Note: Each Thursday, I'll be looking at one of the lectionary passages for the upcoming Sunday. Today, we're looking at Matthew 21:33-46.
I often imagine what it would be like if Jesus' life played out in the here and now. In fact, I already have the trailer for that movie in my head. It's set to The Killers' "All These Things That I Have Done" and, I'm not going to lie, it's pretty awesome.
Even more than pretend movies, when I read passage like this week's Gospel reading from the lectionary, I wonder how we would react to Jesus. How would the church today misunderstand him, fear him, and take offense at what he says? The distance between us and the gospels allow us to be more selective in our hearing or slather some theology on Jesus' teachings that make it easier to go down. As a result, we often don't think we would be bothered by what he said.
Yet in Jesus' day, the cream of the religious crop found themselves on the outs with Jesus. Why do we think that it would be any different today?
(I should pause and say that I would consider myself far less creamy than the top of the crop, but considering that I attend seminary and blog about faith a good bit, I can't exactly excuse myself from the religious category of which the Pharisees were a part.)
You or I might nod our heads and think, "Yep, there are definitely those in the church today that wouldn't recognize Jesus or take to his teachings, but not me." Yet before we do that, we should probably remember that "Not me, Lord" was a frequent and hollow refrain among the disciples; guys that initially just did not get it.
In this passage, Jesus pointedly tells the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to those that produce the fruit of the kingdom. It's a theme that pops up now and again in Matthew: the idea that a person's citizenship in God's Kingdom is identified by the outgrowth of their lives. It can be seen most prominently in Matthew 7:15-20. Good trees bear good fruit. Bad trees bear bad fruit.
It is a point that seems obvious, but Jesus brings it up again and again. Why? Seemingly, the places that were expected to bear good fruit were actually producing a rotten crop. Conversely, the good fruit was coming from some unexpected places: tax collectors, prostitutes, uneducated fishermen, Gentiles, etc. The Kingdom of God was populated with scores of women and men that the religious would never identify as citizens of God.
I cannot help but wonder about how this parable plays today. If we can know someone is following God by producing the fruit of the kingdom, I would suspect that there are citizens of God's Kingdom that would blow the minds of you, me, and the religious establishment. People on the margins, perhaps people that are declared unfit for life in the kingdom from pulpits, people that we might not consider Christian but are nonetheless: unexpected citizens of God's Kingdom from all walks of life.
But you know what? That reflection on these unexpected citizens is a bit of deflection. Ultimately, the crux of this parable comes back on me, back on people that consider themselves religious or people of faith or, today, Christians. Though I believe with all my heart that grace is what saves us, we are called to live a life worthy of our calling.
The fruit of the kingdom must be evident in my life. I cannot ignore that Jesus is angry at the Pharisees in this passage. They are supposed to be the ones at the forefront; demonstrating who God is. But they're just messing around. I don't want to do that. I do not want to be content with religion and private devotion. I want to bear fruit that identifies me as part of God's people.