Still wandering through the vineyards, the Beloved has another parable for religious leaders. Those who were chosen to be Guardians now see themselves as owners. Humble Servants now the proud possessors of authority. They wrap themselves in the robes of position and privilege and are immune to criticism. They quickly silence any voice that calls them to give an account of their stewardship. Finally, they will violently reject anyone who reminds them that God is the ultimate authority and that they will be unmasked as unfaithful. In a nutshell, they want it all, but it was never theirs and never will be theirs.
The Landowner, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, has given it all as a gift. The Israel of God must bring this revelation to clarity by producing good wine. What could possibly go wrong? What goes wrong is the tenants. But the Landowner does not give up on them easily. If they treat His Servants (Prophets) badly He sends more. To His horror they do the same thing, so He decides to send His Beloved Son, hoping for some respect. But all the tenants see is an opportunity. Their motives, what drives them is revealed – They want it all for themselves, and only the death of the Beloved will guarantee their dreams. All connection with the Landowner will be severed and the Beloved Son will be thrown outside the vineyard (give Him to the Romans) and killed.
But these dark plans will not have the ending they want. The One who was rejected becomes the Resurrected leader of the new tenants. The stone which the builders rejected becomes the Cornerstone. This is the work of the Creator – a marvel to behold. The vineyard will bear fruit and the crucified and resurrected Christ and His disciples will produce the best wine, the exquisite wine, the world is waiting for.
As our own world becomes loveless, more violent, and frightening, we see how we are surrounded by people and nations who want it all. They do not want to be accountable to God or to the poor. By excluding others and isolating themselves from reality, they have become greedy. But this approach to the gift of creation and life is truly crazy. Its social face is about grabbing and greed. Its relational face is accusation and defensiveness. Its spiritual face is about the God I own rather than the God who owns me.
Here is a little parable about what God does in a world like this:
The water of life, wishing to make itself known on the face of the earth, bubbled up in an artesian well and flowed, without effort or limit. People came to drink and were refreshed, cleansed, and healed by it, since it was so pure, clear and life giving. But human beings could not leave well enough alone. Some came and built a fence around the well, claiming ownership of the property around it and charging an admission fee. They made laws about who could come to the well and who could not, and they put locks on the gates. Soon, the well was the property of the powerful and elite. The water was angry and offended. It stopped flowing and began to bubble up in another place. The people who ‘owned’ the property around the first well were so engrossed in their own egos that they did not notice that the water had vanished. They continued selling the non-existent water, and few people noticed that the power was gone. But some dissatisfied people searched with great courage and earnestness of heart and found the new artesian well. But all too soon that one came under the control of the unwise and the same fate overtook it. The spring took itself to another place – and this is how it has been since the foundation of the world. We do not own the vineyard; we work in it. When we want it all – we end up with nothing.
