It is in this place of ignorance of spiritual power where we misstep and lose our place, missing out on the fullness of life itself (John 10:10).  It is this power of life that is in the stone of which Christ speaks, in the word of the Father who is the landowner, and which both the servants and the Son carry to the people to call them back to God.  But in the Son there is a deeper power which is entrusted to Him than the vinedressers understand; it is the word of the Father He carries, and in that word is the power of life indeed.  None of us is the judge, and Christ says even He judges no one; but if He does judge, His judgment is true for He is with the Father who sent Him (John 8:15-16).  And yet, despite myself and my lack of capacity for real judgment, it does seem as if I know some who ignore the word of God, who fail to love and practice mercy when they so very easily could do otherwise.  Do we know the hearts of others, or understand the things they might be capable of grasping?  Do we know what they ignore when they should not?  The world in which we live is surely one of injustice; the Passion and suffering of Christ tells us that.  But even in a world of injustice, He gives us a way to live in His justice nevertheless, to find the righteousness He asks of us.  We pray to Him, we ask His word, we do our best to follow.  In Christ there is the light that shines through love, and comes from love.  We don't have to be perfect to learn through this love, to have it touch us and give us its promises and its life.  We don't need the rest of the world to follow, either; of that we can be certain, for it is Christ Himself who will be condemned by these crowds who praise Him today.  What we can be certain of, even when it seems the world clearly heeds no mind, is that He is that stone that was rejected, the one over whom we're far better off stumbling in this life than ignoring into the next.  Far better to be broken with a chance to mend, than never to know our own flaws or shortcomings.  Let us place our faith in that rock, and continue on, as did He.   Remember that He is the chief cornerstone, the One who holds up the entire building, the foundation on which to build all of our lives -- even whatever has already been broken.