Lectionary Reflections
Matthew 21:33-39 (Mark 12:1-8; Luke 20:9-15a)
October 2, 2011

How to End a Parable?
I teach preaching at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas. A couple of days ago in my "Introduction to Preaching" class, our topic was "Do's and Dont's for ending your sermon." There are some definite "Do's" options for an effective ending. Do end with a story that embodies the message. Or with an eloquent, brief statement of your theme. Or, with a question.

There are some definite "don'ts." Don't preach the interstate highway ending where you pass several perfectly good exits but keep on going. Don't preach the Debbie Downer ending in which you revisit the problem after you have offered the good news of God's Grace to face our problems. Don't ever get into the pulpit without knowing exactly how you are going to end your sermon. In his book Preaching Better, Roman Catholic teacher of preaching Ken Unterer says that's like going into a haunted house without a flashlight. And, he says, "don't make a habit of following a moving story with an explanation. Many times, it is more effective to just sit down and let listeners apply it to themselves."

I can't presume to speak for Jesus' theory of how to end a parable. But in reading the gospels we often have the sneaking suspicion that many parables should bear the label in small print "Allegorical ending provided by Mark, Luke, or Matthew." I wonder if Jesus didn't often end his parables with questions, leaving listeners to supply the ending from their own experience.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
The parable of the wicked tenants as it stands in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is an allegory that emphasizes the murder of God's Son by Israel's leaders and the transfer of Israel's privileges to the church. This passage needs to be treated with great care by Christians. It began as a prophetic critique by a Jew to fellow Jews, designed not to damn Israel but to provoke repentance. In the course of Christian history, this passage and others like it became fuel for fires of anti-Semitism. Jews were reviled with the hated nickname "Christ killers," and popes and bishops taught that Jews were less than fully human. Christian teachings against Jews fueled the flames of the "final solution" of the Nazi gas chambers.

A version of this parable appears in the Gospel of Thomas. There it refers simply to a "son," rather than a "beloved Son," which, in Mark and Luke, is a clear reference to Jesus. It omits the reference to the closing actions of the vineyard owner, destroying the tenants and giving the vineyard "to others." Instead the parable ends with the actions of the tenants in killing the owner's son and the question "What will the vineyard owner do?" (12:9a).