by Mark Escobar

Created on: January 03, 2010

Readings:  Is 5:1-7; Ps 80:9, 12-16, 19-20; Phil 4:6-9; Mt 21:33-43

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants[1]

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?  Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

One of the old movies which reminds me of today’s gospel is the Wizard of Oz[2] because of its allegorical significance, political satire on the American scene and its symbolism.  It was written in 1900 when the Populist Party’s agrarian revolt collapsed.  This was actually the outcry among Midwestern farmers and industrial workers who wanted to replace gold[3] with silver standard.     

            Those characters in the story have something to symbolize.  These include, however, the scarecrow who represents the Midwestern farmers, the tin man the industrial workers, the cowardly lion who can roar but little else represents reformers like William Jennings Bryan[4] – the orator who failed in his presidential campaign, and of course, Dorothy, who represents the common person.  They all travel along the yellow brick road which symbolizes the gold standard to Oz (abbreviation for ounce) to ask favors from the wizard who is the president and a common man who has power by deception.

            It is in this context that we see the common argument between the role of politics and its implications to our vision and purpose as individuals or a nation.  The parable in today’s gospel has this historical background that tells us the plight of Jewish tenant farmers who originally owned the land but now were forced to work as tenants.[5]  Systems of group and class relations at that time were seen in the context of the Roman control of Palestine.  This is Israel’s story and it has allegorical meaning, too, that provides us with symbolism of God, who Jesus is, his purpose, and what he could foresee as Messiah and rejected Son.  In other words, it is an implicit self reference by Jesus as regards his role in the history of salvation.

            Today is the third time that we have read a parable with the same setting in the vineyard[6] tells

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