Reclaiming our place

Based on Matthew 21:33-46

 

I have had some quite unusual experiences in my working life, but perhaps none so strange as one from nearly thirty years ago. I had just got back to Wellington after spending some time in the South Island and I was looking for work. A friend put me in touch with one of the directors of a new publishing company, and I found myself selling advertising.

 

A sales manager was soon appointed to look after the sales team. And that is when things started to get interesting. I came into the office one day, and the new sales manager, whom I will call Brian, asked me to sit down. And Brian told me that the directors had instructed him to get rid of all the sales reps and leave all the sales to him.

 

I was not overly perturbed. I had not been there for long, and the pay was commission only. I came in a few days later, on a Friday afternoon, to collect something, but Brian was not in. The two directors were there though.

 

And one of them said, “I am sorry things did not work out with you and Brian. We quite liked you.”

 

“What do you mean?” I asked. And they told me that Brian had told them I had thrown my toys and walked out.

 

I told them what had really happened. They were flabbergasted. And we all realised Brian had sent all the sales reps packing so he could take their leads and get their commissions.

 

“Would you be prepared come back say what you have just said in front of Brian?”

 

“What’s in it for me?” I asked.

 

They asked if I wanted to come back. I did not have any better offers, so I agreed to return at a prearranged time. This time, all three of them were there. And Brian looked more than a little nervous to see me stride in.

 

“Darryl, would you repeat what you told us on Friday?”

 

So I described how Brian had fired me and said the directors had instructed him to get rid of all the sales reps.

 

“Is this true, Brian?” they asked.

 

Brian stammered and spluttered and admitted it was. And, to cut a long story short, Brian was pretty much fired on the spot, and I was given his job.

 

Now despite his behaviour, I do not want to be too hard on Brian or seen to be judging him. After all, I am far from perfect. But I did remember this incident while I was reflecting on this morning’s reading from the Gospel According to St Mathhew, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, in which the main characters also face losing their responsibilities and being cast out – actually, it is far worse in their case – for failing to fulfil their obligations.

 

This parable is found in all three synoptic gospels - the Gospels according to St Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke -  with some minor variations. A man plants a vineyard and leases it to tenants on a profit share basis, but they not only fail to hand over the vineyard owner’s share of the earnings, they beat or kill anybody sent to collect them, including his son. Nut we learn that the owner will not let his son’s death go unpunished. The wicked tenants will be destroyed, and the vineyard handed over to new tenants to take care of.

 

Jesus’ parables can often be very cryptic, but not this one. The vineyard owner is God, so no prizes for guessing who the son is. A vineyard is a common metaphor for Israel. And the servants sent to collect the owner’s share of the earnings are the prophets who had been rejected by Israel’s religious elites who are, of course, the wicked tenants.

 

The timing is crucial. If the chronology of text is correct, Jesus had made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem only the day before, which he followed up by clearing the temple. Now he is back at the temple, teaching parables that are directly attacking the chief priests and the Pharisees (a key Jewish religious-political movement of the day). Jesus puts them on notice that their privileged position will soon come to an end. And this will happen around 40 years later, in the year 70 of the Common Era, when Jerusalem will fall, the Temple be destroyed, and the wicked tenants finally driven out of the vineyard. Is it any surprise they now conspire to have him killed?

 

Jesus is specially referring to a situation that existed two thousand years ago, but is there any message in here that has any relevance to us today?

 

I say there is.

 

While the Church may be the body of the Christ in the world, we do not have to look far to see it is not always got things right; any institution with human membership has its flaws, and the Church is no exception. Examples include the Church’s complicity in in antisemitism, war, colonisation, slavery, and controlling and silencing women, and excommunicating and even killing those who questioned and challenged.

 

The latter reminds me of some lyrics by Bob Marley: “How long shall they kill our prophets / While we stand aside and look?”¹

 

And we cannot hide from the uncomfortable reality of sexual abuse by clergy, even though this also occurs in schools, children’s homes, and anywhere else there is a combination of vulnerable young people and predators with power to prey on them. And even though I believe it is a tiny minority of those in the Church who commit such heinous acts, their behaviour impacts badly on all of us.

 

I said this in a sermon several months ago, and I am going to  say it again today; these days, many parents will not allow their children to participate in any church programmes, because they genuinly fear their children might be sexually abused. And can we honestly blame them?

 

However, at least the powers that be in the Church are starting to do something about it. Better late than never. And we too can play our part in putting things right, by standing up for those who have been abused and opressed and challenging unjust power structures that enable and empower abusive behaviours.

 

Jesus puts the religious elite of his day on notice they will be replaced by others who will not ignore their obligations, and in the eyes of many, the Church has already lost its status as as the primary moral and spiritual voice in society and been replaced by more secular commentators.

 

But I have hope. I believe we have not completely lost our place, but we do need to stand up and reclaim it. I believe we are good news for the poor, release for the captives, recovery of sight for the blind, and liberty for those who are oppressed. I believe we have a misison to play our part in establishing justice and peace here and now. And I believe together we can heal a broken world.

 

 

Darryl Ward

8 October 2023

¹        Bob Marley, ‘Redemption Song’ (1980)

All Bible references are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) unless stated otherwise.