The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 

 "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 vinedresers, 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, referring to the cleansing of the temple, "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 vinedresers, 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?"  My study Bible explains 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 (to whom Jesus tells the parable), who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who is sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet coming to call the people back to God, while the beloved son is Christ Himself.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard and killed, it's understood on two levels, according to my study Bible.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (Golgotha at that time was outside of the city walls); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own "vineyard."  

 

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."   Note how these religious leaders once again convict themselves, as in yesterday's reading in their answer to the parable of the "two sons" (see above).  They are correct in naming the other vinedressers, who are the faithful among the Gentiles.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that this stone is Christ.  According to St. John Chrysostom, it adds, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while still in this life, but those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment. 

 

 In the letters of both St. Paul and St. Peter there is reference to Christ as this stone mentioned in today's reading.  Perhaps of particular importance is the fact that in each case, the saints refer to Christ as both stumbling block and rock of offense.  Both saints quote from Old Testament Scripture to teach this lesson also noted in the commentary by St. John Chrysostom cited above.  St. Paul quotes, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  St. Peter writes, "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."  See Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:6-8; Isaiah 8:14-15, 28:16.  So the "two ways" cited by St. John Chrysostom are found in the earliest years of the Church, and directly from the apostles.  How are we to understand this in a modern context, in which the weight of the words of Christ fails to impact many people?  Let us understand the prophetic reality of what He is saying here.  These religious leaders (if we pay careful attention to the parable) are the inheritors of the spiritual history of Israel.  They are the last in a very long line of leaders of Israel who reject the word of the prophets that are sent to them.  We may read, for instance about the prophet Amos, who lived in the 8th century before Christ.  According to my study Bible, his were the first prophecies to be written down, and he was the first prophet to proclaim the end of God's covenant with Israel because of stubborn unrepentance, oppression of the poor, and other sins of passion.  Israel had grown wealthy at this time from control of trade routes.  He preached repentance in warning the king and the people.  But the priests, tired of his prophecies, clubbed him to death.  So the setting here is important, as is Christ's parable; it tells us of things these men know very well as the religious leaders and stewards of the people. In fact, in chapter 23, Jesus will speak to the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers'guilt" (Matthew 23:29-32).  Adding to this, He further prophesies their future persecution of the Christian "prophets, wise men, and scribes."  It tells us of a whole history, a pattern, a "filling up," in Jesus' language, of the fullness of intentions and behaviors borne out by a refusal to honor and fulfill covenant. So let us consider this in a current setting, in which there is no state religion within modern democracies.  It seems that, first of all, we who call ourselves Christians do indeed have a responsibility to uphold, nevertheless, not simply the tenets of our declared faith, but also the courage of what it means to bear covenant and particularly to pay attention to the promptings of God in our spiritual lives.  It means that when we preach Christ crucified we bear witness to something more powerful than mere words and theories, for we carry with us the Spirit promised by Christ, and we owe an allegiance to God's calling for us.  It means that those of us who live among any society in which we hold ourselves to a particular faith bear responsibility for living that faith, and being a light even to those who may reject it for themselves (Matthew 5:16).  But let us not doubt the power of that stone, for this is embedded in the words of Christ in today's reading, and there can be no doubt about His intent and the serious nature of His warnings.  He remains for all the world both a stumbling block and an offense, and a stone that some reject.  But He is for us the chief cornerstone, and His truth we cannot deny, for it is a wisdom to be cherished. 

     

 

 

 

Let no fruit grow on you ever again

 

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read, 

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise'?"

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. 

 

Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

- Matthew 21:12-22 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.   They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"   So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 

  Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals which were to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins, as roman coins bore the image of Caesar, and were considered to be defiling in the temple.  My study Bible comments that the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As every person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), so it is also a sign that our hearts and minds should be cleansed of earthly matters.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11.

 

But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  My study Bible quotes from the Vespers service of Palm Sunday:  "Keep the feast with the children, and holding branches in your hands, sing 'Hosanna.'"  It notes that many liturgical hymns of this day emphasize the perfect praise of the children, which differentiated from the adults in that it was innocent, fitting, unashamed, and from hearts of pure love.  So we also are called to glorify Christ in the same spirit (see Matthew 18:1-4).  In contrast, it says, the adults' praise carried earthly expectations and agendas which, when left unfulfilled, led them to rebel against Jesus only five days later (Matthew 27:20-23).  Jesus quotes from Psalm 8:2.

 

 Now in the morning as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  The fig tree, as my study Bible explains, is a symbol of prosperity and peace, and it withers because it is fruitless.  This is a prophetic act by Jesus which is directed toward the nation, as after three years of His preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds were destitute of spiritual fruit.  He curses the tree also to warn those in every generation what will befall anyone who fails to listen to His message. 

 

 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  While there is no recorded incident of an apostle literally moving a mountain, my study Bible says, in patristic commentary it's clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (certain saints did make crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, not all things done by the apostles were written down.  Beyond the literal meaning here, this promise illustrates the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  According to Theophylact, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for things which are spiritually profitable.  

 

 

The story of Jesus' withering of the fig tree is what we might term "a hard saying."   Why would we term it that?  Because what it indicates is judgment, and the kind of judgment that we don't really want to hear.  It's about Christ's pronouncement of judgment on those who are "unfruitful."  That is, upon those who have benefited nothing from His ministry, who cannot receive it nor honor it, who refuse the salvation that He offers.  What it teaches us is something hard that, normally speaking, we don't want to accept.  That it is possible for people to lose this priceless gift through rejection, because they don't want to receive it.  When Jesus forgives from the Cross, saying, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34), we may understand this in a number of ways.  There is first of all a sense in which people really do not know what they reject when they reject Christ.  That is, the life of salvation that He offers, and the eternal life of the Kingdom.  This certainly would have applied to the Roman soldiers who followed their orders to crucify Him.  It can apply to all kinds of people in all of these stories in the Gospels of Christ's ministry.  The religious leaders and others know that Christ is a holy Man, and yet they reject Him; they know the works of the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament Scriptures.  But still, there may be ways in which they "do not know what they do," and yet are in some sense and through their own hard-heartedness, beyond repentance.  But we are assured in our faith that there is no sin which cannot be forgiven through repentance.  The question remains, however, what of those who reject and never repent?  This is, fortunately, not up to us, but up to only Christ who is the ultimate Judge, and the ultimate knower of hearts (Acts 1:24; 15:8).  In St. John's Gospel, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me" (John 8:15-16).  So we must ask ourselves again about this withering of the fig tree, a symbol of condemnation of that which is fruitless, which does not bear the spiritual fruit of its promise and potential -- even that for which it was created.  It certainly tells us something powerful about life itself, that there is life in Christ, and without His light we have the darkness that is death, that does not bring life into this world.  Is our life meant to be only about eating and drinking, or survival on its barest level, or the goods we can consume?  Life in Christ's light is so much more than this, and teaches us that we are so much more than this.  We diminish ourselves and our communities by refusing Christ and His love and light guiding us in His compassion.  Jesus will lament over Jerusalem, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!'"  (Matthew 23:37-39).  Let us consider the reality of this rejection, and what it means for people's lives, for we can see the barrenness of life without God's love and hope and compassion.  There are no systems or philosophies that can replace the intrinsic understanding of the priceless value of the soul placed upon it by God, by the One who died so that we can live.  Let us give careful thought to the reality of this teaching in the withering of the fig tree.  

 

 

 

 

Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,

'Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, 

A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.   They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"   So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 

- Matthew 21:1-11 

 

On Saturday we read that as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho on the road toward Jerusalem, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. 

 

  Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  Today's reading covers the events of what we commemorate as Palm Sunday; it is known as Christ's Triumphal Entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah who would deliver them from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom through His deliberate instructions to the disciples here.  Rather than riding into Jerusalem on a horse or chariot, as earthly kings would do to show their power and glory, Jesus rides on a donkey, which is a sign of humility and peace, as shown in St. Matthew's quotation of Zechariah 9:9.  My study Bible notes also that St. Matthew reports a colt as well as a donkey.  In the writings of Church Fathers, these two animals are seen as representing the faithful Jews and Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  At Orthodox Vespers of Palm Sunday, it is sung, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."

 

 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.   They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  These people who spread their clothes before Jesus on the road do so as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that this is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ. 

 

 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"   So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."  The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, a refrain associated with messianic expectation.  It as recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (which is also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as ranches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!" an appropriate prayer to one known as Deliverer, or Savior. 

 

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, we are given a few things to think about.  First of all, let us consider how many times Jesus has avoided this particular day.  For until now the Christ's identity as Messiah has been kept secret in some sense (this is referred to as the Messianic Secret).  He has not openly declared it in a public way, as a king would.  But this entrance into the Holy City proclaims that day, and He boldly lives that claim, as we will see in particular in the reading that follows, when His first act is to cleanse the temple.  He is openly living, and therefore, declaring that identity.  His entrance into Jerusalem, as He has also warned the disciples three times, means that His open and final confrontation with the religious authorities will now take place, and it will culminate in the Cross (and thereafter Resurrection on the third day).  But before now, there have been times when His life was threatened through confrontation of one sort or another, but He avoided this outcome, and eluded those who were after Him, such as when He went into Gentile territory (in this reading) after one such confrontation.  This entrance into Jerusalem is deliberately meant for this time, after an estimated three years of public ministry and preparation for it in the teaching of His disciples, now apostles, and all the signs and teaching of His ministry.  In St. John's Gospel Jesus repeatedly speaks of this time as "His hour," such as when He told His mother, "My hour has not yet come," and said to His brothers, "My time has not yet come but your time is always ready."  St. John also writes before Christ's washing of the disciples' feet at the Last Supper, "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."  (See John 2:4; 7:6; 13:1.)   While this event of the Triumphal Entry is also understood to us as imaging God's eternal kingdom, and Christ's rule as Lord, prefiguring the fullness of Christ's wedding as Bridegroom to His Bride the Church in the heavenly Jerusalem, so we must also understand on earthly terms how important timing and boundaries are to the living of our spiritual lives in this world.  There is a discreet time and place for all that Jesus does, as He follows the Father in all that He does.  In other words, although the event we read of in today's reading is publicly declaring who He is, and speaks to us of true eternal realities, so we must also realize that Jesus does things in His earthly ministry for a particular purpose, at particular and deliberate times.  It helps us to think about our own need for discernment and prudence in our own spiritual lives, as we seek to follow Christ in the living of our faith as well.  Most of all, it helps us to consider what a prayerful approach to life looks like.  It is not one in which we rush in as fools who rush in "where angels fear to tread," so to speak.  Rather, we look to our spiritual lives, and our growth in such, as those things which unfold in God's sight, as the work of faith, engaging us in our choices at particular times and in particular ways.  Spiritual struggle is not that of bold declarations and hasty choices, but rather prayerful discernment.  Before sending out the disciples in their first apostolic mission, Jesus taught them, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and gentle as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  We also are to remember that we live in this world that is still a battleground.  Just as in Jesus' life He led the way for us in a world beset by the influence of spiritual evil and its outcomes (see Matthew 4:1-11), so we enter into this battleground with Him as our Lord, our King who enters into Jerusalem on this day we read about in today's reading.  His words still stand for us, and we remain as spiritual sheep in midst of wolves.  Let us remember as we are impatient for outcomes or signs that God's timing is not our timing, God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), and we need prayer and discernment to guide us, and all the collective experience of the Church which we are a part of.  Jesus boldly proceeds to the Cross, but does so fully knowing what He is doing, and with all prudence and wisdom, and the power of God.  For this also is a lesson in humility and service to God.  Let us take His yoke and learn from Him (Matthew 11:29-30).

 

 

 

 

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 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 

 

In our current readings, Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), and cleansed the temple.  Yesterday we read that when He 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 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 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.  The servants sent by the owner stand for the Old Testament prophets who came to call people back to God, and his son stands for Christ Himself.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, it's understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem; and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers and not by those of His own "vineyard."  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  Note that, as in yesterday's reading (above), the Jewish religious leaders condemn themselves through their answer.

'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.  My study Bible tells us that this stone is Christ (the quotation is taken from Psalm 118:22-23).  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who remarks that this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  There is first of all the people who fall on the stone; these are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while still in this life.  But those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant, who suffer utter destruction in the final judgment.  

It is intriguing to consider the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on today's passage, regarding the "two ways" of destruction upon the stone which the builders rejected.  One way is to be broken, leading to repentance.  That is, if this Stone is Christ, recognizing even through hardship and error the truth of Christ, and so coming to repentance.  This is a sense in which we've come upon Christ the Stone as stumbling block, and turned to Him in our own brokenness.  The second way is one which enters into Christ's teaching not too often so far in the story of His ministry, but makes itself felt quite plainly and even direly here.  That is to live life unfettered in error and sin, and come to judgment still in this state.  This latter, second way leads to full destruction, an incapacity for repentance and thus a lack of salvation.  So St. Chrysostom's thinking leads us -- if you are like myself -- to consider the redemption available to us through stumbling and difficulties, even hard and harsh experiences in life, through which we may find Christ's redemptive and saving power of truth, what leads for us to true life.  St. Paul says something similar in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, when he mentions one engaging in a scandalous sin in the Church, teaching the Corinthians, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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" (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).  This would suggest the effects of such a life outside of the Church, with the possibility of leading to repentance through its consequences.  But at this juncture in the Gospel, we come up against the possibility of profound rejection and loss in the judgment of Christ, an utter loss of life at the time of judgment.  This is now the stark picture presented to these men who would be the religious leaders of Israel, in whose hands is the spiritual care of the people.  In chapter 23, Jesus will name several "woes" of the scribes and Pharisees for their practices and their hypocrisy.  Earlier in the Gospel, He has spoken of the woes that would befall those in His Church who will cause offense and scandal to the "little ones" in the Church, causing them to be lost and to stray, saying, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!" (Matthew 18:6-7).  So, in making these observations of Christ's preaching of "woes" we are able to observe that He first warns His own apostles, who would become the leaders of His Church -- and by this warning, also their successors -- against abuses of power, sinning against and causing offenses to the "little ones" (the humble of the Church) who will be in their spiritual care.  Here in Jerusalem at the temple, in confrontation with the religious leaders of Israel, He gives this great warning to those who have failed to care for their vineyard, lacking the spiritual fruits meant to be produced while entrusted to their care.  Observing this consistent warning to those entrust with the spiritual care of the people of God, we may see Christ's concerns as applying forever to those who would be His followers in the Church, and in particular to those who would be leaders entrusted with the spiritual care of the faithful.  How far have we come from the mark Christ has set for us?  How far do we have to go?   Do we take His warnings seriously?  How much do we protect and take heed against abuses of the humble in the Church?  Each one of us must take His warnings seriously, and be reminded of the prophets of the Old Testament coming repeatedly to call people back to God, but especially of the warnings Jesus gives here to those who will plot to destroy Him.  In the Church, we have a great responsibility -- all the faithful -- for the care and nurturing of those who will come to find faith, and to grow in the Church.  Let us remember the Stone, and the two ways, for each may beckon before us.  One way, we may gain all that we might have through repentance; the other way, we may lose even what we think we have (Matthew 13:12). 

Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you

 

 Now when He 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."

 

- Matthew 21:23-32 

 

In our current reading, Jesus has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Yesterday we read that then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do you hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?" Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there. Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

 Now when He 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."  My study Bible explains to us that, since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple.  As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He instead offers them a different question about John, confounding them.  Both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer.  They would therefore lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  My study Bible cautions us to note that by not answering them directly, Jesus is teaching us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

 

 "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."  My study Bible suggests that these elders, using their own principles, actually convict themselves in their answer to Christ's parable.  

We've all heard the old adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  But words have meaning and power, and Christ Himself is the Word, an indication of the true power behind language properly used -- and therefore the false and destructive power of language improperly used.  Today's reading is all about the use of words, and how powerful and important they truly are.  For words convey to us meaning.  If that meaning is distorted and turned to lies, that is surely a destructive power.  But when language is used for truth, especially with the spiritual power of truth that is in Christ, then it becomes a powerful and important tool indeed.  In these passages from today's reading, Jesus shows His exceptional skill with language, and also teaches us how powerful it is, showing us that to be careful with our words is essential and important -- for it is clearly so to Him.  The elders in the temple come to Him with an assumption about authority, an accusation with which Christ has already become familiar:  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  They are couching their language in terms with which they're on familiar ground, a sense of authority which they can hold over others in what they do.  But Christ has a heavenly authority they can't point to nor perhaps apprehend sufficiently to recognize; indeed, their desire is to obliterate that powerful effect Christ has in His preaching and healing among the people.  Jesus refuses to answer on their terms, and instead poses to them a question about John the Baptist.  John, we know, was widely revered as a holy man, as indeed the Gospel reports these elders saying among themselves, that if they deny John's authority, "we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So, instead, they take a kind of cowardly refuge in refusing to answer Jesus, saying instead, "We do not know."  Note how nothing in their response is truth; everything is sparked by the fear of losing their own position and authority; their fear of the people's response guides everything.  But Jesus' own effective use of language, unmasking their fear and deceit, is pure truth in and of itself.  The power of His words means that He can effectively respond to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  In the parable that follows, it goes without saying that Christ is the premiere Wordsmith we know.  His parables are deceptively simple, yet powerful in their own right.  This parable works as a kind of riddle ("riddle" is one meaning given to the word parable).  With such a clever parable, Jesus makes the point, not only defending His own ministry the religious leaders have criticized ("eating with tax collectors and sinners"), but also that of John the Baptist:  "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."  Importantly for us, Christ's emphasis here is on repentance, "change of mind."  Although their words are chosen out of fear, their hearts are far away from Christ.  But perhaps ironically, this is the one thing they need, for repentance is a cure for error -- and it is the tax collectors and harlots who could show them the way by example.  Jesus did not come into the world in order to find sinners to punish.  He came to save.  Indeed, at the very time when the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus replied, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13).  John's Gospel tells us, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).  But those who are self-righteous, blind to their own error, cannot repent -- even though this is the one thing they need to find Him and the life they could have in His kingdom.  Repentance is the key to the gospel; all Jesus wants is for us to find our way back to Him, and the way is very simple.  Prior to giving the parable of the Lost Sheep, in which the Shepherd will leave the ninety-nine at risk to seek the one lost, Jesus taught, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  If we observe these religious leaders, we see their drive to obfuscate, to entrap, to twist language, even to the point of finding false witnesses whose stories trip over one another in order to try to condemn Jesus to death.  But Christ's words and truth go to the heart of the matter, and His truth is what they need to embrace in order to simply repent and find their way to His life and salvation.  Let us consider the ways we can use language to obscure and even to lie to ourselves, covering up the one simple thing we need: repent by turning to truth and toward Him.  His powerful but simple words remind us that the strength of His truth is always present to us, and it is only there in which we need to rest and take our stand, as does He.

 

 

 

My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a 'den of thieves

 

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

 

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do you hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise'?" 

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

- Matthew 21:12-22 

 

Yesterday we read that when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."   

 

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"   My study Bible tells us that those who bought and sold were trading in live animals to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers were a necessary part of these transactions, as they traded Roman coins for Jewish coins.  This is because Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (portrayed as a god) and were therefore considered to be defiling in the temple.  The cleansing of the temple, my study Bible notes, also points to the necessity of keeping the Church free from earthly pursuits.  Each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), and so this also presents to us a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11.  

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do you hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.   My study Bible cites a verse from the Orthodox Vespers service of Palm Sunday:  "Keep the feast with the children, and holding branches in your hands, sing 'Hosanna.'"  It notes that there are many liturgical hymns of this day (Palm Sunday, the day in which we celebrate Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem -- see yesterday's reading, above), which emphasize the perfect praise of the children, which my study Bible says was unlike that of the adults; the praise of the children was innocent, fitting, unashamed, and from hearts of pure love.  It notes that we are called to glorify Christ in the same spirit (see Matthew 18:1-4).  In contrast, the praise of the adults carried earthly expectations and agendas which, when left unfulfilled, led them to rebel against Christ just five days later (Matthew 27:20-23).  Jesus quotes from Psalm 8:2.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.   The fig tree, my study Bible explains, is a symbol of prosperity and peace.  But here it withers as it is fruitless; this is a prophetic act by Jesus, directed at the nation, for after three years of Christ's preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds were destitute of spiritual fruit.  Jesus curses this tree also as a warning to each generation of what will befall anyone who fails to listen to His message.  

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  My study Bible comments here that while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, in patristic commentary it's clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (certain saints did make crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, not all things come by the apostles was written down.  Beyond this literal meaning, Christ's promise is also an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  My study Bible quotes Theophylact:  "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things.

Jesus cleanses the temple in today's reading.  In the commentary on this passage, my study Bible reminds us of St. Paul's teaching in (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), that we are each, in fact, a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in each one.  Effectively, since this is so, we are reminded that we also need to be aware of our own need for either regular "cleansing" ourselves, or to be on our guard against the kinds of things that would necessitate such cleansing.  In the case of ourselves as a temple of God, this practice is often called guarding the heart, and what it indicates is that we need our own vigilance regarding the things we take in from the world and allow to grow to become a part of ourselves.  In Galatians 5, St. Paul speaks of a kind of battle going on between the desires of the flesh and those of the Spirit.  He says, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17).  He then lists the works of the flesh:  "adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like" (Galatians 5:19-21).  We note that these are things that begin within us, as Jesus has explicitly taught in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:21-30).  There, as well as in chapter 18, Jesus has taught about taking decisive action to "cleanse" ourselves (He likened it to amputation of a diseased body part), in order to save the whole of ourselves (Matthew 18:6-9).  Here in today's reading, Jesus cleanses the temple of those who profit from the people's need for pilgrimage and sacrifice, we presume particularly at the expense of the poor.  Matthew tells us that Jesus overturned the seats of those who sold doves.  Doves were the small sacrifice affordable to the poor.  But we might note that what remains necessary to get at the root of the things that defile temple is simply repentance -- and remind ourselves that from the beginning of the Gospel, John the Baptist comes preaching the same message in preparation for the coming of Christ, and Christ echoes His teaching (Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17).  The same is true of the impulses we take on from the world around ourselves that lead to such outcomes.  In a "fallen" world that abounds with sin, we know about all the passions and desires that come from lusting after wealth, or another person's property, or envy, or myriad other impulses that can lead to what St. Paul calls the "works of the flesh."  These are things that cross the line of sin and trespass.  To guard the heart, then, is to be aware of our own mind and heart and the impulses we nurture and indulge ourselves in, fanning the flame of the desires that lead to such works.  We are meant to be rational sheep, obedient to Christ, but highly aware of ourselves and our capacity for failure, especially our own personal weaknesses.  So the elements of our own cleansing as temples of God may take on forms of repentance or "change of mind" that involve guarding our own thinking and correcting ourselves when necessary, or making more formal amends once the indulgence of such patterns of thought result in bad works, things that ultimately cause harm.  It's easy to be confused in the modern world we inhabit, especially now through the pervasive and ubiquitous influence of social media that works like a worldwide machine to make all kinds of harmful behaviors, and personal attitudes that lead to such behaviors, seem, in fact, "normal."  The need for this ongoing awareness, and work within ourselves and our hearts and minds, actually highlights Christ's later teaching on the power of prayer and faith.  This is because the only way to make our prayer truly effective is through hearts that are pure in the sense that we work at what kind of persons we are, that we develop the kind of discipline that makes our prayer life strong and clear -- so that we may nurture desire in prayer for what Theophylact calls "spiritually profitable" things.  The cleansing and guarding of our hearts and minds therefore is linked to the effectiveness and power of our prayer lives, even to the insights we may gain from prayer.  For, without cultivating the regular practice of such personal spiritual discipline, how to we come to the clarity we want in prayer, to discern the ways God wants us to go forward in life, from the ways that we're called to go by "the flesh" as St. Paul calls it?  That is, the endless desires for all kinds of things cultivated in us by the influence of the world around us, such as the competition for the best car or house, the things we envy that others have, a certain circle of friends or influence or power, for vengeance, for exploitation of others, and so on; the list can go on ad infinitum and extends into the future until the seemingly inexhaustible fantasies and imaginings of the wider web of the internet or any form of public dissemination crowd out the message of the gospel within us.  In this sense, our lives of worship -- whether in the personal and unique temple that each of us are, or in our public forms of worship in Churches -- really depend upon Christ's examples and teachings to us.  To be aware of what we tolerate in one sense or another that we should not, then, becomes essential to the effectiveness of prayer and the quality of our faith.  Let us endeavor to adopt His discipline for ourselves, asking God for guidance and direction, and the wisdom for what we need to let go, as well as the wisdom to know what to pray for and what we truly need. 

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,

'Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." 

 

- Matthew 21:1-11 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus (and the disciples) went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 

  Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me."   And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  Today's reading concerns the events of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which is celebrated by the Church on Palm Sunday.  My study Bible explains that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  But in humility, Jesus shows that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  Here He tells His disciples to bring Him not a horse nor a chariot, but a donkey to ride into Jerusalem, which is a sign of humility and peace (Zechariah 9:9, quoted here in the text).  My study Bible notes here that Matthew reports a colt as well as a donkey.  It notes that in patristic commentary these two animals are seen as representing the faithful Jews and the Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  At Vespers of Palm Sunday, an Orthodox hymn declares, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."

 

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  My study Bible explains that the people who spread their clothes before Jesus do so as paying reverence to a King.  There is also a spiritual interpretation to this, that it shows also our need to lay down our flesh, and our very lives -- as we are called to in ways small and great -- for Christ.

 

 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."  The people's cry comes from Psalm 118:25-26, associated with messianic expectation.  This was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot, or the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"   My study Bible further explains that Christ's entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is, additionally, a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  

There is a sense in which we are mistaken if we understand the events recorded in the Bible as simply things that happened once upon a time in history, for which we need to search to find relevance to our own lives today.  But the events of Christ's life are not given to us as a mere history book or story of the past, or of "once upon a time."  Neither are they in the realm purely of imagination.  Scripture overlaps in many ways many types of literature, but it is its own unique form of literature, which also borders on what we might call the poetic.  Its meanings echo through many other events, through the times of our own lives, and perhaps most importantly, they have a timeless quality.  Christ coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday has historically been understood in the Church in the terms my study Bible describes, as parallel to, and overlapping in a sense, Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride.  So, in a sense, this is always happening, and He is always with us.  Just as His Crucifixion, Passion, and Resurrection are not merely one-time events in history, but realities that are present to us in our lives of faith, so is this entrance into the Holy City, which is also an entrance into our hearts as well, where these spiritual realities may be perceived and dwell, and through which we take and live our faith.  Are we, like the people, going to accept or reject Him?  Do we welcome Him as Savior, as they do, shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!"  And if we do so, how do we understand what "Savior" means to us?  Is He saving us one time in our lives, or is this an ongoing kind of plan of salvation, living with us and dwelling within our hearts as we seek daily to live our faith?  The mysteries of Christ and His life, His public ministry for us, are those things that are lived sacramentally in our lives.  They take the substance of our experience right now and live within us as we are called to account to understand how we are to "work" within our faith, and how these events have meaning for us now.  Will we be like those who seemingly accept Christ one day as a hailed hero, and a week later will cheer for His conviction and death, riled up by the religious leaders who wish to rid themselves of Him?  And how does He live in our hearts, as a heavenly King, who asks of us a spiritual loyalty that is comprised of all our heart, and soul, and mind?  Christ's ministry was not simply private or personal, nor are the events of His life given for us purely historical events.  They are imbued with a kind of timeless property that means they live in us and for us, they are present to us, and through faith we can always experience them for ourselves.  The Triumphal Entry in this sense is always happening, just as Christ is always gathering His Bride to Himself, to live in the New and heavenly Jerusalem.

 

 

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 

 "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 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; 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 vine-dressers 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."  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard is a reference to God's people.  The vinedressers are the religious leaders who are entrusted to care for the people.  The servants who are sent by the owner each stand for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, while the son is a reference to Christ Himself.  When the Son is taken and cast out of the vineyard and killed, it is understood on two levels.  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem (the place of crucifixion, Golgotha, was outside the walls of the ancient city), and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard. 

 

 "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."  Once again, as in yesterday's reading (above; see Matthew 21:31), these religious leaders convict themselves according to their own response to Christ's question.

 

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, upon which others fall, is Christ.  My study Bible refers us to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this saying shows the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the consequences of their sins while they are yet in this life.  But those upon whom the stone falls are the unrepentant who suffer destruction in the final judgment.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23; Isaiah 28:16.

 

Who is the Stone?  Jesus Christ.  It is interesting to think of stones in connection with Christ, and the various references to stones (or rock) we find in Scripture and in connection with the Church.  Here, first, Jesus refers to Himself as the chief cornerstone, the one rejected by the builders (the religious leaders who will seek to put Him to death).  A chief cornerstone functions in various ways to uphold the weight of a building and keep it together, also guiding the building of the rest of the structure.  Jesus has also given us a parable about building our house (our life) upon a rock in Matthew 7:24-29.  This is His illustration for one "who hears these sayings of Mine, and does them."  In other words, to build one's home upon a rock illustrates faithful living.  When St. Peter made his confession that Jesus was indeed "the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (see Matthew 16:13-20).  According to Luke's Gospel, when Jesus approaches Jerusalem at His Triumphal Entry, and His disciples shout as if welcoming a Savior King, some of the Pharisees tells Him to rebuke the disciples.  But Jesus replies, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (Luke 19:28-40).  In St. Peter's First Epistle, he writes eloquently to the Church as "living stones":  "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.'"   Peter then goes on to cite Christ's quotation from Psalm 118 in today's reading, and adds another from Isaiah to make the point St. Chrysostom repeats in commentary:  "Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,' and, 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed" (1 Peter 2:4-10; Isaiah 8:14).  In each of these ways, we see the illustration used of a rock or stone to teach us about our faith, about the Church, about Christ, even about St. Peter and his confession, and to all those faithful who are in the world as "living stones."  In any way we view these statements, we should understand that this rock or this stone and its qualities are given to us as a gift.  But so much depends upon how we respond to it, and how we live -- faithfully or not.  We have the choice to build His life in this world.