Phillipians 3:8

Reflection for October 2, 2011

Reverend Marguerite Sheehan, First Parish of Northfield and The Unitarian Universalist Church of Winchendon

Scriptures:

• Philippians 3:8
  More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus My Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…

• Psalm 19:7-10
  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple….The commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening our eyes…More to be desired are they than gold even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings from the honeycomb.

• Matthew 21:42
  J esus said to them, Have you never read in the scriptures” “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes?”

Meditation:

Over the years I have come to sit up straight when the Gospel begins, as this passage of Matthew began, with the infamous words “Listen to another parable.” Parables teach us through a sometimes painful, sometimes joyous, bending of our minds and hearts. Nothing is the way it seems but inside the center, or around the edges, or underneath the surface is a precious gem. This parable, coming on the heels of the equally challenging one of the man with the two sons, starts off as if Jesus was sitting around with some buddies trying to impress each other with a wilder story. Have you heard the one about…..

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it out to tenants and went to another country…” Sounds pretty tame, until the landlord comes back and starts demanding that he be given his produce and the tenants start slaughtering the slaves who have come to pick up the goods. The landlord does not walk right over to the vineyard himself to get his goods but sends his son (oh these sons are always getting into tight spots) and the son is first tossed out of the vineyard and then beaten to death. Then comes the question (like the Zen master, there is often a question.) “Now when the owner comes what will he do to those tenants?” The listeners, including the religious leaders, came up with an equally violent response “He will put those wretches to a miserable death..”

Jesus does not join in on their retribution theory but sends them back to the Scriptures that have guided him and are supposed to guide them. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” The Kingdom of God will be taken away from the learned ones in power and will be given, not to the landlord, but to the people who produce the fruits – otherwise known as the workers in the field, the ones who the tenants had slaving for them. Surprise!

The power is now reversed, or as Paul, a Pharisee himself, says in his letter to the Philippians, “ For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” What I had, I lost and I now have gained the treasure. What I rejected, has now become the cornerstone and I am shocked. The decrees of the LORD are sure and the wise are not made wiser but are made simple. The decrees of the LORD are more desired than gold. What the tenants thought was the best stuff, worth killing for, was actually a ruse. The God that Jesus loved does not cordon off a small patch of the earth, nor does he dig a wine press that is so valuable that a watch tower needs to be erected to protect it. The God that Jesus loved has always been much more enamored with the workers in the field and the stones which were rejected. A miserable death is not needed unless all of us, who are so busy protecting our stolen stuff, die off in misery when we find that what we had protected to the death is actually worthless. Then the God who Jesus loved is merciful enough to offer a second chance. We, like Paul, can take a loss on our lives, and win the lottery instead. It is sweeter than honey and sweeter than the drippings from the honey comb. It is amazing in our eyes! Now listen to another parable.

Prayer:

Oh Trickster God we thank you today for not giving in to easy solutions by just wiping out our wicked impulses but instead help us stretch our minds and our hearts so that we are enticed by the dripping honey of your teachings, to give away everything that we have grabbed in our lives. It is amazing! “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you O LORD, my rock and my salvation.”

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