Sunday, October 4, 2020

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Revised Common Lectionary passages for the Lord’s Day are:

First Reading: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Psalm 19:1-14
Second Reading: Philippians 3:4b-14
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:33-46

The liturgical color for the day is: Green

On this World Communion Sunday, we are given this story that Jesus tells in the Gospel of Matthew.  It is about the landowner who goes to great length to build this incredible vineyard.  Everything needed to produce great wine, juice, and jam is there.  He entrusts that vineyard to tenants who will tend it, reap from it, and share in it.

When that landowner sends his agent to collect that share of the profit that is rightly the landowner’s what happens?  The tenants resist.  They set up this clash between the rightful owner and themselves.  They insist on keeping it all for themselves.  They will even kill if that is what it takes. 

For their own economic gain, they will disregard the structures of covenant and community and take what they want.

It is the place where competition rules the day.  It is the place where community is tossed out.  Rather than living in community and relationship with the landowner they would rather have it their own way and take anything and everything they want.

This is a cosmic clash—one we continue to live on a grand scale.  On the one side is economic greed and competition.  On that same side is violence and destruction.  On the other side is community and relationship.  On that side is respect and regard or others.

Those stewards choose to break relationship with the landowner.  Their values are wrapped up in what they can get for themselves.  Their values are all wrapped up in having it all and sharing nothing with anyone else.  Their values are all twisted, and they are not interested in the covenant relationship they have with the landowner. 

And those values are reflected in their posture.  When the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.”  Their posture is closed—they are wrapped up in their own selfish gain.

There is an alternative posture: we see the way of God.  The cross was the cosmic open arms of God reaching all the way out and all the way down through the love of Christ to grasp us all.  The cross was the cosmic open arms of God swooping us all up and showing us that we have a place at the welcome table.

The cross was the cosmic open arms of God inviting us to choose what we will value in this age and in the church.

Rev. Dr. Daris Bultena
General Presbyter and Stated Clerk