PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD

Matthew 21:33-46

 33 Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder, who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge about it, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country.

 34 And when the season of the fruits drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, to receive his fruits.

 35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

 36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them in like manner.

 37 But afterward he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

 38 But the husbandmen, when they saw the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance.

 39 And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him.

 40 When therefore the lord of the vineyard shall come, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

This may sound vaguely familiar -- well it is, it is the gospel from last Sunday.  There are probably about a million homily/sermons/directions/discussions one can take from this parable.  It seems to me that many of the husbandmen, Peter Jensen, Peter Akinola, Greg Venables, Henry Luke Orambi, Robert Duncan, John David Mercer Schofield, to name a few have decided that the harvest is ripe and they want it for themselves.  Over the last few years they have captured many of the workers for themselves and have taken much of the fruit.  It is as if we are in the middle of this parable and how I fear for the son of the owner, except in our case he has not come yet -- but is on his way.   When he arrives, if we have not somehow changed these husbandmen (and others like them) the safety of the son is at grave risk!  Those of us in TEC who have seen the results of the husbandmen in the vineyard to date (e.g., hatred of women, persecution of LGBT),  have a responsibility to rid our vineyard of these evildoers -- we must find a way soon for if we do not-- when the son comes he will surely be killed!