The Good Landlord ~ Matthew 21:33-46 ~ Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

For over a decade I’ve lived in rented homes…which is why the most interesting job I’ve ever had was working for a landlord, cleaning apartment buildings.  When a tenant moved out, I cleaned their apartment to get it ready for the next tenant.  Some days, I had to work really hard—because not all people are good stewards of the landlord’s property.

Some apartments were filthy enough to be considered bio-chemical weapons labs…  Other tenants apparently turned their apartments into a petting zoo.  And one tenant must have had strong moral objection to recycling—due to the nearly ten dozen liquor bottles I found hidden away in cabinets and closets. 

That’s the problem with a landlord-tenant relationship—tenants can and do abuse their landlord’s property.  All the time, we’re given charge over property that doesn’t belong to us: when you go to work; when you utilize a public facility.  This church doesn’t belong to any of us—even though we have a great deal of control over what happens to it.  But the abuse can go the other way, too.  If you own rental properties or a business with employees, you are not without tremendous obligations to your tenants, employees, and clients.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks a parable of tenants who abuse the property of their landlord.  They lease a vineyard from a landowner.  This is a good vineyard, as far as vineyards go: it’s already planted.  There’s a wall around it; as well as a winepress and a watchtower.  Everything the tenants need for a bountiful harvest is provided—all they have to do is tend it.  They would then be entitled to a portion of the harvest in exchange for their labor. 

With sufficient rain, the vineyard would become productive within 4-5 years of planting.  This is probably the time the landlord sends his slaves to collect the landlord’s fruit.  But the tenants assassinate the slaves.  Hoping to finally reclaim what’s rightfully his, the landlord sends his son—but the tenants assassinate him, too, so they can have the vineyard and all its riches for themselves. 

Jesus spoke this parable as a scathing indictment against the chief priests and Pharisees, who themselves were tenants of God.  They were well-educated in Holy Scripture; they had charge over a religious institution that existed to nurture God’s people in faith and community.  But they abused the power and privilege that God had given them.  Instead of bringing God to the people; they exploited the people in God’s name.  They lived lavishly off of the tithes, offerings, and sacrifices of faithful Jews, most of whom lived in dire poverty. 

Jesus knows full well that these religious elites would rather kill him to protect their power and privilege, than submit to his authority.

The reason why is simple human nature: we don’t like being tenants to anyone.  I can say this honestly as someone who’s never owned a home.  We like ownership—because then, we’re in control.  Ownership is the power to use and abuse, as we see fit.  Private property for maximum private benefit…

But today, Jesus tells us very plainly that we’re tenants.  Everything we have belongs to God—ourselves, our time, and our possessions.  The world belongs to God.  Therefore, we do not have the right to exploit and abuse what isn’t ours.  Everything we have, we hold in trust.  Everything we have comes from God, so that we can live life and participate in God’s gracious will for the world.  It’s all about stewardship—using what God has given us to build up our neighbors and lead them to Christ.  God wants nothing less than for everyone to live in peace and enjoy their daily bread.

If, on the other hand, we exploit and abuse God’s gifts; and we reject God’s purposes; we’ll be swept away when God’s Kingdom comes. Like it or not, there is a cost to abusing God’s gifts.  It is because of sin that two thirds of the world lives in poverty, while a vast majority of wealth is held by an extreme minority.  It is because of sin that human beings wage war on each other because of race, religion, or any number of reasons.  Most of the world’s problems are manmade.  Civilization cannot exist if it’s every person for themselves.

But in spite of all its problems, this world belongs to God.  It is God’s vineyard—and we are God’s tenants.  That’s good news!  God is a gracious and merciful landlord.  Laboring in the vineyard brings us right directly into everything good that God’s doing for the world!  It’s good to be owned by God. 

We’ve all heard the old cliché that the things you own end up owning you.  That’s true not just for commitments and material possessions, but also for our troubles.  Whether it’s good stuff or bad stuff; the more we own, the more we’re controlled and consumed by that which can bring us fleeting happiness at best.

The life of a disciple, on the other hand, may not be the most glamorous life—because it’s a simple life, lived for the sake of others.  It is a life of trust—for since we God’s own, God will take care of us.  By laboring in God’s vineyard, God will use us and the gifts in our trust to do more than we could ever ask or imagine.