When God gave everything he had
Albert Bogle
November 17, 2018
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Mark 12: 1-12
1 Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. 5 Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” 7 But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”?’12 When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.
The story today is a parable that Jesus told about loyalty and faithfulness. The owner of the Vineyard left his property in the hands of people he thought were faithful and loyal. It turns out they were anything but, instead they were out for themselves stealing the revenues and usurping his power. Even when the owner sent his son to mediate, instead of receiving him, they murdered him.
The message was clear for those who wanted to understand what he was saying. So much so that we are told that the religious leaders of the time wanted to lynch him there and then. It was only public opinion that saved him.
The story of God’s redemption and protection of human kind is a costly one. God gave everything. It shows the extent to which God went to rescue his creation. In turn it calls for the human heart to be transformed through self denial and repentance. It is always a costly affair to be faithful to Jesus and his teaching. Bonhoeffer who I referred to earlier this week once wrote “When Christ calls a man he bids him come and die” (from The Cost of Discipleship). In other words discipleship is not cheap.
When God gave Everything
When God gave everything he had
Heaven appeared to have been robbed
The alternate word in the spiritual realms
Tried in vain to infiltrate the streets of heaven
Evil sought to spread fake news
The headline read
The Son has been kidnapped
A power struggle was in progress
Could God ever redeem his creation
Where and how could justice and mercy meet
Who would dare
Carry the guilt
Of Adam and his children
God’s creation project hanging by a single thread called ‘love’
Heaven crossed eternity into time
The Son appeared
Humbled and restricted
Limited childlike
Growing into humanity
Bearing the image of man
He took upon himself the struggle
In the darkness
Evil sought to nail love to a cross
Love within humanity was at its weakest point
Mankind was almost vanquished by the power of the evil word
The father of lies whispering in the dark
But the darkness could not overcome the one true Word
The Father of truth spoke The Word
And the breath of the Spirit
Empowered
The one true Word
In speaking it
God gave everything
And Love
Redeemed creation
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