Mark 12:1-11 (NRSV)

Then he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.  When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard.  But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted.  Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed.  He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.  What then will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not read this scripture: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'?"

“Beloved son” is the term that stands out to me today.  We know Jesus as the only beloved Son of God.  In the parable story that Jesus tells, it is easy to place Jesus in the role of the beloved son that the tenants of the vineyard seized, killed, and threw out of the vineyard. 

Parables are succinct stories that have no historical integrity but display events so that they have an alternative meaning and a lesson to be learned.  Jesus uses parables to explain situations, and this parable of the vineyard owner is no different.  The vineyard owner has been paralleled with God, and the ones sent to collect the produce are the mighty prophets of old.  Jesus himself is the Son.  The tenants are the world and could be Israel in this case.  Jesus sites for them a psalm that they would easily recognize (Psalm 118:22-23).  The audience would immediately understand that the story Jesus is telling has a distinct meaning for what is about to happen to him.

The tenants have been given great responsibility for the vineyard, which is well equipped with a fence, a wine press, and a watchtower.  God has given us everything that we need, yet we continue to turn our backs on God, not acknowledging all the wonderful blessings.  The world has rejected and killed all the prophets of God and then reject and kill the beloved son.

The call today is not simple.  It involves understanding and accepting the responsibility to care for the creation (the vineyard) that God has provided for us.  In that, we are expected to honor and respect God’s prophets.  It also involves placing Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, at the foundation of our life so that everything else aligns with Him.

Mark 6:1-13 (NRSV)

He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.  On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this?  What is this wisdom that has been given to him?  What deeds of power are being done by his hands!  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?"  And they took offense at him.  Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house."  And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.  Then he went about among the villages teaching.  He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.  He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.  He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.  If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."  So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.  They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

“Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”  This phrase not only stands out to me, it sums up the context of the passage and speaks an incredible truth.  As a priest, it is not very easy to be heard as a prophetic voice in your own home, in your family’s home, or where you grew up.

Jesus has gone home and he took his disciples with him.  Many were astonished by his teaching and healing.  However, in his hometown he lacked credibility and people challenged him and took offense.  Jesus remains surprised that they still don’t believe.

In the context of this passage, Jesus dispatches the twelve and sends them out two by two.  He gives them instructions with a sense of urgency – take nothing for the journey, no bread, no bag, no money, etc…  They went out proclaiming that all should have a change of heart.  They cast out many demons and healed many who were sick.

Since Mark only gives us brief narrative, we must search deep within the text a bit for the meaning.  By not being of any good or having any respect in the hometown, Jesus must widen the circle in which he travels.   He teaches the twelve to rely on the communities and peoples that he sends them to serve.  Without extra provision, the twelve are not weighted down and are able to go from place to place where needed at a moment’s notice.

The call today that I hear would almost be good for a Boy Scout; “Be Prepared.”  However, the preparation isn’t with “provision” like a scout’s would be.  God provides his disciples with what we need to do the task we are given to do.  We are prepared spiritually, by belief and faith.  The disciples travel in the circles away from their homes, prepared to offer a message of repentance and are able to do works of healing and cleansing.  We, as disciples, are to have faith that God will prepare us.