Gospel reading – Matthew 21:33-46
The German writer Herman Hesse wrote that we hate in others that which resides in us ourselves. What is not in us does not move us either to hatred or love. I suppose this is another way of saying what the psychologist Karl Jung said when he talked about projection – that which we are unable to cope with in others is that which we most hate and fear about ourselves.
We seem to live in a world which is gratuitously violent. The parable in today’s gospel story of the tenants in the vineyard, has a strangely contemporary feel – killing and violence abound and there is no sense of regret, no play of conscience, no stopping to think about the effect our actions will have on other people. We often use power without thinking and are ready to claim our rights without thinking about our responsibilities.
How, in such a world can we live out the Christian vocation of love and forgiveness? How can we forgive people who will exploit our generosity and ‘use’ us? How can we love people who are selfish and thoughtless? How can we love in the face of violence and fear?
The truth of the matter is that here our faith takes us to the very limit of what is possible, and sometimes beyond it. Sometimes we find that we cannot do what Jesus calls us to do which is to forgive over and over again, to love the unlovely. When we come to the point where following Christ’s commands becomes impossible we have to repent – to bring our weakness to God and admit we’ve got to the end of the road. Casting ourselves on God’s mercy, we often find new ways forward. The answer may never be either easy or simple, but it is certain to be some distance from the way of the world which is increasingly sure of itself. To be required to repent and seek God’s forgiveness when you are the one who has been wronged is a nonsense to the world. But it is the Christian way.
Paul believed Christians were living in two worlds: the world of here and now with its rules, regulations and customs, and the world to come – heaven – in which Christians already have one foot. Straddling two worlds – the rough and ready world of now and the perfect and beautiful world to come – is the reality for Christians. Straddling anything is uncomfortable, and we can expect our lives as Christians to be uncomfortable.
The way of the world is easier, but the Christian way brings rewards which are, in the end, more fulfilling and happier. When we pray, let us pray also for ourselves that we will learn to walk the Christian way of humility, learning to love and to forgive again and again.
Amen
Rev’d Dr. Anne Morris
Vicar St. Oswald’s, Knuzden, Blackburn