Lent 5 C
Judgment Sunday
Luke 20:9-20
13 March 2016 – Redeemer
The Sundays all used to have names – Latin names. We’ve lost the names and now all we have is numbers – the 5th Sunday in Lent was known as Judica Sunday – “Judge” Sunday. And today’s readings lead us to make judgment.
In today’s Epistle reading Saint Paul made a judgment – Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him. We call that judgment faith – Paul discounted everything he saw in his life – his birth, his place, his power, his pleasures, his pastimes, all that was before his eyes is “rubbish” compared to what he could not see – Christ Jesus his Lord and being found in him.
That really is the message of the parable Jesus tells in the Gospel reading – God has sent His men and His Son looking for faith in Him, and in the end, when no faith is found there will be judgment – God’s judgment. He will take that vineyard away and give it to others.
Once again it is important to know the setting of the parable – it takes place just a few days before Jesus will be crucified. The officials of Jerusalem had made a judgment about Jesus – either he had to go or they would go and they had already made their judgment. Jesus was going. He was a dead man. Now they just had to find the opportune time to kill Him. Jesus tells the parable not only to warn us, but also to proclaim God’s patient mercy. God does not want to condemn any sinner. He is patient beyond measure, but if you want nothing of Jesus, God can do nothing for you.
The parable is about a vineyard and this vineyard is God’s Old Testament people Israel. God chose Abraham and his descendents. He cleared out the promised land and under Joshua and the judges He planted his people there. He gave them homes they didn’t build and olive groves they didn’t plant. He was the Owner of the Vineyard. It was all His and He had given it to them to use. Like many rental agreements, especially in agriculture, the owner gets a portion of the crop. At harvest time the rent is paid.
What did God want in return for His gifts to His people? Faith. That was the fruit He wanted – that His people would believe and trust the He and He alone was their God. God sent the prophets and they called for faith. They constantly reminded the people that their life, their land, their existence, belonged solely to the Lord God of Israel.
But how did the tenants act? Like they owned the place. It’s not an uncommon problem that renters think they are owners. It’s my body and I can do with it as I please (only if you don’t think God gave it to you.) It’s my religion and I’ll design it myself (only if you don’t think Jesus really died and rose again to forgive your sins). It’s my life and no one is going to tell me how to live it. (only if you don’t believe that God gave you life and Christ redeemed your life.)
Whenever we confess the creed, we are confessing that we are tenants not owners. When we confess faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are confessing that whether it be gifts from below – like food and clothing, our bodies and families, or gifts from above – like forgiveness, and eternal life – we are confessing these are all God’s. They are not ours to do with as we please, but His which we care for as stewards and tenants. Whenever you sin – you’re claiming ownership over something that is not yours.
That is what the tenants in the parable did. The owner sent his servants looking for fruit. And the tenants – slammed the door on the first one, beat and humiliated the second one, and the third one they wounded seriously. To give you an idea how Israel treated the prophets – Jeremiah was stoned to death and Isaiah was sawed in two.
What is behind Israel’s killing of the prophets? They made a judgment call – they judged that the Lord God was too distant to care what they did. They judged that His graciousness meant He wasn’t interested in a harvest. They judged the vineyard was theirs and not his. They judged that He had so much He would never want to collect rent. We call this judgment unbelief – that God doesn’t care about you, that He has given you all His gifts so that you can do with them as you please, that this is all yours and not His.
Now, if you were the landlord, would you be feeling any love toward these tenants? Every time one of your servants comes back your workman’s comp rates doubled, because being one of your servants is dangerous to your health. How many months would you put up with no rent? How many times would you let your servants be beaten? What would you do? You’d call the sheriff, bring the whole squad, kick ’em out, evict them, file charges, be done with it.
But like so many parables, this landlord is not like you, because the Kingdom of God does not operate like the Kingdoms of this world. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ The grace of God is found in that little word perhaps – perhaps they will respect him. Perhaps if I send my own Son they will see how much I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. Perhaps if I send my own Son they will come to faith and be saved.
Jesus Christ is of course the Son which the owner sent. The Son of Man came to earth to carry out His Father’s love, to bestow not only every created gift, but the spiritual and eternal gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Ironically the Son comes to hand over the keys of the vineyard – to give you the Owners gift of life – the wellspring of forgiveness, the Vine of life, the harvest of the resurrection.
The Son came exactly where God promised He would come – through Israel and to Israel. He was standing in Jerusalem as He spoke these words in the hearing the Chief Priest, Elders, and Scribes. What owner would have sent His son to an ungrateful bunch of tenants? None other than our Father in heaven above.
And what happened when the Son drew near to the vineyard. ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ The leaders of Israel did not want to lose their place – Jesus must go and so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. It was a judgment call – they decided in favor of themselves and against Jesus.
When the people heard this parable, they exclaimed, “Surely not.” God forbid the tenants would kill the son. May it never be that the tenants consider themselves owners. Two days after this parable was spoken Jesus carried his cross out of Jerusalem. The tenants killed the Son.
But the death of the Son was not the end – the Owner took the vineyard and gave it to others – to you. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The death of Jesus for the sins of the world, brought life once again to the world. The Son rose to life on the third day and you were planted into His life in baptism. His men still come with His Word calling you to faith in Him, believing that in Jesus God has made His judgment for you. He has decided you are worth the life of His Son. That’s his judgment of you – in the name of Jesus. Amen.