Parable of the Tenants
October 5, 2008
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43
It is hard to read today’s parable of the tenants and not think about our nation’s financial crisis. The parable is about greed, ambition and shocking mismanagement – the same ingredients that created the mess we are in today.
In the parable, a landowner planted a vineyard – and invested enough to make it a first-class vineyard. He enclosed it with a fence, and dug a winepress so he would be ready for the first harvest. He built a watchtower so guards could keep an eye out for thieves. Then, he leased the vineyard to tenants, and left them with the responsibility of caring for it in return for a share of the harvest.
When the grapes were harvested the landowner sent servants to get his share. The tenants were not in a sharing mood - so they beat one, killed another, and stoned the third. The landowner sent more servants but they suffered the same fate.
Finally, the landowner sent his son. He thought that, surely, they would not harm his son. However, the tenants thought they could intimidate the landowner and take over the vineyard - so they killed the son.
Unlike some other parables, this one is not too difficult to figure out. It is about God’s covenant with Israel. He made a great nation of them and led them into the Promised Land – that is represented by the vineyard. He repeatedly sent them prophets – but they would not listen to the prophets. They even killed some – like John the Baptist. Then God sent his Son, Jesus – and they killed him too.
Who are these tenants who did these terrible things? It is easy to feel self-righteous and say they represent the Jewish leaders – the chief priests and the elders that Jesus was addressing – but these tenants were not just people who lived a long time ago. Nor are they only those given great responsibilities – like bank managers and the guys on Wall Street.
These tenants were ordinary people – like you and me – who were so blinded by their greed that they thought they were somehow entitled to more than what they had agreed to accept. I believe that is the connection between this parable and the present situation.
We are deluding ourselves if we think that the bankers and CEOs are solely responsible for this financial crisis. No one put a gun to anyone’s head and told them they had to accept an offer for a mortgage that seemed too good to be true (because it was) - or forced anyone to buy a second or third home at an inflated price because they thought they could “flip” it for a great profit. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that there is no such thing as a sure thing.
Of course, those in positions of authority bear most of the responsibility. Both Wall Street and Washington have been governed by greed and deception. Those whom we trusted – and who we thought more knowledgeable in these matters - led us to believe that the laws of economics had been repealed – that we could have everything we want – and that profit was inevitable. But, we are all accountable – not only in our financial dealings but in all aspects of our lives.
Do we fail to take responsibility for our own actions? Are we sometimes willing to fudge the truth in order to gain some advantage? Does our desire for a quick profit or benefit cloud our judgment and cause us to neglect the consequences? If we answer “yes” to any of those questions, we may be more like the tenants in the parable then we like to admit.
When Jesus asked the chief priests and elders what should happen to the tenants when he finally comes, they said, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” He did not contradict them.
Those are strong words that speak of the inevitability of judgment. They also speak to the certainty of hope.
There may be times when – out of a false sense of entitlement, we act like those original tenants – and we may have to answer for that. However, through our baptism and the grace of God, we are also the new tenants who will give to the landowner “the produce at the proper times.”
Where the original tenants were lazy, the new tenants must be industrious. Where the original tenants were deceitful, we must be honest and sincere. Where they were motivated by greed, we must be motivated by generosity. Where they were ungrateful, we must acknowledge – by deed more than by word - that the one they rejected is the cornerstone of our lives. If we do, regardless of what happens to our portfolio, we will reap the harvest that God has provided for us.
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