Matthew 21,33-46,2026
\nSend us your Spirit of wisdom, O God, so that we may hear your Word
\nspeaking through the Scriptures with ears that understand and hearts that
\nrespond in love. Amen.
\nIn this week\u2019s parable, Jesus, according to Matthew, is using the familiar
\nimages of the vineyard and the unfaithful managers of the vineyard
\nYou know the story.
\nA landowner plants a vineyard, digs the winepress, and does everything
\nelse you\u2019d need to gather in a decent harvest.
\nThen he leases it to tenants to run things while he goes away.
\nWhen the harvest comes in, he sends his servants to collect his due, that is
\nthe share that is owed him because of legal possession and industry.
\nThe tenants beat, stone, and even kill his servants.
\nAnd when he sends more servants and the same thing happens, he then
\nsends his son and the brutes kill the son as well,
\nThe tenant\u2019s hope is that if there\u2019s no heir, and the landlord stays abroad
\nuntil he dies,
\nThen maybe they\u2019ll inherit the vineyard and keep the extra produce not just
\nfor one season but forever.
\nIt seems like a kind of harebrained scheme
\nMakes you wonder how these misguided tenants ever think they\u2019re going to
\nget away with it.
\nDon\u2019t they realize that eventually it\u2019s all going to unravel?
\nJesus seems to think so.
\nBecause after telling this parable, Jesus, at least according to Matthew,
\nasks the critical question:
\n\u201cWhen the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?\u201d<\/p>\n
2
\nThe Pharisees and the chief priests, fall for the trap Jesus set hook, line,
\nand sinker
\nWhat do you think the landowner will do? Jesus asks
\n\u201cHe will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to
\nother tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.\u201d
\nAnd then the religious men realize they have passed sentence on
\nthemselves<\/p>\n
The landowner had given much
\nAnd he expected obedience
\nPart of what had been given away was to be given back to him
\nOne lesson from this parable is that the promise of God, given to the
\nIsraelites, was to be taken to those beyond that nation
\nAlthough we are not Israel, we are still God\u2019s chosen
\nWhat does this parable mean for us?
\nThe landlord expects the servants to do more than hoard the harvest
\nThey are to do something with what they have been given
\nWhat have we been given?
\n1) Faith
\n2) Institutional church to support us
\n3) Inter-church Faith community that cares for and about one another
\n4) The freedom to openly be children of God
\n5) The freedom to choose how to serve God
\nWe have a lot
\nIn return we are expected to be obedient
\nTo do justly
\nLove mercy<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
And walk humbly with our God
\nWe are also expected to give back what we have been given
\nThere may be times that we slip up
\nThere may be times that we think we don\u2019t deserve another chance
\nOr that other believers don\u2019t deserve a second chance
\nLogic leads us to the same conclusion as we heard in the parable
\nWhat will the owner do? (we have the chief priests\u2019 answer)
\nKill them and let the vineyard out to others
\nThe chief priests are pronouncing a sentence on themselves
\nIn contrast to this, what did the landowner who is God, do?
\nGod brings the son back to life
\nAnd God continues to be responsible for us
\nWe are fed at the table he provides
\nWhen we forget that the gifts of God are not ours to hoard
\nGod gives us another chance to practise giving<\/p>\n
God brings the son back to life
\nIn Jesus we see the man of God who changed the face of the world
\nHe spoke of a great vision
\nOf the Kingdom of God
\nThis kingdom is not merely the kingdom that will one day come
\nIt is here and now
\nJesus has come to be among us
\nHe is the son who was sent
\nThe son who was killed
\nBut praise be to God he is the son who is risen again
\nIn his kingdom we find freedom, love and peace<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
In Jesus we are able to rediscover humanity
\nSo that we are filled with new riches
\nSo that we can give one another new courage in our lives
\nWe remember how he spoke to people about a lost coin
\nAbout a sheep that had strayed,
\nAbout a lost son
\nOf all those who are lost and no longer count,
\nWho are out of sight and out of mind,
\nThe weak and the poor
\nAll those who are captive, alone and unloved<\/p>\n
We recall that he went to search for all who were lost
\nFor those who were saddened and out in the cold
\nAnd how he always took their side
\nWithout forgetting others
\nAnd that cost him his life,
\nBecause the mighty of the earth
\nWould not tolerate it
\nAnd yet he knew that he was understood and accepted by God
\nHe saw himself confirmed by God in love
\nAll this we remember as we observe the Lord\u2019s Supper today
\nWe remember that we are called by Jesus
\nWe are fed by Jesus
\nAnd that we are commissioned by Jesus
\nHow does knowing Jesus, the landowner\u2019s son, change us?
\nKnowing Jesus helps us to see that everything we do counts
\nSomeone who lived her faith that way was Therese of Lisieux<\/p>\n
5<\/p>\n
She wrote of \u201cthe little way of childhood\u201d
\nFor Therese, God is Father
\nShe referred to God as Papa, probably much like Abba
\nIt is because of God\u2019s great love that we have confidence
\nThat we are like brothers and sisters together
\nAnd we follow this way of love, modeled on a child\u2019s love
\nShe said
\n\u201cIt is not my great desires that please God, but the way I love my littleness\u201d
\nWhat is our littleness that we can love and offer to God?
\nBeing faithful day by day
\nTaking part in the work of the volunteer organizations
\nBeing the small church congregation where each one counts
\nGiving faithful offerings to causes beyond ourselves
\nIt is simply living in the presence of God
\nAnd so we bring to God our daily prayers
\nAsking to be helped to see and appreciate the gifts given to us
\nWe pray for the troubles we know of, big or small
\nWe use the talents we have for God\u2019s glory
\nWe sing
\nWe listen
\nWe share
\nWe give
\nOur little way of childhood is not an inferior way, or something that second
\ngrade Christians practise
\nIt is realizing that we live our life, all of our life, in God\u2019s service
\nOur daily devotional practise is one way we observe the little way of
\nobedience<\/p>\n
6
\nWe Reformed Christinas are people of the book. Sola scriptura (scripture
\nalone) was the historic rallying cry
\nOur Reformed tribe cherishes scripture and so we read the Bible in
\nworship, have pastors learn Hebrew and Greek and carefully exegete it, we
\ngather in groups to study it, memorize it and analyze it in order to
\nunderstand it.<\/p>\n
All this activity is good but has a shadow lurking behind it.
\nWhat if all our study and attention to the text never leads to listening, to
\nhearing the God who speaks?<\/p>\n
For centuries, Christians have read scripture with awakened ears, listening
\nfor the voice of the living God.
\nThe practice the church used to listen to God\u2019s voice, digest the word and
\ninhabit the story was called lectio divina (divine reading), and is making a
\nwelcome comeback.<\/p>\n
Lectio divina is a fancy Latin term for the age \u2013 old Christian practice of
\nreading God\u2019s word meditatively for the purpose of attending to the living
\nvoice of God in scripture.
\nIt is process that involves slow reading of the passage out loud
\nReflecting upon the images and questions that come to mind as you read
\nMeditating and waiting for God to speak to you
\nIt is reading and savouring scripture, reading it a living document
\nUnderstanding it to be part of a conversation, not reading it as a static text
\nthat is removed from you<\/p>\n
7
\nThe little way of Therese of Lisieux has us read scripture, and as we hear
\nGod speak, we have this insight to bring to the reality of our lives<\/p>\n
As we find ourselves struggling to relate fairly in this world that God has
\ngiven
\nWe look to God for guidance
\nTo enable us to be what we need to be, to be faithful consistently
\nWe are given the spirit of God
\nWe are given the gift of prayer and praise
\nWe are given the body of Christ, the church
\nWe are given the sacraments in which we come together as family, as
\nbrothers and sisters at the table of our Lord
\nWe break bread together
\nOrdinary food
\nA small meal for those following the little way
\nWe share the wine, the fruit of the vine
\nAnd so
\nWhat we do in the memory of Jesus
\nWho was filled by the Spirit
\nA living and effective sign
\nOf salvation and wholeness
\nA sign of mutual and honest love
\nA sign of freedom, peace and righteousness for all
\nA sign of love for God our liberator<\/p>\n
Prayers of the People<\/p>\n
8
\nGlorious God, remind us of your glorious deeds when we feel we are lost
\nin the wilderness. When we and those we love experience times of
\ndisappointment and sadness; times of broken expectations (name
\nparticular situations)…
\nWhen we are doubtful and uncertain \u2026 When we are grief-stricken \u2026
\nWhen we cry out, \u201care you among us or not?\u201d… break into our lives like a
\nmighty stream, so that we can no longer deny or question your presence.
\nRush into the hearts of those for whom we pray (insert names) with your
\nhealing power and love.
\nAnd buoy-up your prophets (insert names) as they provide new hope, new
\nperspectives, and new understandings.
\nMay they look past our complaints to receive our sincere love and
\nadmiration for their ministry in your name. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Matthew 21,33-46,2026 Send us your Spirit of wisdom, O God, so that we may hear your Word speaking through the Scriptures with ears that understand and hearts that respond in love. Amen. In this week\u2019s parable, Jesus, according to Matthew, is using the familiar images of the vineyard and the unfaithful managers of the vineyard … Continue reading “Printed Sermon for Sunday October 4th 2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t