Damned

Would you rather be a slave or the heir?

He began to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, 'This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.' So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When they heard this, they said, "Heaven forbid!" But he looked at them and said, "What then does this text mean: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." -  Luke 20:9-18

The slaves get beaten, but the heir is murdered.

Maybe being the heir is not a good idea.

We know this is about the prophets and Jesus, the messengers and the son. So, it is not to be taken literally.

What bothers me is that the tenants thought that by killing the son, their would become heirs. It doesn't work that way, right?

Or does it?

In order for them to become heirs, they have to believe they are children of the vineyard owner. It doesn't say they are, so we assume they are not.

But when it comes to God and Christ, we are all children and, through Christ, also heirs. So, Jesus is saying there is a direct line of inheritance here.

We inherit what Jesus does.

That's good news, maybe the good news of the Gospel.

So, there is a subtle message here about whose we are and who we are.

Finally, when we fail to see who we are, we can stumble, and that is how we damn ourselves.

More to come...