The many parables that Jesus provided always aimed to challenge his
audience in some way, either about their way of life or their view of reality,
especially when their treatment of others jeopardized their participation in the
kingdom of God. The parable of the vineyard in Mark’s
gospel is no exception. This parable is an indictment of the religious leaders at the time. The parable calls attention to their unjust
and cruel treatment of the prophets who came before Jesus. The parable also aims to reveal their
murderous intentions toward Jesus himself.
Toward the end of the parable comes the prediction of their ultimate
fate because of their evil ways.
Given the hindsight of a modern reader, all of this seems rather
obvious with little meaning or application for us today. After all, prophets seem to be an Old
Testament phenomenon and Jesus was long ago killed by others. Thus, how this
parable might apply to us today does not seem very obvious.
Consider, however, the last line of the parable that declares the
vineyard will be taken from the original tenants and given to others. Our modern hindsight tells us that ”others”
in this case refers to those who follow the way of Jesus, that is, the way of
love and mercy. In that sense,
responsibility and care for the vineyard belong to all those who come after
Jesus and live in his Spirit.
Consider also that, in this parable, the vineyard is a symbol for the
kingdom of God. Our modern hindsight
tells us that the kingdom of God is not a place, but a way of life. We know that we are called to that way of
life today by Jesus as much as he called those during his time on earth. And, like those of long ago, we too are
tempted to reject that calling and follow false gods, for there are many false
gods vying for our time and devotion.
Those gods make it easy to forget our true calling.
False gods also make it easy to forget that prophets do not belong to
Old Testament times alone. A prophet is
one called to bear witness to the message of God. By virtue of our own baptism, we today are
called to be prophets. Jesus calls us in
a special way through baptism to bring his message of love and mercy to all
those with whom we have contact, especially to the vulnerable members of our
communities. This is what it means to be
a prophet—to bear witness to the message and love of God with our lives.
Doing for the least of God’s children
is the same as doing for Jesus himself.
Jesus called not only the ancient Jewish people to treat others with
love and mercy, but he has called us to do the same. We have received that
instruction through the two great commandments of love for God and
neighbor. This is the principle to guide
our lives and conduct as much as it was for those during the time of Jesus. For
this reason, the parable of the vineyard has as much meaning and application
for us today as it did long ago.
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