Sermon St Anne’s,
Brown Edge 8th October 2017
When we left Cornwall after living there for ten years,
by a miracle of God’s provision we bought a house. We thought it was our ‘potter’s field’ and
that we would return from exile to retire in Cornwall.
That was in 2005 and over
the subsequent years we have rented the property out to tenants. This involves drawing up a contract, with the
landlords and tenants having certain rights and responsibilities.
That is exactly what is
going on in this parable Jesus tells. Only here, the landlord is Israel’s God,
Yahweh, and the tenants are the People of God.
This would have instantly
recognized as an allusion to Isaiah’s song of the vineyard. In the Isaiah
passage it is the vine itself that is at fault.
In the story Jesus tells, it is the tenants who are at fault.
In the story Jesus tells, it is the tenants who are at fault.
Jesus invites his hearers to ‘search the Scriptures’ and he is giving them clues as to where to find what he is alluding and here quotes from Psalm
118.22 and references the rejected ‘capstone.’
Related to this ‘capstone’
is Daniel 2.31-45
In this passage Daniel interprets
a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. The King had seen a huge statue with a head of
gold, a chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze and it’s legs of
iron and partly baked clay.
All of these stood for
various kingdoms that would rise and fall until they would all be destroyed by
a rock not cut out by human hands.
Daniel 2.35 –
Then
the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold broke to pieces all at
the same time. And all the pieces became like chaff on a threshing floor in the
summertime. The wind blew them away, and there was nothing left. No one could
tell that a statue had ever been there. Then the rock that hit the statue
became a very large mountain and filled up the whole earth.
This ‘very large mountain’
is spoken of by Isaiah in a very familiar passage in chapter 2…
It shall come to
pass in the latter days
that the
mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be
established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the
hills;
and all the
nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may
walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the
nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into
pruning hooks;
nation shall not
lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they
learn war anymore.
That was the high call of Israel’s God
towards His people. They were called to
display how to live as authentic humans in God’s world and to be a light to the
Gentiles. However they failed to understand and failed to keep to this one true
calling. They had not produced the fruit. And so God calls them back time after
time by sending prophets, the landlords ‘servants’ in the parable, who were
sorely treated and rejected.
Then comes the son, the one true heir, the
capstone, the rock, the messiah – if they get rid of him then they can continue
to live as they please with their own interpretation of what it means to be
God’s people.
And
then we are back with the Daniel passage when Jesus says…
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,
but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”…
We
know in hindsight that the tenants did kill the son and that tenants we evicted
from Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by the Romans in AD70.
This
parable was a forceful message to the Pharisees and they knew it, but the time
was not yet right for them to make their move against the son.
So, a powerful message to the Pharisee’s
during Jesus’ earthy ministry – but is there a lesson for us to learn today,
could this parable speak to us in some way?
Switching from grapes to olives this is
what Paul writes in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 11…
'Then you will say, “Branches were broken off
so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of
their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but
fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he
spare you.'
There is always a danger that we fall into
the same trap as the Pharisees. We can fail to show by our lives that as God’s
people we are called to display how to live as authentic human beings and be in
harmony with each other and with our world.
On
Wednesday last the Church remembered the blessed St Francis.
He saw with searing clarity that the Church
at that time had done just such a thing.
He spoke and acted as a prophet of the New
Covenant seeking to draw people back to faithfulness to God’s plans, purposes
and intentions.
On a Facebook posting recently someone
mentioned their displeasure that they had heard someone refer to their Church
building as an icon.
One reply reminded them that an icon is a
window or a door onto the sacred – therefore it is a good description.
My response was to affirm the Church
building was an icon but I then went on to say that however it can very easily
move from being an icon to become an idol.
I think St Francis would agree with me, or
perhaps I am agreeing with St Francis!
Taking St Francis as his model, Pope
Francis said, “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it
has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being
confined and from clinging to its own security.”
In his 2015 Lambeth Lecture ABC Justin
Welby said, ‘I want to start by saying just two simple sentences about the
church. First, the church exists to worship God in Jesus Christ. Second, the
Church exists to make new disciples of Jesus Christ. Everything else is
decoration. Some of it may be very necessary, useful, or wonderful decoration –
but it’s decoration.’
Like me begin to draw to a close with some
questions for you to ponder on.
Both as an individual and as a Church
Community let me ask, ‘what do you think you are doing for God’s sake?’
Then, please here me right when I say this
as I know of no plans, but supposing, just supposing, this building was to
close or be used for another purpose, what effect might that have on your love
of God and your faith and your faithful and ongoing witness to God in this
community?
Is this building an icon or an idol?
Do you agree with Justin Welby that you
have only two main tasks to perform – and if so, how are you going about
fulfilling them?
Then finally let me commend a newly
published book, ‘A Discipling Presence’ that comes out of the Germinate ARC
stable. It has some great stories of what people in rural churches have done as
they have sought to be faithful tenants and to produce a good harvest.
Remembering that Bishop Michael as asked us
to deepen our discipleship, to discover our vocation and to engage in
evangelism.
Let us pray…
O Saviour Christ, in whose
way of love lays the secret of all life, and the hope of all people, we pray
for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live
in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate
us, its injustices anger us, it possibilities inspire us, and its vigour renew
us. Pour out upon us a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit; make us bold and
courageous in sharing faith in both word and deed for your Kingdom’s sake we
ask.
Amen
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