Devotion • June 28
Today’s Scripture Reading
Luke 20:9–19
He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!” But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people. (NRSV)
Reflection
Our passage today comes from a wider series of challenges and debates that Jesus is having with the religious authorities in the wake of him clearing out the temple (Luke 19:45–48) — an event that clearly led them to recognize the threat Jesus posed to their power and control. In Luke 20:9–19, Jesus escalates the situation by sharing a parable about someone who owned a vineyard (God) but leased it out to tenants (Israelites, more specifically the priestly class). When God sends servants with a message (read: prophets), the tenants beat and reject them — eventually going so far as to kill the owner’s son (Jesus) in order to claim the inheritance.
It is a shockingly direct parable — one that predictably elicits a strong negative reaction from the scribes and chief priests (see verses 16 and 19) and sets the stage for Jesus’ eventual arrest and crucifixion. But Jesus’ quotation of Psalm 118 — “the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” — makes clear the outcome of his rejection by the religious leaders: God’s salvation will continue to unfold despite ongoing resistance from those clinging to power, and Jesus will be the cornerstone of that salvation.
We are not the Pharisees and Sadducees, but surely all of us can recognize times when we have acted in a similar manner: digging in our heels about something we didn’t personally want to happen, or ignoring voices saying something we didn’t want to hear. Sometimes our resistance is justified, but there are also times when our resistance is primarily selfish and short-sighted.
Discerning the difference is a formidable challenge, but I believe it is what the Holy Spirit calls all of us to in this season after Pentecost: seeking to remain open to the new thing God is forever doing in our midst.
Prayer
Loving God, keep me open to the movement of your Spirit in our world, knowing you work in and around and through me — and sometimes even in spite of me. Amen.
Written by Matt Helms, Associate Pastor for Children and Family Ministry
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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