Serve the Truth


GospelMatthew 21:33-43 

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?
‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’




If I was in the mood to beat myself up, this would have been a post about how often we are the tenants- abusing, rejecting, even destroying anyone or anything which distracts us from the wages of worldly endeavour.

When we feel challenged by what we think are God's expectations of us it can be easy to let the ego tell us that we are really the ones doing the work; the ones who are in control.

But there are times when we are, genuinely and to the best of our abilities,  doing our best to do some Kingdom building. We may not be the Son but we are trying to be servants and still it all goes wrong. We are criticised; condemned or belittled in our faith. Sometimes the situation we are in is so painful, hostile or political that simply being there is hard enough. Yet we know we have to be there.

Who said being a Christian was ever going to be easy? This Gospel certainly doesn't.

The Church is many people, as Paul says to the Phillipians 'united in conviction and united in love, with a common purpose and a common mind' - when it's at it's best.  We should all be keystones; trying to hold together many situations and relationships.

Like Mother Teresa; we may worry that God trusts us too much. We may even be pleased at our achievements - but it is rejection which will alway prove to be our real strength because rejection teaches us that we are not the ones in control; we do not make the decisions; we cannot 'fix' things or people.

We learn to live, knowing that God lives in us, and that is enough.

No-one else has power over us - not even ourselves. Losing our personal expectations we can lose our expectations of others. We are asked, simply, to plant ourselves in the moment; the person or the situation and allow God to blossom.

wordinthehand2011






Comments

claire bangasser said…
What a great post, Mairie. So much in me to reflect upon. Such a good good post. Thank you.

I really like your closing sentences: Losing our personal expectations we can lose our expectations of others. We are asked, simply, to plant ourselves in the moment; the person or the situation and allow God to blossom.

And, yes, who said being Christian was going to be easy?

Yes to all this and everything else you said.

Thank you ♥
2 October 2011 at 08:01
Mairie said…
Thank you Claire, I appreciate you passing by m+x
3 October 2011 at 14:40
Mari Nuñez said…
Beautiful writing. It touch me from the heart. It is not easy being a Cristian. I like what Mother Theresa said about rejection, it is very true that we are not the ones in control. May God blossom in you, me and all who follow him.

Hugs
6 October 2011 at 09:04
none said…
Exactly. It is so tempting to experience pride, either in the sense that we take full credit for our achievements and don't acknowledge God, or we can be really down about failures and not realize that we need a Savior. But loving God and trusting in Him to blossom our lives brings freedom.
7 October 2011 at 03:02
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Listen

Image
Jesus said: ‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’ Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them. So Jesus spoke to them again: ‘I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so
Read more

The servant’s name was Malchus.

Image
Easter Midrash  An imagined story of Good Friday  "The servant’s name was Malchus." John 18:10 The servant's name is Malchus. I am not dead yet, rather, far from it. I don't know how others felt when they were healed but the inside of a miracle is a place of light and clarity beyond any new dawn. The complex weaving of skin only reflecting the myriad unravelling of thoughts and memories below the surface. Paths of life's story being made straight. My name is Malchus. Named by my mother. Her bedtime tale that I was named after the appearance, in Jerusalem, of regal scholars from the East. Magi seeking a king who had not yet been born. A slave herself, she had stood holding a lamp as the temple priests and scribes argued amongst themselves; no-one wishing to tell Herod that the prophecy was not for his line. When I was born just a few days later, I became her little 'king'. That's what Malchus means. I didn't thank her for it. Growing up
Read more

The Fourth Shepherd

Image
There are many characters in the story of the Nativity but one that we rarely hear of is the Fourth Shepherd. When the angels came that night to bring the Good News, they began with the most unlikely. Shepherds were a tough lot, weathered and self-reliant,  who had to survive out on the hills protecting their flock from the weather, the wolves and their own stupidity.  Once the shepherds had gotten over the shock and wonder of the glory of heaven shining all around them, they immediately wanted to go and find the baby; the lights of Bethlehem beckoned as brightly as the stars – ‘Come and see’. The could barely stop to wrap their cloaks around them. They took hold of  their staffs and each caught a light from the fire.  All except one. One young shepherd remained seated, looking into the fire. When the others asked him why he wasn’t ready, he replied that he was; he was ready to stay behind and take care of the flock. The other shepherds shook their heads w
Read more