A recent trend in Biblical studies has been to look at the book through a socio-scientific lens. What were the political, social, economic realities the lay behind the Biblical stories? Take, for example, Jesus’ parable of the landowner who planted a vineyard. It reflects that condition of absentee landlordism that was common during first century Palestine. Rich landowners bought up large tracts of land to raise cash crops of wine and oil for export. The subsistence farmers were reduced to seeking wages from these plantations since they could no longer survive on their own. That background helps to explain the desperation that drives the decisions of the workers: the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. The final act of killing the son makes no sense unless you see that the tenants felt their very survival was at stake. The parable looks very different when seen from the point of view of the “have nots” on the low end of the totem pole. How are we to interpret the parable given this background? First, it is important to note that Jesus was not condoning the economic imbalance but merely using the situation people were familiar with to make a point. What we can say is that Our Lord did not look on violence as a way to correct the social disfunction. In our current environment when we are at a privileged moment to confront systemic racism and economic injustice the parable suggests that a turn to violence will not be productive. The example of Dr. King and the lessons he gave in non-violent action demonstrates that real change is possible if we “keep our eye on the prize” and practice a peaceful insistence on living up to equal justice under the law.
