Word to the Wise
Friday, March 6, 2015 - 2nd Week of Lent - Fri
[Gen 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a and Matt 21:33-43, 45-46]"Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people that will produce its fruit." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. [Matthew]
Jesus was not afraid to take on the highest religious authorities in Judaism at the time. The chief priests and the Pharisees, however, were two different kinds of authority. The first got their authority from their office in the temple, and many of them were members of the aristocracy and Saducees [accepting only the Torah as scripture]. Their stake in the status quo depended on keeping the Romans happy! The Pharisees were zealous "laypersons" who owed their origins to the time of the Jewish rebellion against Greek rule and culture in the years just prior to Roman intervention in the Middle East (within 200 years before Jesus). They considered themselves to be the only real observers of the Mosaic Law. However, Jesus condemns in very strong language certain tendencies which either arose from manipulation of the law for economic advantage or placing observance above genuine human need.
So the Pharisees and chief priests exercised considerable leadership and had a lot of power. [The scribes were also part of this by virtue of their ability to read and write and conduct correspondence and keep records.] Jesus acknowledges their leadership but condemns their corruption in the parable of the vineyard. He warns them that their position would be taken from them. (Eventually the Romans did exactly that after the Jewish rebellion of 66-70AD.) On their part, they determined to find a way to get rid of Jesus.
This is not just a matter of history. The vineyard was a symbol of God's People and the corruption of leadership endangered the vineyard and the crop. In our own time, Pope Francis has not minced words about leadership in the Church. It is not just a matter of cardinals and Vatican bureaucracy but reaches down to local dioceses and parishes. We are all stewards, not owners, of God's vineyard. The moment we forget that and start defending power positions, we become guilty of the very abuses the Jesus denounced. Lent is a good time to ask ourselves about power and how it is institutionalized or personalized among us. Would we stand up under Jesus' scrutiny? AMEN