The Prayer of a Pharisee
‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
‘How long will you hide your face from me?’
I am your servant, Lord. I have followed your law all my life. I have kept away from all that is unclean and turned away from impurity. Nothing defiled has touched my lips and I turn my eyes away from woman. Now I cry to you for the sake of my people Lord because they offend you. Why do you not strike down this false teacher? They speak about him all day and the thought of him pollutes my mind. I will go and listen to him, but I will cover my mouth. I will not let his breath touch me nor let his eyes look on my face.
A Parable of a Vineyard
So, I prayed. And as I saw the crowd moving through the Temple I stepped back into the shadows. The Teacher spoke boldly to the chief priests and elders, weaving his story around an old tale: the story of the vineyard. In his parable, the vineyard owner sent servants to collect the produce of the harvest, but the tenants beat them and killed some of them. Worse followed when the owner sent his son to the vineyard. At this point in the account, voices rose in indignation at the idea of the vineyard owner losing his son and heir to the violence and greed of these tenants.
The Teacher looked up at his audience as they gave their judgment on the wicked men. I moved closer as he spoke quietly to them.
‘Have you never read …? ’
They Understand Who Jesus Referred To
Oh yes, we have all read all there is to read of God’s word. We know the Scriptures and we have to admit that the teacher is correct. We have heard the statement he cites, we also know that ‘the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ’and we know that.
‘It is the Lord’s doing.’
They Plan to Arrest Jesus
The chief priests and pharisees drew close to each other, while lifting their robes away as though from some unseen contamination. They understood well that he was speaking of them, and they seethed with indignation, the looks striking him like arrows tipped with venom. They did not voice their thoughts aloud though because they could see the people holding onto Jesus’ words, their eyes adoring him, and they would not risk moving against him here.
Nevertheless, the statement, ‘the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit’ marked the moment of certainty regarding his inevitable fate, as the chief priests and Pharisees began their relentless campaign to bring about his downfall.
My Prayer Is Answered
I stepped back from my brothers and prayed again,
‘How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
‘How long will you hide your face from me?’
A gentle wind passed over me and then this Jesus looked beyond the group and his eyes fell upon mine.
[Readings: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46]
