2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11
23 But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth.24I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith.21So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit.2For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained?3And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you.4For I wrote to you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.<!
Forgiveness for the Offender
5 But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to all of you.6This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person;7so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.8So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.9I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything.10Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ.11And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Mark 12:1-11
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
12Then he began to speak to them in parables. ‘A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watch-tower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.2When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard.3But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.4And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted.5Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed.6He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, “They will respect my son.”7But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.”8So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.10Have you not read this scripture:
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;*
11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?’
After boasting about my blog routine yesterday, I totally left it behind today in order to walk in wild country with my brother who is awaiting a liver transplant. Back at my desk I have time to give a brief resposnse to today’s readings. In the first, Paul reflects on the aftermath of a dispute(which may be documented in his first letter to Corinth) in which he has insissted that a member of the church should be severely disciplined by the other members. Pauln now recommends wholehearted forgiveness of the one who has been punished, so that he may be restored to faith and community. The restoration of those who offended is a key aspect of the life of Paul’s churches because Jesus, the Lord, was also treated as an offender, suffered (unjustly in his case) punishment, and in his own ministry, welcomed sinners.
Jesus’ parable about the tenants was doubtless meant to refer to Israel as God’s vineyard. Arrogant people who recognise neither justice nor God, far from seeing the sending of the owner’s son as a mark of consideration, see it as an opportunity to gain ownership for themselves. God will give his kingdom to others who have been rejected by the arrogant tenants, namely, the gentiles. The verse about the rejected stone is popular in the gospels and can be applied either to Jesus himself or to the Jesus community. The choice by God of rejected people is a frequent source of wonder and thanksgiving in the early christian communities as it should be in churches today.
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