Yours, Mine and Ours… Or God’s?
Anyone who has been around a young person who has recently learned to talk will recognize the one-word cry: “Mine!” Often said about toys or treats, it is applied to anything and everything that young person claims… which can be almost anything within eyesight. “Mine… mine” is a claim that can escalate from a simple plea to a screeching demand if the young person is ignored. And, when met with a rebuke, can often cause that young person to dissolve into tears or crescendo into a full-blown temper tantrum. Most of us learn very early in life that possession is nine-tenths of the law. And yet, the parents of those same children who scream out their claim to some object will often find that same item lying abandoned and ignored not thirty minutes later when some other object has captured the young one’s interest and attention. Adults are no better sometimes. Even our interest and attention can be just as fleeting… just as shallow… and as fickle as a young child’s.
Jesus tells the story of a vineyard… a vineyard that belongs to God… and the tenants to whom it has been entrusted. The story, of course, is directed toward the Pharisees and the Sadducees… as our story last week was… for they are the leaders of this community of faith. God has entrusted them with God’s kingdom on earth… the vineyard… and given them all that they need to be secure… and content... as God’s tenants. This vineyard is not a passing fancy of a wealthy owner. This is a vineyard into which the owner has invested a lot of money. It has a fence around it. It has a wine press built into it. And it has a permanent watchtower constructed to keep predators at bay. These are all signs of permanence… and all things that are designed to help the tenants care for the vineyard. But somehow, these tenants have gotten it into their heads that the vineyard belongs to them… and they do not want anyone telling them what to do with it… even the owner! So, they work together to eliminate anyone who is sent by the owner… even the owner’s beloved son.
Of course, when we look at this parable set in the first century from the comfort of our place in the twenty-first century, we can clearly see that the tenants were out of their minds. We can see that they did not own God’s vineyard and that first slaves to be sent to the vineyard were the prophets that God sent to call the people of Israel back to righteousness. One by one, they were all killed… martyred in their efforts to restore Israel’s relationship to God. Then, yes, God sent his own son in yet another attempt to save his people. Even that did not work, for they also killed him. But, we say, this is not a story that applies to us. It is simply one that we can read and say, “Yes… yes, that did happen and they should have known better.” And then we can go on with our own lives without adjusting the volume on our television sets or moving from our recliners.
And, if we do so, then we will be as surprised as the Pharisees to learn that we, too, have been negligent and even abusive in our claim of the gifts that God has entrusted to us. How surprised we will be when God tells us that what has been entrusted to us will be taken away and given to others… and we will be left with nothing! For that is what happens to those who claim what God has given them for their care belongs to them… and they are not accountable for their stewardship of these gifts.
The author, Henri Nouwen, was born to a life of wealth and privilege in the Netherlands. At the tender age of twenty-five, he was ordained a Catholic priest and given the gift of a jewel-encrusted golden chalice by his uncle who was also a priest. Henri always felt a call to the contemplative life and his more than forty books, which are read and quoted extensively by Catholics and Protestants alike, focus on the spiritual life. After a very successful career at the Menninger Foundation, the University of Notre Dame, Harvard University and Yale University, he accepted a call to be the pastor for “Daybreak,” a residential community for the developmentally disabled in Canada. In the final decade of his life, he wrote of the insight he gained into life and faith through those whom he served in this simple community. This call, which many believed was a big step down for him, was, in his own eyes, the pinnacle of his career. He believed this call was a greater challenge for him and that he gained more than he gave to the residents in this community.
What have you done with the gifts that God has given to you? And it is not just the tangible gifts of which I speak. In listening to a final interview with Henri Nouwen captured on CD this week, I heard him ask whether we treat the brains that God has given us as “trash receptacles,” allowing anything and everything that modern culture throws our way to clutter our minds… or whether we practice good stewardship of those minds by carefully monitoring the books and television shows that we consume. Do they teach us something or cause us to grow spiritually? We could apply the same logic to the gift of our bodies. When Billye Jones and I were sitting together in her living room comparing notes this week, we both agreed that, had we been aware of how important our health was when we were young, we would not have abused our bodies the way that we did as young adults. Better stewardship then might have given us more options for service now.
What are you doing with the gifts that God has given you? Do you treat your body… mind… and soul as though they were things that have been entrusted to your care by God… for you to care for in his absence… or do you treat them as if they are yours to treat as you please? Would you take better care of your body… your mind… and your soul if you knew they belonged to God and that someday someone would ask you to account for your care of his gifts? Over and over, the Bible tells us that all we have belongs to God. Perhaps today, we should begin to act as if we believed that was true. Perhaps today, when we come to the table, we should bring all of God’s gifts with us and lay them at his feet, rededicating our lives… body… mind… and soul… to him. I wonder how our lives would change if we did. Amen.
Matthew 21:33-46