TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

5 October 2008

Readings: Is 5:1-7; Ps 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; Phil 4:6-9; Mt 21:33-43

Parable of the Wicked Tenants1

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this
been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God
will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

One of the old movies which reminds me of today’s gospel is the Wizard of Oz2 because
of its allegorical significance, political satire on the American scene and its symbolism. It
was written in 1900 when the Populist Party’s agrarian revolt collapsed. This was
actually the outcry among Midwestern farmers and industrial workers who wanted to
replace gold3 with silver standard.

Those characters in the story have something to symbolize. These include,

however, the scarecrow who represents the Midwestern farmers, the tin man the
industrial workers, the cowardly lion who can roar but little else represents reformers like
William Jennings Bryan4 – the orator who failed in his presidential campaign, and of
course, Dorothy, who represents the common person. They all travel along the yellow
brick road which symbolizes the gold standard to Oz (abbreviation for ounce) to ask
favors from the wizard who is the president and a common man who has power by
deception.

The parable in today’s gospel has this historical background that tells us the plight
of Jewish tenant farmers who originally owned the land but now were forced to work as
tenants.5 Systems of group and class relations at that time were seen in the context of the
Roman control of Palestine. This is Israel’s story in miniature and it has allegorical
meaning that provides us with symbolism of God, who Jesus is, his purpose, and what he
could foresee as Messiah and rejected Son. In other words, it is an implicit self-reference
by Jesus as regards his role in the history of salvation.

1
Hester J. 1992; W. Herzog 1994. See also Patterson (1993:1238-39) for a similar reading of the parable in
Thomas. This parable originally was told to express the plight of Jewish tenant farmers who originally
owned the land but now were forced to work as tenants. It appears in all three Synoptics (Mark 12:1-12;
Matt 21:33-46; and Luke 20:9-19). It tells the story of Jesus’ death in an indirect and polemical way. It is
understood in the context of Jesus’ death.
2
cf. Wikipedia, free encyclopedia online. It is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American
author L. Frank Baum and further popularized by the classic 1939 movie.
3
Ibid. It is a monetary system in which a region’s common media of exchange are paper notes that are
normally freely convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold.
4
(March 19, 1860-July 25, 1925) was the Democratic Party nominee for Pres. of the U.S. in 1896, 1900
and 1908, a lawyer, and the 41st U.S. Secretary of State under Pres. Woodrow Wilson. One of the most
popular speakers in American history, he was noted for a deep, commanding voice.
5
Hester J. 1992; W. Herzog 1994. See also Patterson (1993: pp 238-39) for a similar reading of the parable
in Thomas.
 Today is the the third time that we have read a parable with the same setting in the
vineyard6 since we read the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt 20:1-16) and
the parable of the Two Sons (Matt 21:28-32). The allegory7 tells us that those tenants
represent the Jewish nation, especifically Israel’s religious leaders who, throughout their
history rebelled against God. Those represented by the servants are the prophets who
were sent to the people, but they were not accepted. Instead, they were persecuted and
killed for bringing God’s message to the people. Then, God sends his only beloved Son
who represents Christ but they did not accept him as their Messiah and they killed him.

Given this kind of structure of Jesus’ analogy in the parable, 8 it makes clear that
Jesus sees his own death in this way as the climax of his public ministry. This prepares
us too for the season of Advent – the coming of Christ for our salvation. And he came
with one mission to gather us together as a new people of God, the church. Politics in the
context of selfishness and lack of faith in Jesus came out as the major issue that makes
clear the consequences of rejecting him.

Like many other prophetic critiques in the OT, this story in the parable is like an
indictment of Israel’s leadership especially those Temple leaders and the Sanhedrin at that
time; Jesus’ counterattack against the Jewish leaders for their pride, selfish desires,
rebellion, and insensitivity to his teachings.

If we come to think of Jesus’ kingdom parables we are focused on the truth that
God expects his church to grow. As a church our major response is to live our lives for
the sake of others. This is the main thing that keeps us from making decisions and acting
in diverse ways that help our community of faith bear more fruit. Selfishness is the
villain of the game.

With the gravity of financial crisis these days since the Great Depression in
tatters, let us stand on the cusp of being people-oriented, welcoming the diversity of
thought, lifestyle and heritage in our culture. Let us get to the bottom of our human
conflicts or whatever misunderstanding we have before we toss in the towel. In this way
we grow in the wisdom of our faith and bear fruit9 in a variety of results. God bless you.

6
In Isaiah it represents Israel and many have assumed that that is its meaning in the parable, e.g. the
vineyard (Israel). The tenants are the religious leaders and the landowner’s slaves are the prophets whom
they rejected.
7
a). It is the representation of abstract ideas or principles by character, figures or events in narrative,
dramatic, or pictorial form. A story, picture or play employed, such representation. John Bunyan’s
Pilgrim’s Progress and Human Melville’s Moby Dick are allegories. b). A symbolic representation.
8
Brevard S. Childs. Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. 1992. Minneapolis: Fortress. P
345. As suggested by some scholars, the parable is about the divine commitment to his people and the
unbelieving response of rejection.
9
The word fruit, or a variation of it, is used 50 times in the NT and refers to a variety of results. Each one
of the following is considered by God to be fruit: repentance (Matt 3:8; Lk 13:5-9), practicing the truth
(Matt 7:16-21; Col 1:10), answered prayer (Jn 15:7-8), and offering of money given by believers (Rom
15:28), Christlike character, and winning unbelievers to Christ (Rom 1:13).