The Book Of Mark #57

When a sympathetic friend asked Lincoln how he felt, he said he felt, “Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.” (Source unknown)

All of us know that feeling. Life is filled with disappointments. Most of us will do anything to keep from having disappointments in our lives.

Illus: Representative Joseph W. Martin, Jr, Republican House leader (1925-1967), was often teased by his colleagues about being a bachelor. Representative Clarence Brown liked to say that in his youth, Martin narrowly missed being married and being a millionaire to boot.

According to Brown’s tale, Martin courted a young lady who confided she had a million dollars. Martin asked the girl, "Will you marry me?" "No," she said. He said, "I thought so." "Then why did you ask?" "Just to see what it feels like to lose a million dollars."

Most of us are not like that, we do not like to experience disappointment. But disappointment is something we have to deal with frequently.

In this passage of scripture, we see where it is something that God the Father has to deal with routinely. The Lord speaks about that disappointment in this passage of scripture.

The Word of God says that Jesus began to speak to the people in parables. In this particular parable, the Lord tells how an owner rented his vineyard out to tenant farmers or vine-dressers on a crop basis and then he went to stay in another place.

This would be basically the same thing as “Share Cropping” today. The land owner owns makes an agreement that he will provide the land if the share-cropper will provide the labor.

This is a lot better system than we have today.

Illus: A man named Don Giveaway wrote to the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. The letter reads like this:

Dear Sir,

My friend, Dan Hansen, over at Honey Creek, Iowa, received a check for $1,000.00 from the government for not raising hogs. So I want to go into the "NOT RAISING HOGS" business next year. What I want to know is, in your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to raise hogs on? And what is the best breed of hogs not to raise? I want to be sure that I approach this endeavor in keeping with all government policies.

As I see it, the hardest part of the "NOT RAISING HOGS' program is keeping an accurate inventory of how many hogs I haven't raised. My friend Hansen is very joyful about the future of the business. He has been raising hogs for twenty years or so, and the best he has ever made on them was $422.90 in 1968, until this year when he got your check for the $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs. If I get $1000.00 for not raising 50 hogs, then would I get $2000.00 for not raising 100 hogs? I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself to about 4,000 hogs not raised the first year, which would bring in about $80,000.00; then I can afford an airplane.

Now another thing - these hogs I will not raise will not eat 100,000 bushels of corn. I understand that the government also pays people not to raise corn and wheat. Would I qualify for payments for not raising these crops not to feed my hogs I will not be raising?

I want to get started as soon as possible as this seems to be a good time of the year for the "NOT RAISING HOGS" and "NOT PLANTING CROPS" business. Also I am giving serious consideration to the "NOT MILKING COWS" business and any information you would have on the endeavor would be greatly appreciated. In view of the fact that I will be totally unemployed, I will be filing for unemployment and food stamps, and was wondering how long that process takes.

Be assured, Mr. Secretary, you will have my vote in the upcoming election. Patriotically yours, Don Giveaway

P.S. Would you please notify me when you plan to give out the free cheese again? (Unknown).

We hear a great deal today about these ridiculous programs. But back then and even now, land owners do what this parable talks about. That is:

• The land owner provides the land

• The tenant provides the labor

This seems to be what is taking place in this passage of scripture. This seems to be the agreement these two had. And at harvest time, he sent a servant to collect his share of the crop. Instead of sharing the crop, the tenant (vine-dresser) beat him up and sent him away. When the owner didn’t get his share, he sent a second servant and then a third with the same results. Finally he sent his own beloved son, whom they killed.