Holy Monday – Darkness Foretold

Luke 20: 9-16

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹² And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” ¹⁴ 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.” ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’

Thought for Holy Monday

Most of us love stories. Stories can capture moods, rekindle imaginations and allow our spirits to soar. God’s story is one that has the ability to capture the full range of human emotion. Jewish people knew God’s story; as their story was inextricably interlinked with the divine one. They knew its highs and lows. Their scholars could trace the contours and interpret for their current age. When Jesus told the people listening to him this parable; they would have known what he meant. Those first hearers would have known that ‘vineyard’ was shorthand for the land of Israel, and ‘tenants’ for ‘Israel’s leaders’. Jesus told this story therefore knowing it would be a public rebuke to those who were already hostile to him. I wonder what story Jesus would tell about us, and how we would feel about it as he did so.

Prayer

God of hope and pain

God of grace and glory

Help us to hear the story you want to tell

In the Name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.