Possession

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday October 5, 2008, the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 19-23
Psalm 19
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

There’s an old expression, possession is nine-tenths of the law. We’ve all heard it. This passage shows one example of how this works. In the parable, Jesus says, “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’” This sounds off to us, squatter’s rights doesn’t seem appropriate. But in this time, if the landowner dies without an heir, the tenant farmers would have a claim to become the new owners of the land.[1] Doesn’t seem right to us, but in the day it was the law.

Since possession was nine-tenths of the law, these wicked tenants were ready to cash in the final tenth.

And just to add one more proverbial log to the proverbial fire, the landowner provided a great vineyard for the tenants. There were vines in it, a fence around it, and a watchtower over it. There was even a press dug to accept the grapes to begin making wine. This is the Cadillac of vineyards. This is the place in Napa or Bordeaux that you find on the Travel Channel and on the Bloomberg Business Network. It was gorgeous and it was open for business.

No wonder they wanted it. It was fruitful; no wonder they were willing to take it. At the point of a sword, they were willing to take it.

Some would say they deserved it. After the hard work is done, the landowner sends his slaves and then his son to collect his produce. Matthew’s version doesn’t say “collect his share of the produce,” it says “collect his produce.” Considering the tenant’s perspective and the popularity of absentee landlords, some would say the tenants did earn it.

Let’s switch gears. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul shows who he was, and who he is now.

Paul had everything a Jewish man could want. He was everything a Jewish man ascribed to become. He was circumcised on the eighth day, showing that he was an Israelite by race, by birth. He was not a convert to the faith. He was not a newcomer to the faith. He was born into the tribe of Benjamin, a virtuous position because Benjamin was one of Jacob’s favorite sons. A virtuous position because the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to the house of David.[2] He received these gifts of status for no other reason than by virtue of birth.

And if this were not enough, he earned more on his own. When known as Saul, he was a zealous persecutor of the church of Christ. In Acts we learn he was present at the stoning of Stephen, and that he approved of it.[3]

He was righteous under the law. He was a Pharisee, a sect renowned for adherence to the law and every regulation that pertained to it. They were faithful and sincere Jews who earned their righteousness according to their good actions. And this is where Paul tells the church at Philippi what his earned righteousness was worth.

“Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord.” Paul goes on to say that all of the righteousness that came from his birth or the law he now regarded as rubbish.

Oh, and rubbish is the gentle term. Dung[4] is a better, if more graphic, translation.

Paul came to know that all he was given by his parents, status, education, even Roman citizenship which isn’t even mentioned in this passage, is for naught in the light of knowing Jesus Christ as the risen Lord. Paul tells the church at Philippi that he has no righteousness of his own that comes from the law, but he is given righteousness in Christ that comes through faith, the righteousness from God based on faith.

Just to say this one more time, Paul has nothing of worth, nothing of value, and nothing of righteousness except what comes through faith in Christ. Righteousness is from God based on faith alone.

So back to the parable, historically, this parable is interpreted as an allegory. We plug in God the Father as the landowner and Jesus as his son. The slaves the landowner sends are the prophets of Israel. The tenant farmers are the leaders of the temple, the chief priests, the elders, and the Pharisees. The vineyard and the fruit are the kingdom of heaven.

All of the vineyard imagery ties back to the prophet Isaiah talking about the Lord planting a vineyard.

Jesus’ question to the Pharisees and their reply to Jesus harken back to Nathan’s accusations against King David’s adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah—as well as David’s response.[5]

The parable is a window into the temple at the time of the Christ and the people who run it. They are seen as taking what they will in their own righteousness to lift up themselves as much as they lift the Lord. The temple leaders, the chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees take what they think they earned; they take what they think they deserved. They take what they do for the righteousness of the law, the righteousness they understand.

But Paul tells us there is a better way than to take dung from the heap. People take; the Lord gives. Saved by grace through faith, the Lord our God, God in Three Persons gives us righteousness. Paul shows us that what we receive in Christ is far greater than all we can ever take for ourselves. Christ’s righteousness is greater than all we can ever take or earn for ourselves.

The wicked tenants know what they want, they know what they think they deserve. But when challenged by Jesus, the allegorical tenants of the vineyard, the Pharisees, know that these wretches will be put to a miserable death. They even begin to know that taken righteousness is no righteousness at all.

In 1983, a rock band called The Police recorded the quintessential love song of the early 1980’s. “Every Breath You Take” was number one on the Billboard charts for eight weeks in North America and four in England.[6] This song was the theme for proms all over America. Couples danced to this at their weddings. It’s haunting melody and wonderful vocal made couples everywhere say, “That’s our song.”

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you

All right, it’s lovely. It misses something without the melody, but there’s a reason Kenny sings and I don’t. But if you think the last line of each stanza is a little foreboding, that’s nothing compared to the next two verses.

Oh, can't you see
You belong to me
Now my poor heartaches
With every step you take

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

This isn’t a love song; it’s a song about possession. This isn’t romantic; it’s a theme song for stalkers. Grotesque obsession, not love, oozes from this song. This obsessive behavior is the fate of those who seek the righteousness this earth gives. Taking is not about righteousness, it’s about possession.

About ten years ago, a woman who used stolen credit card numbers to feed her habit was given six months in jail and five years' probation with the condition she did not touch her drug of choice: Beanie Babies. Tamara Dee Maldonado of Marina, California was sentenced by Judge Jonathan Price after pleading guilty to four counts of commercial burglary. She said her obsession with the beanbag toys began when she worked as a cashier at McDonald's and had to stuff Beanie Babies into Happy Meals. She was soon ordering for herself by telephone, using her own credit cards and, eventually, stolen cards.

Her ex-husband, Gabriel Maldonado, told police she threatened to run off with their young child if he did not bring her discarded credit card slips from his job at a hotel. She used the information to buy $8,000 worth of rare Beanie Babies at area stores. When arrested, police found 206 Beanie Babies at her home.[7]

Jesus teaches the Pharisees that their obsession with possessing power and prestige in the temple is as big of a waste as this woman’s obsession with Beanie Babies. Paul shows us a better way. He shows that what we receive by the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ surpasses what we could ever earn or take. What is valuable in the kingdom of heaven is not what we take, not what we possess on our own, but what we receive from the Lord Jesus—righteousness that alone is God’s.

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible. Leander E. Keck. General Editor, Vol. VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, page 414.
[2] Ibid, Vol. XI, page 526.
[3] Acts , 7:58, 8:1
[4]Brueggemann, Walter, Cousar,Charles B., Gaventa, Beverly R., Newsome, James D, “Texts for Preaching, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV, Year A.” Louisville: Westminster-John Knox Press, 1995, page 512. The New Interpreter’s is more vivid recommending “excrement” (page 527).
[5] 2Samuel 12:1-14
[6] Sumner, Gordon, “Every Breath You Take.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Breath_You_Take, retrieved October 4, 2008.
[7] From news services, “Beanie Babies Fan Gets Six Months for Credit Card Account Fraud,” The Washington Post, November 21, 1998, A11 found at Homiletics Online, http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?item_topic_id=2721, retrieved October 4, 2008.