“This church belongs to God.” When I said that in a sermon several years
ago, I didn’t think I was saying anything controversial. But, after the service, a man approached me
in the fellowship hall. He was clearly
upset. “This church belongs to us!” He declared forcefully. “We built it!
We paid for it! We take care of
it! It belongs to us!” Having delivered his message, he stormed
off. I was left dumbfounded.
We’re tenants, my brothers and sisters, just tenants.
On another occasion, I was talking about the importance of
our stewardship of creation. I was
encouraging recycling and protecting our environment. One person in wasn’t buying it. “God gave us everything on this planet.” The person stated, “So, we can use it however we please.”
“Even if that means destroying it?” I asked and the person shrugged and walked
away.
We’re tenants here, my brothers and sisters, just tenants.
In this week’s Gospel lesson, Jesus touches a sensitive
nerve that is as old as humanity. In the
Garden of Eden the snake does not tempt Eve and Adam with fruit. The serpent tempts them with the possibility
that by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they could become
gods unto themselves. And we know how
well that went! Genesis teaches that
there is a part in all of us that wants to be in charge of the vineyard. There is something in all of us that wants to
oust the landlord and run things by ourselves.
And that never ends well.
Never. The scriptures are full
of stories that bear this out.
Like the tenants in Jesus’ parable, whenever we try to take
over from the landlord, when we begin to think the Garden is ours, death always
follows close behind. That is true in
the church and in the world. Our
self-centered selfishness results in all kinds of social and other ills: injustice, oppression, war, violence, hatred,
prejudice, and racism, to name just a few.
But God does not leave us there. God does not take the advice of the
Pharisees, Chief priests, scribes or crowds gathered around Jesus that day in
Jerusalem. God, thank God, does not put
wretches like us to a “miserable death.”
God does indeed send the Son, and the Son does give his life for our
insatiable desire to do things our own way.
But, through the cross, the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone of
the Kingdom. Through the
resurrection, we become the heirs, not
of our own petty kingdoms, but of a life that is more powerful and enduring than
death itself.
This gracious gift transforms our lives so that we become more
like the tenants God imaged us to be: laborers
in the vineyard who produce the fruits of love, forgiveness, mercy and
compassion. As 1 Peter says, we become
living stones built upon the Cornerstone “in order to proclaim the mighty acts
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (2:5, 9).
Yes, we are tenants.
And, in the end, that is both a blessing and a gift.
Peace,
Bishop Mike.
Thanks for reading.
Please continue to pray for the people of Las Vegas and all those whose
lives have been shattered by violence
Pray too that God would show us all how to act as peacemakers in our
world today.
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