18 Pentecost, Cycle A Proper 22, October 4, 2020
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14 Matthew 21:33-46
We know what an absentee landlord is. It is an owner who wants to collect rent but seems to be rather lackadaisical in showing interest in the property and the property owner. What can happen with an absentee landlord? A tenant with an absentee landlord might be tempted to practice the folk belief that "possession is nine tenth of the law."
An absentee landlord seems to be a rather ironic metaphor for God so we might want to unpack some insights for how it is used in the parable of Jesus.
In what way could God be represented as an "absentee landlord" of the world? This presentation of God shows what I would say how God accepts divine weakness. What is divine weakness? Divine weakness is the permissive freedom of God. God will not over turn real freedom in this world. So God is the owner and landlord of the universe but in freedom God allows human tenants to be in arrears in their rent. God allows tenants to usurp ownership rights. The recent events in our world is proof of a God who values freedom more than direct intervention and interdiction in the affairs of nature and the behaviors of human beings.
God has sent messages through prophets and sages to try to collect rent as a way for earthly tenants to acknowledge divine ownership. But when God accepts weakness as permissive freedom, the tenants of the world have the freedom to pretend that they can deny God's ownership and even try to usurp ownership rights.
Even religious people have permission to pretend that they are the official gatekeepers of the property and they have the freedom to keep people out of a covenant with God.
What is the ancient biblical contract? It is the covenant with God recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. And the most succinct and chief statement of the covenant is what is called the Decalogue or Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments are articles of the rental agreement of this world for humanity. Honor God as the owner of the universe. Don't give ownership to others or create replacement gods. Honor this contract with God by giving God worship time, a Sabbath. Don't use God's name in the wrong way by misrepresenting God as belonging only to you and your club. And if you honor God then you will also be good stewards of relationships and possessions. Honor the family of parents and spouses who make vows. Honor truth and honesty; don't lie. Protect and value life. Respect the property of others. Be content by not desiring what other people have.
This is the basic covenant or renter's agreement with God as the owner of the universe.
The early Christians were a community that disputed the ways in which the members of synagogue were representing God because they believed that some religious leaders were saying you could only know God's favor if you kept all of the purity rituals of Judaism. The early Christians were saying, just love God and your neighbor as yourself. Failure to keep dietary rules, quarantine rules, purity rituals and circumcision rules should not exclude persons from the kingdom of God. The message of Jesus Christ had found a great following among the Gentiles and the Jewish leaders who followed Christ believed that the ancient covenant of God with the Jews permitted the innovation of allowing Gentiles into the covenant without obeying all of the ritual purity laws. They said it was enough that the Gentiles had the Holy Spirit and kept the basic Ten Commandments.
This disagreement over who could claim the covenant with God is illustrated in the parable of the usurping tenants.
St. Paul confessed that he had misrepresented God when he persecuted the followers of Jesus. And when he converted he became the architect of the church for Gentile Christians. When the Gospel of Matthew was written, the Temple had been destroyed, the cornerstone was gone. For St. Paul the new Temple was the body of Christ, the church, and Jesus Christ was the chief cornerstone of the new building of people who would bring the new covenant of Jesus Christ to the cities of the Roman World.
So what is the Gospel for us today? We are reminded that God is the owner of the world and we are God's stewards. As tenants, we need to pay our rent. What is our rent? We need to find devotional ways to indicate that God is our owner. We need to find ways to offer a sacrificial portion of our time, talent and treasure to the values that we understand to be honest to Christ. We hope that you regard your ministry at St. John's to be a part of the way that you honor God as the owner of your life.
Next, we need to remember not to misrepresent God and who God's belongs to. Lots of religious groups are built upon rules of exclusion, as if, God could be limited to such rules of exclusion. Let us be generous to offer the love of Christ to all, just as Christ has been generous to us with grace and forgiveness in our own lives. Amen.
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14 Matthew 21:33-46
We know what an absentee landlord is. It is an owner who wants to collect rent but seems to be rather lackadaisical in showing interest in the property and the property owner. What can happen with an absentee landlord? A tenant with an absentee landlord might be tempted to practice the folk belief that "possession is nine tenth of the law."
An absentee landlord seems to be a rather ironic metaphor for God so we might want to unpack some insights for how it is used in the parable of Jesus.
In what way could God be represented as an "absentee landlord" of the world? This presentation of God shows what I would say how God accepts divine weakness. What is divine weakness? Divine weakness is the permissive freedom of God. God will not over turn real freedom in this world. So God is the owner and landlord of the universe but in freedom God allows human tenants to be in arrears in their rent. God allows tenants to usurp ownership rights. The recent events in our world is proof of a God who values freedom more than direct intervention and interdiction in the affairs of nature and the behaviors of human beings.
God has sent messages through prophets and sages to try to collect rent as a way for earthly tenants to acknowledge divine ownership. But when God accepts weakness as permissive freedom, the tenants of the world have the freedom to pretend that they can deny God's ownership and even try to usurp ownership rights.
Even religious people have permission to pretend that they are the official gatekeepers of the property and they have the freedom to keep people out of a covenant with God.
What is the ancient biblical contract? It is the covenant with God recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. And the most succinct and chief statement of the covenant is what is called the Decalogue or Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments are articles of the rental agreement of this world for humanity. Honor God as the owner of the universe. Don't give ownership to others or create replacement gods. Honor this contract with God by giving God worship time, a Sabbath. Don't use God's name in the wrong way by misrepresenting God as belonging only to you and your club. And if you honor God then you will also be good stewards of relationships and possessions. Honor the family of parents and spouses who make vows. Honor truth and honesty; don't lie. Protect and value life. Respect the property of others. Be content by not desiring what other people have.
This is the basic covenant or renter's agreement with God as the owner of the universe.
The early Christians were a community that disputed the ways in which the members of synagogue were representing God because they believed that some religious leaders were saying you could only know God's favor if you kept all of the purity rituals of Judaism. The early Christians were saying, just love God and your neighbor as yourself. Failure to keep dietary rules, quarantine rules, purity rituals and circumcision rules should not exclude persons from the kingdom of God. The message of Jesus Christ had found a great following among the Gentiles and the Jewish leaders who followed Christ believed that the ancient covenant of God with the Jews permitted the innovation of allowing Gentiles into the covenant without obeying all of the ritual purity laws. They said it was enough that the Gentiles had the Holy Spirit and kept the basic Ten Commandments.
This disagreement over who could claim the covenant with God is illustrated in the parable of the usurping tenants.
St. Paul confessed that he had misrepresented God when he persecuted the followers of Jesus. And when he converted he became the architect of the church for Gentile Christians. When the Gospel of Matthew was written, the Temple had been destroyed, the cornerstone was gone. For St. Paul the new Temple was the body of Christ, the church, and Jesus Christ was the chief cornerstone of the new building of people who would bring the new covenant of Jesus Christ to the cities of the Roman World.
So what is the Gospel for us today? We are reminded that God is the owner of the world and we are God's stewards. As tenants, we need to pay our rent. What is our rent? We need to find devotional ways to indicate that God is our owner. We need to find ways to offer a sacrificial portion of our time, talent and treasure to the values that we understand to be honest to Christ. We hope that you regard your ministry at St. John's to be a part of the way that you honor God as the owner of your life.
Next, we need to remember not to misrepresent God and who God's belongs to. Lots of religious groups are built upon rules of exclusion, as if, God could be limited to such rules of exclusion. Let us be generous to offer the love of Christ to all, just as Christ has been generous to us with grace and forgiveness in our own lives. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment