4/26/10- Mark 12:6-12 Disowning the Heir

6"He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
7"But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven't you read this scripture: " 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
11the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
12Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. (Mark 12:6-12)

(Workers in a vineyard- helektov.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/workers)

 This parable is historical, but it is also very much alive.  This was a prophecy by Jesus that he would be disowned and killed by the people that were given stewardship of the faith.  We do injustice if we talk of the wickedness of the tenants who killed the Son (in false thinking that they could take over the vineyard), but do not apply it to our day.  Of course, this applied to those who were not good stewards of the truth of God in their day.  But it also applies to our day.  The church is not an institution to be owned, manipulated, split, and harmed.  Rather, it is God's church.  Christ is the Head of the Church.  Yet, there are some in the seminaries, in the pulpits and in the pews who act like they own the church.  I have heard some say, "My family paid for this church brick by brick."  I have heard ministers talk about "my" church (probably carelessly).  I have heard writers who sit in offices paid for by the church deny the resurrection and divinity of Christ.  In a way they are killing the heir all over again.  The     decline of the Church in the west is a living out of this parable.  It is a decline in the belief in the heir- the Son.  It is a decline in following his way of love- and splitting the Church so the ones doing the splitting might be in control and "set the church straight."  The church can be restored if we had two things- more faith in the Son and more love for each other.  Without these two things- the church will not exist and the vineyard will not bear fruit.  We must not disown the heir.  Rather, we must proclaim Him and follow Him as Lord!

Prayer: Apart from you, we can do nothing, Lord.  Help me to grow in my faith in and love for you. We pray for faith, faithfulness, and love in your Church, Lord.