Who wins between the River and the Rock? God is the River. His creation is the Rock. The River always finds a way as it flows on and on, slowly eroding the immovable Rock. 

In the Parable of the Vineyard, Jesus asks Us what the Landowner will do when he arrives at his vineyard and confronts the tenants who killed his servants, workers, and only son. And we respond to Jesus: “he will put those wretched men to a wretched death.” Have we failed to understand the teachings of Jesus? 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. Matthew 5:38-40. 

The River versus the Rock. 

Since the dawn of time, God has been trying to communicate with Us, his creation. With his covenant with Abraham, with his pillar of fire leading Us out of Egypt, with powerful poetry from King David, with signs and wonders and messages from his prophets, and then with his only son, Jesus. 

The River has been working hard to reach the Rock, the stubborn, ironclad Rock. 

God is the River. We are the Rock. Out of an abundance of love, and in an attempt to teach the Rock, the River became a stone, the stone that the builders rejected in fact. 

And as a stone, Jesus tried hard to help us. He traveled far and wide, spreading his father’s message. He shared his wisdom with his students and urged them to continue his work. The River keeps flowing, keeps going, and eventually it will overcome the Rock. 

With that in mind, what must it have been like for Jesus to hear our response to his parable? Jesus must have been growing weary, stressed, and perhaps even feeling self-doubt, asking himself questions like: are they learning? Do they understand? Am I teaching in a way that they can learn? 

John Wooden famously said: “You haven’t taught until they have learned.” 

Jesus had a mission, a ministry, but what if he failed? What if the Rock just wouldn’t budge?

I love how Jesus responds to Us. He asks his question at the end of the vineyard parable, and we say: “he will put those wretched men to a wretched death.” And Jesus simply doesn’t respond, instead saying that the kingdom of heaven will be taken away from those who squander it. 

I think the intended message here is quite clear. The River isn’t here to kill and punish and torment the Rock, even when the Rock is stubborn and difficult. 

What does the River want from the Rock? The River knows the Rock will be happier when it dissolves into the water and joins the River for eternity, if only the Rock will erode, let go of its Rock-ness and join the River as it rushes ever onward. 

So here’s a question: will we join the River, will be become one with the water, will we capitalize on this vineyard the Landowner has given Us to work and prosper in, will we relish in the Kingdom of God? 

What is the Kingdom of God?

The great teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, beautifully wrote: “Christians say that God is in everyone’s heart. The Holy Spirit can be described as being always present in our hearts in the form of a seed. Every time we pray or invoke the name of the Lord, that seed manifests itself as the energy of God. The Kingdom of God is in us as a seed, a mustard seed. If we cannot accept this, why do we say that God is within us? — Thich Nhat Hanh (Living Buddha, Living Christ).

God is the River. We, his creation, are the Rock. 

The River knows the Rock can dissolve and join it because the River made the Rock, the River sculpted the Rock and carried it to the riverbed. The River knows everything there is to know about the Rock. The River loves the Rock. 

I think on some level, Jesus was trying to tell Us this. The Landowner erected this vineyard and invited the tenants to enjoy a life of peace and prosperity, but his servants and workers and even his son could not overcome the stubbornness of the tenants. The tenants cannot see the opportunity that the Landowner had given them to prosper. The Rock cannot see the opportunity the River has given it to flow. Can we appreciate God’s invitation into the Kingdom here and now to have inner peace and joyful prosperity?

The first time Jesus asked Us what the Landowner would do when he returned to the vineyard, we said Punish and Kill. But that is not correct. Just listen to Jesus’ sermon on the mount if you want to know why. 

Remember: God is the River and we are the Rock. The River rushes over, around, under, and through the Rock, trying to dissolve it into tiny minerals that will flow with the River for eternity. But the Rock is stubborn and the Rock wants to be a Rock. 

So, if the River sends rain drops to help the Rock erode, and the Rock is stubborn, the River still loves the Rock. 

If the River sends a hail storm to help the Rock erode, and the Rock is stubborn, the River still loves the Rock. 

If the River sends a tsunami to help the Rock erode, and the Rock is stubborn, the River still loves the Rock anyways. 

The River may be sad that the Rock squandered all those chances at eternal life with the River, but the River is not angry and will not punish the Rock. 

We, the Rock, see those who kill and steal and violate as in need of punishment and pain, but Jesus, the River, sees them as victims of their own stubbornness, squandering their chance at the Kingdom of God, squandering their chance at eternity with the River. 

There is a difference here. An important one. 

Selfishness, cruelty, and malice, are stubborn rejections of the Landowners invitation to work the vineyard and to profit and to flourish. 

The Rock could join the River if only it let go of all that made it stone. We too can join God if we let go of our beliefs and desires and prejudices; our biases and the many divisions that keep Us from the truth. If only we could accept the invitation into the vineyard. If only we could enter the kingdom of God that exists in the here and now. 

If only we could join the River and flow ever onward. 

The Kingdom of God is here now. There is an invitation for Us to enter it here now. The River wants to break Us down so we can be with it forever. 

Are we too stubborn to accept his invitation?

I don’t believe that God takes away the Kingdom of God from Us and gives it to someone else. I think the Kingdom is right here, available to everyone, and we are the ones who reject it. The River is always flowing around the Rock. It is right there. It is never too late to let go of your rigidity, your inflexibility, and accept this invitation. Even crucified on a tree for crimes committed, Jesus was able to forgive the thief so that they could be together in paradise; a Rock was dissolved by the River and welcomed into the Kingdom. Luke 23:42-43. 

It is never too late. All we have to do is let go and join the River.