9 And Jesus began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Luke 20:9-18We are not people who are offended by shameful behavior. Instead, we tend to take the news of people doing shameful, reprehensible, and shocking things in stride. We've become numb to the shame of others and, as a result, unaware of our own shamefulness. The shocking behavior of the tenants in the parable Jesus told doesn't shock us in the way that it did the people who first heard this story. If if did -- or if we'd let it -- we'd be moved to action. Fortunately, our Savior answered our shamelessness for us. Freed from the shame that we tend to deny, we can live radical new lives in Christ that may even shock or shame the world around us.
Click here to listen to the sermon "Answering Our Shamelessness" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).
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