Matt. 21:33-46 (The Message)
33 "Here's another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. 34 When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits. 35 "The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. 36 The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment. 37 The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. 'Surely,' he thought, 'they will respect my son.' 38 "But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. 'This is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all for ourselves.' 39 They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him. 40 "Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?" 41 "He'll kill them - a rotten bunch, and good riddance," they answered. "Then he'll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it's time." 42 Jesus said, "Right - and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles: The stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone. This is God's work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it! 43 "This is the way it is with you. God's kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life.
The Kingdom of God will always belong to someone, yet it is owned by no one.
We are tenants, not owners. And the bottom line for a tenant is the crop produced.
Jesus is saying to the leaders of his day that “ the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and be given to a people who will produce the proper fruits” because:
They were adding to the burdens of the people rather then lifting their burdens.
They were more interested in being religious then in being merciful.
They were quick to cast the first stone as they judged others but could not
see the sins of their ways.
We who claim Jesus as Lord stand with the tenants. We are to produce proper fruits. If we don’t, we too will have it taken away from us. This is not a threat. This is part of Gods promise! God expects much from us because God has done much for us. We are blessed so we can be a blessing.
The fruit God is looking for in our lives is that we love one another as God loves us.
And that we “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly”.
This is not sweet sentimentalism but strong compassion.
Compassion which dares to not “insist on its own way” when that means others have to suffer.
It means daring to act so that others will have it as good as we do.
It even means we vote with concern in our hearts for the welfare of all - not just a choice few!
Compassion is “That inner disposition
to go with others where they hurt,
where they are weak, vulnerable,
lonely, and broken.” Henri Nouwen
Prayer thought for the week: “ Lord, help me to struggle to be compassionate when it is so easy to be judgmental. Help me to “go with” others “where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, broken”, not just in my thoughts and prayers but also in my words and deeds, that we might indeed be a country which has “liberty and justice” for all!
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