Fifth Sunday in Lent: Gospel, Luke 20:9-20                           

Luke 20:9-20

The parable Jesus tells his disciples in this week’s reading is about fruit, about trees, vines, and farming. All things his followers would have been familiar with. The parable says absolutely nothing about rottenness, failing harvests or financial loss. Nothing of corruption. On the outside, that is. But there is plenty to be “seen” with the right kind of vision.

You can read the parable for yourself and I hope you will. It is never a pleasant thing to encounter the worst of the human heart. It’s hard to know how to deal with it. I know I sometimes jump to my solutions and those honestly, are never very good. And then I read the words of Jesus and like the Pharisees and chief priests in this story, I realize, “Hey, the rabbi may just be talking about me.” I think that is Jesus’ point. Corruption needs clarity but never breeds it by itself. In fact, corruption clouds the truth. I need the voice of Jesus. And sometimes stories are the best vehicle. And our Savior is a master of story.

I remember how I used to sit at the feet of my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Naylor as she read us stories every day. She was a master storyteller, too. She made fantasy live and made real life come closer. That’s what Jesus does as well. Stories don’t always end well. Happy ending or not, there is always something to learn. Today, Jesus deals with the heart’s corruptions. And his story evokes fear from the hearers. It’s meant to.

Sit at the feet of the master storyteller. And let him work his “magic” in your ears and in your life. He will. I can hear him now.