Arulvakku

08.03.11 JESUS IS TRUTHFUL

Posted under Reflections on March 8th, 2011 by

They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him.  (Mk 12:13-17)

 

 

The Pharisees and the others always wanted to trap Jesus. They question him about Sabbath rules, about authority; ask for signs and so on. They were constantly putting to question and always with the intention of ensnaring him. This was because Jesus was different from the others and different from other leaders who were coming up to redeem the people. There was always something which they could not understand about him.

 

Even the opponents gave a very positive note about Jesus and his dealings. They considered him as a man of truthfulness. He was not a man to be carried away by opinions and views of the people. He was not a man of compromise. He was also not a man to be carried away by people in posts and positions. Jesus was a man who would not be influenced by people of authority and views and opinions of people. For him truth was everything.

 

One of the truths that he preached in this context is that people should not be confused about religion and society. Rather they should not confuse religion with society. Both are important and in fact they are two sides of the same coin. When one is overstressed at the expense of the other then he becomes either fundamentalist or communalist; depends on which one he stresses.   

07.03.11 REJECTED STONE

Posted under Reflections on March 6th, 2011 by

He began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, '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 and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?" They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.  (Mk 12:1-12)

 

 

In this parable Jesus is conscious of who he is and what his mission is and the out come of the mission would be. The people of Israel believed themselves to be the vineyard of God (Is 5: 1ff; Ps 80:15ff). Jesus was aware that he was the son sent by God to work in the vineyard to bring to produce good wine. This consciousness of being the son of God was also accompanied by the facts; the way he was treated by the leaders and how he would be treated in the days to come.

 

Not only Jesus was aware that he was the son of God; the listeners were also aware that he was talking about them. Usually the parables were revealing some hidden messages about the kingdom and the disciples needed explanations after the narration of the parable. Here the listeners, probably the leaders, understood that he was talking about them so they went away angry and they did not do anything to Jesus because of the crowd.

 

'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes' (Ps 118: 20) Jesus entered into the mindset of the Psalmist to thank the Lord for the great things done to Israel. It is a song of victory. (Does the author of the Psalm imply the stone used by the David to defeat the Philistines? Such stones will not be used for buildings. Here it becomes the cornerstone). It is the work of God. 

 

   

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