Today, we hear a parable that Jesus
addresses to the elders of the Temple and the Pharisees. This parable portrays a situation that was
well known to those living in ancient Israel, of absentee land owners living outside
the area. Traditionally in our modern
era and in much of church history, we have interpreted this parable in an
allegorical sense, in which God is seen as the landowner and Jesus is seen as
the son. This interpretation makes sense
to us in the light of our faith, in the light of Jesus' death and resurrection,
and in the way he was rejected by most of ancient Israel.
However, we can also see this parable
as a true-to-life description of a peasant uprising against an oppressive
landowner. In this view of the parable,
we would be forced to examine our attitudes toward the use of violence in the
context of landowners, inheritance, and the oppression of the poor. This parable portrays the futility of
violence and demands a more productive and peaceful response to the problem of
oppression. It makes us think of the
non-violent, direct action responses to our contemporary situations of
exploitation and oppression.
The kingdom of God will be given to the
people who will bear much fruit. By
calling ourselves followers of Jesus, how are we bearing fruit in our lives? How are we working toward justice and peace
in our own communities and in the world in general? How are we working against oppression and
violence? Are we working toward opening
the kingdom of God to all on earth, not seeing it as a kingdom that is reserved
only for a privileged few? We can help build the Kingdom of God here by extending
ourselves in love, respect and solidarity, by making the ideals of the kingdom
of God more of a reality in the world rather than just a lofty vision.
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