Rebellion Has Consequences

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟔, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟑𝟕:𝟑-𝟒, 𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟑𝐚, 𝟏𝟕𝐛-𝟐𝟖𝐚

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟎𝟓: 𝟏𝟔-𝟐𝟏 “𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟐𝟏:𝟑𝟑-𝟒𝟑, 𝟒𝟓-𝟒𝟔

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞” (𝐯.𝟒𝟐) 

          Many summers ago, rebellion became a fad – whether one rebelled against parents, teachers, peers, school, the system or just about anything regardless of whether this was called for or simply an act of defiance to show that one belongs to an exclusive circle.

          Rebellion in the 60s and 70s was the macho thing to do. Youths rebel for no reason at all – they just want to belong to that clique of tough-looking guys. I clearly remember those days when we will dress differently when we come to school with our sleeves rolled and the edges of our button-down shirts tied like a knot to make us look tough.

          As times passed, this form of fancy rebellion was replaced by something more serious – drugs, alcohol. It starts with a sip from a beer bottle or with small initial snort of methamphetamine. Addiction to these substances and alcohol could be because of rebellion or merely from a wrong turn. And unless one realizes it in the nick of time, these acts of rebellion always have consequences.       

         I also remember the time when a tenant of mine to whom I entrusted the management of my rice field just abandoned my farm and left without saying a word nor did he even bother to turn over my rightful share from the income of the farm.

         But these things are ordinary fare among farmland owners and tenants and those who are familiar with farming can easily relate to this parable. Vineyard owners in this parable do not actually manage their vineyards and the same goes true for some farm owners in the Philippines today.

         In my case my property was being tilled by a tenant who gets a third out of the income from the harvest which was at least two times a year. This is one of three ways by which a farm or a vineyard can be operated. The other two ways is either to rent the vineyard or the farm or to get a fixed amount out of the harvest.

         As a lessor, I pay for all the costs of the farm inputs including the grains or seeds that are to be planted, and my caretaker merely watches over the farm to make sure that it is free from snails and to keep stray animals away.

         The parable today speak of the vineyard which is the nation of Israel and God is pictured as the vineyard owner. Here we see the generosity of God in providing for everything that vineyard workers will need to make their work easy. The tenants are the religious leaders of Israel. The messengers whom the owner sent and who were killed were the prophets sent by God to proclaim his kingdom. And the son who the workers also killed was none other than Jesus himself.

         In the same way, we can look at the world that God created for us as our vineyard. The Book of Genesis tells us that God provided everything that we need to live on this planet and this parable highlights how much God trusts us as he gave us the authority to “𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝.” (𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟏:𝟐𝟖)        

        And while the parable speak of God’s patience as the owner sent his messengers one after the other which was typical of his character in 𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐭 𝟕:𝟗 “𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝; 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬…,” it also tells us of his judgment when he took the vineyard from the tenants and gave it to others.

         Similarly, we will also experience God’s judgment when he takes away from us the task that he gave us to do and there is a danger we may even suffer the consequences of “𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟑:𝟏𝟎)        

         Jesus in this parable may have been referring to the tenants as the religious leaders of Israel, but he could also be referring to us on account of the rebellious spirit that is present in us. As the religious leaders of Israel rejected Jesus and his teachings, we too stand accused of rejecting Jesus when we persist in living in sin which is a deliberate opposition to God.

         As with the vineyard workers, God also gave us the freedom to run our lives the way we choose it. Some of us may have spent our lives in the way that God wants, but as with the tenants we may also be wasting the gifts that God has given us to be productive and make something of their lives.

         And again, in this parable, Jesus gives a preview of his coming passion, death and resurrection when he spoke of the son of the vineyard owner being killed by the tenants. As with the religious leaders at that time and with some of us today, Jesus is still suffering this kind of rejection from those who rebel against the Will of God.

         Because of the influence of the material world that we are in, we abuse the freedom that God gave us as we go about our own way unmindful of the underlying truth that we were all created in the image and likeness of God. And we remain oblivious to the fact that when we persist in our rebellion and disobedience to God, we are declaring war on God and turning ourselves into his enemies.        

         What we are forgetting is that Jesus who is the stone and the rock of our faith whom the religious leaders have rejected and whom we are rebelling against today because his ways are incompatible with the carefree lives that we want to pursue has become the cornerstone who is the source of our salvation.

         Jesus knew he would be rejected and killed but he also knew that the glory of resurrection and his ascension will spring from his being rejected. With his death on the cross which has conquered death and evil and, with the Holy Spirit dwelling in us following his ascension to heaven Jesus has poured out on us the many gifts as with the tenants in this parable and he assures us that we will all bear fruit if we will only remain in him.

         As he entrusts us with the tools to enable us to work in his vineyard – our Church and Community – he also enjoins us to “𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐧.” (𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟓:𝟓𝟖)        

        There is only one problem, however, and that is we cannot abuse the patience and generosity of the Lord. Despite the evil that the tenants showed, the Landlord sent his servants whom the tenants manhandled, and some were killed until the Landlord sent his son and heir whom the tenants also put to death. And Jesus posed a question as to what the owner of the vineyard will do and they answered, “𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡.” (𝐯𝐯.𝟑𝟓-𝟒𝟏).        

        This parable should remind our legislators in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the Philippines that to espouse and support the so-called “death bills” that remain pending is a form of rebellion against God because these pieces of legislation will eventually stamp out not just the flow of life, but it will ultimately destroy the family.

        In the same way, our government officials must also be aware that stealing from the government coffers for personal gain as what many of our elected and appointed officials have done is also a form of rebellion against God as it goes against the grains of honesty, accountability and transparency.

         What they are forgetting is that when God chose to become a human person by incarnation then it presupposes that there must be something good and beautiful in the human body such that these death bills like legalizing abortion, divorce, same-sex marriage will destroy not only the flow of love among families but it will also cut the flow of life which is integral to the cycle of life designed by no less than God Himself.

         Jesus ends the parable saying the Kingdom of God will be taken away from the unrepentant sinner, the stubborn, the unbeliever, those who will reject his Son and will be given to whom God’s Grace will flourish.

         Indeed, rebellion especially when it is committed against God carries with it terrible consequences. And in the pursuit of the work we do especially in response to our mandate to spread the Gospel, we will face trials, challenges and persecution but the victory is ours if we stand firm on the cornerstone – Jesus Himself! (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 6, 2026)