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 day after the cleansing of 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 an 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."   In this parable, my study Bible explains, the landowner 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.  The servants sent by the owner are the prophets of the Old Testament, who each came to call people back to God.  The son is a reference to Christ Himself, sent last of all.  When the son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, it is understood in two ways:  first, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem (Golgotha was outside the city walls); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not those of His own vineyard.  As in yesterday's reading (above), the religious leaders convict themselves when they draw the conclusion to the parable.  Unwittingly, they tell of the other vinedressers to whom the vineyard will be leased, who are the Gentiles who will be brought into the Church in hope that they will render 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.  This stone, of course, is Christ.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who declares 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; but those upon whom the stone falls are unrepentant people suffering utter destruction in the final judgment.  

The explanation of the "action" of the stone by St. John Chrysostom is quite interesting, and it is in contrast to many popular ideas about God and God's love.  If God were truly loving, so many ask, why would God permit bad things to happen to people?  While this is an important question, and is answered in various ways (the problem of evil is clearly present in the Bible!), it is also important that we understand St. Chrysostom's insight into this saying.  It is one that is shared by St. Paul as well in 1 Corinthians 5:5 (see verse 5 in context here).  Of a brother in the Church at Corinth who is sinning in ways which are corrupting to others, St. Paul writes to them to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."  What does this mean?  How can they deliver someone to Satan?  Why would St. Paul tell any believer to do this?  What it means is that the person is to be excommunicated, to live life outside of the church so that he may feel the consequences that result from his lifestyle.  This is not an assumption that a form of exile (or excommunication) in and of itself is that consequence.  It is rather the consequences that will result in a nominal believer's life from the rejection of Christ's teachings and their separation from the Church, being without the spiritual protection of the Church.  This is a teaching about what it is to be outside of God's protective mercy, to truly reap what we sow.  The understanding -- as far as I understand this teaching -- is that through worship, with God's blessings and spiritual protection we receive through prayer, we are those who understand that we are blessed not to get "what we deserve."  That is, not to directly receive the consequences of our sin in our lives.  To share in the Eucharist of Christ is not the product of a "deserving" life, for none of us can do things which render us deserving, or can compensate with some sort of payment, for eternal life.  Nothing we do can command such grace through merit alone, because the gift is far more valuable than what we can produce.  So we understand this as a gift of God, incomparable to what we could "pay" for it.  God's grace and mercy work through our faith, the way we see that faith in the Gospels works to render healing possible and all kinds of blessings that come out of Christ's ministry.  We are spiritually protected from that which seeks spiritual harm for us.  But to be cast out of that grace and mercy is a different set of spiritual circumstances.  While God always loves us, we may find ourselves disengaged from faith and wandering in our own choices not to participate in that grace -- and that is life that St. Paul speaks of when he writes to "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."  For sadly, it is all too often only through our bad experiences in suffering the consequences of our own mistaken behavior that we come to repentance, that we start to reconsider the value of our souls more deeply, and especially to consider the value of our relationship to God.  It is so often there that we begin to turn toward God in our grief or despair or even anger to find the way back into that grace, the lack of which we so keenly can feel at times in our lives.  Since I myself have had this experience, I feel that I can testify to it, and readily admit that I am glad God keeps me from having all that I truly "deserve" through the grace and mercy and love that I experience instead.  For all of us err, and none is perfect, but we may all be on our way somewhere, to that place where our spirit may be saved in "the day of the Lord Jesus."  In the end, even a rebuke from Christ, even St. Paul's command to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, is not meant for punishment, but for salvation -- so that we can learn God's reality and what life is like without it, so that we can come to our spiritual senses.  May all those whom we love be brought into God's grace by every means possible.  For there are times when even worldly misfortune can be a saving grace.