The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew

Jesus said, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence round it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants^[a] to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than at first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;^[b]
this was the Lord’s doing,
    and it is marvellous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”^[c]

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.   (Mt 21: 33-46)

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Jesus is laying a story on the chief priests, and Pharisees, and quite obviously, at that. The landlord  in this story is God, of course. The tenants are the chief priests, the scribes and the religious lawyers. The servants who are sent by the landlord to collect the rent, are the prophets of ancient times  – killed for telling people the error of their ways – and the son of the landlord, of course, is Jesus himself.

The religious leaders had been trusted with the care of Israel, but had seized it for themselves. And they see Jesus as a real threat to what they have going on.

This story tells us that Jesus already knew he was going to die. And the people he is talking to?   The truth is, they can’t change . They are as much prisoners of the system as are the poor.  They might,  if they really, really, wanted to – change – but it would call for too great a sacrifice. 

One man who did  manage to change, of course, was Paul. He had been one of them.  As he says here, he had been one of the religious elite. He had been part of the power structure. He had persecuted Christians. He trod the same road as those who crucified Jesus.    He had been one of the elite, but ironically, had been a slave to the law.

Confronted by a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus,  he turned his back on a lifetime of  worship of the law,  and followed Jesus.  He realised that despite all that he did to obey the law, it hadn’t been able to save him.

Today, he tells us that he has given everything up for Christ, and counts all his past achievements as garbage.       And he  has no regrets.   He says, “Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ.”

“Christ showed me,” he says, “That what I once thought was valuable,  is worthless.”

Have you been following the stories of the heads of huge corporations?  Those  who have been caught  stealing vast sums of money from the companies they ran?  Sums  so vast that their companies collapsed around them?

Did you read about how one family looted the company they ran, of hundreds of millions of dollars? The prosecutor says they used the company as a personal piggy bank.

The main culprit is the  family patriarch, who is seventy-five years old.  He has already lived past the average lifespan for males in North America. 

And yet, this man who could be called to his judgment any day now, is still robbing and lying and accumulating loot.

“What is a man of seventy-five going to do with hundreds of millions of dollars?”  He can’t spend it in his lifetime. It isn’t to leave to his family,

because his sons were riding the same illegal gravy train.

We are not talking about making a comfortable life for yourself here. We are talking about greed for greed’s sake.

Did his greed blind him to all sense of proportion?

He is going to die someday soon. Probably in prison. Hello???

How is all that money going to help him then?  Doesn’t he know he will have to answer for everything he has done?  And soon. And he too will realise, too late, that what he has valued is truly worthless.

You know I read something that really made me sit up and take notice the other day. It was written about near death experiences, by a surgeon who has been present at many of them. 

You know what usually happens, don’t you?  The person’s heart stops, usually during surgery, but sometimes in the patient’s hospital room. The doctors rush to revive the now ‘dead’ patient using those paddles placed on the chest. They do it a couple of times and the patient’s heart starts beating again.

When they have come around enough to be able to talk, some of them tell of having gone toward a bright light, meeting dead relatives, or even meeting a Christ-like figure. They report feeling a deep sense of peace, and happiness, and they usually say they will never again be afraid of dying.

You have heard these stories, haven’t you?

Well this surgeon says that when he questioned patients about their near-death experiences, he found that  for  over half of them it wasn’t so wonderful at all.

These people reported  seeing dreadful landscapes, lakes of fire, and horrible figures – demons – for want of a better name – and intense fear. It was terrifying!

When they have had more time to think about their experiences, they decide not to tell anyone,  as they are ashamed to talk about it.   

The people to whom Jesus was preaching – the same ones who would ultimately crucify him- were hanging onto power. They were hanging onto their perks. They were probably even scheming to add to what they already had, and just like those modern day criminals, we have talked about,  they were apparently oblivious to the fact of their inevitable journey from this world to the next.

And to the coming judgment.

But Paul doesn’t fear judgment. He isn’t living his life out of fear of retribution. He has come to love Jesus, and enjoys telling about it, and he wants his friends to continue to find joy in their faith, and,  in their lives.

And he very emphatically warns those friends in the church in Philippi,  against those who would enslave them to Jewish laws. He says that knowing Christ is enough.

Now our Old Testament lesson today recounts the Ten Commandments.  Does what Paul is saying mean they are no longer needed? If Christ is enough? 

A big emphatic, “ No!.” Those laws are still valid.

But if you look at just a few of them  you can see that you could look like you are obeying all those laws, and still not be a good person.

Do not worship any God except me.  Well we know there aren’t any other gods, don’t we? So that’s an easy one.   

But even though you may not worship Baal, or any other heathen god,  there may be things in your life that you put before God.  Think about the things that take up all your time and a lot of your money?  If you  give inordinately – if you sacrifice  – time and effort, and money, to something, then isn’t it a god, to you?

Do not misuse my name. This refers back to when it was thought that knowing someone’s name allowed you  to use it against them in magic.  I think that using God’s name in vain is an insult to God. You could avoid doing that, and so be on the right side of this commandment,  but still have a filthy mouth.

Remember the Sabbath. I remember people who would never work on the Sabbath. But they never went to church either. They didn’t use the Sabbath in the way it was meant to be used. They didn’t work on Sunday but they  sure didn’t keep it holy.

Respect your father and mother. It’s possible to respect your father and mother, but not to really care for them.

Do not murder.  I know of instances where a person’s life has been almost destroyed by lies, and yet the liar could claim never to have murdered.

Be faithful in marriage.  We have read sad stories of  couples whose public face has been one of  marital accord, and have heard later of terrible abuse that went on behind closed doors. And yet the abuser could claim never to have committed adultery. 

So you get the idea.

Sticking to the letter of the law is easy.  What we want is people who stick to the intent of the law.

And the intent of the law?

Well Jesus summed that up when he told us: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. And  Love your neighbour as yourself.

The religious leaders obviously didn’t do this, and yet, they would say they obeyed the law in every way.

And so have today’s leaders, corporate and political. How many times have you heard, “ Everything I did was within the law.”

Tell that to the shareholders and bond holders, and the banks left holding worthless paper.    And the employees now without jobs, and with pension funds ravaged.

And did they enjoy doing what they did?   Do they really feel fulfilled?  Do they consider they have contributed something noteworthy to  this world?

And we?  We who try hard to live as Christ did, and find ourselves falling back at times; discouraged at times; despairing at times?  What about us?

Like Paul, we are not perfect.  We haven’t yet reached our goal – the goal of living  in Christ, and for Christ.  But let Christ take hold of us, and help us keep running towards the prize.

Because the past is over, gone, forgiven, and should be forgotten, as we strive with  new life in Christ, to win the prize of being called to Heaven.

This is the prize God offers because of what he did in Christ Jesus. 

This is the prize that is open to us, because of his life, and death and resurrection and glorious ascension.

And in striving for that, think of the legacy you will have left in this world.

Not because of what you took, but because of what you gave.,

he Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew.

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”

And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them,

“Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. ( (Matthew 21:23-32):

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The preacher went on and on, and some of the people began to wonder when he was going to finish. It wasn’t that what he said wasn’t interesting, but rather, most of those there were long time church members and they didn’t think they needed to listen too closely.

And it was a hot day and even though the windows were open, it was stuffy in the church, and most people there wanted to get home for lunch, and hopefully, a cool drink. So they looked at their watches, and sat this way and that, and looked around, and counted the tiles in the ceiling, and eventually the sermon was over and the rest of the service would soon go by, and they could leave.

The parson shook hands with each member of the congregation as they exited, and then he turned to go back inside, to tidy up before he left. But he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

He turned and saw an older man, dressed in old and shabby clothes brushing grass from his pants. The man saw the parson and smiled, “Can I talk with you sir?”

“Well, er, I was just going. But come inside. Would you like a glass of water?

 “Thanks, but no. I just walked into town an hour ago, and was tired, so I sat against the church wall in the shade, and I heard what you said. I meant to be on my way, but something you said stopped me.”

“What was that?”

“You said that because of what Jesus did we are forgiven whatever bad we have done and can be back on good terms with God again. Is that right?”

“That’s basically what I said, “ nodded the preacher.

“Does that apply to me too?”

“It applies to everybody.”

“And what do I have to do?”

The parson took this man by the arm, and led him to the altar rail. “Just kneel here and ask God to forgive you for your sins, and if you are truly sorry, then He will and you will be free.”

 The man did that. He prayed aloud,” God, you know I have been a bad person. You know I have stole stuff, and hurt people. And I am sorry. I am tired of being on the outside. Can you please forgive me. Can you please let me in?”

 Something seemed to change in that old man. He stood up. His eyes were wet but his shoulders seemed to be set a little straighter. His face didn’t seem so lined.

“I’ll go now,” he said to the parson who was also crying, and he walked out the door.

The minister sat there for a long time. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. He had preached each week at this church for seven years, and although he knew some of his flock needed to repent of the way they lived, none had ever indicated they would.

Oh, the people at his church seemed like such good people, There was the odd person you had to tread lightly with. There were people who partied a bit. One couple seemed too strict with their children, and he worried about them. But they attended regularly.

They all seemed to listen to what he preached, and seemed to want to follow what he said, but he knew they didn’t.

But this man?

Here was a man who had rejected God, had lived his life outside of God’s grace. had refused God, and yet he had finally realised his mistake and had come back to his Father. (I came across this true story on the web many years ago. Still relevant today)

Matthew tells us that Jesus is talking to those who show their love of God by how they played by the rules, by the law – in other words, how they showed it. They seem to be saying they serve the Lord but often they don’t. The law gives them latitude to look good but not necessarily to be good or to do good.,

And he gives them the story of the two sons, to illustrate what he means. One rejects his father’s order but later changes his mind and does it. The other says OK, but then doesn’t. He is telling the Pharisees something here, but they probably won’t hear what he is saying. Their lives are so organized around the law that they can’t imagine how they could be wrong.

 I am going to tell you another true story of two brothers. One was eight and the other four years old. Someone had given them a budgie in a cage, which they loved, but often forgot to look after. It was their responsibility and mostly they did what they had to do, but being young children they often forgot.

Then one day the cage was silent, and their mother checking it saw the bird was dead Its food box was empty and the water container, was dry. Then she remembered that in the last day or day or so, she had kinda heard, and kinda saw, it do something weird. It would jump down from its perch, head toward the seed bowl and do a sort of strange dance around it before going back to the perch. She had no idea what it was doing, and had been too busy to really check it out..

I remember when she told me about this, about thirty years ago, but it was only the other day that I understood what had happened. I am a really slow learner.

 Birds aren’t so dumb as you might think. They can be trained to do tricks, and they can learn.( Some day I will tell you the story of the chicken that played the piano.)

 This budgie had probably seen that when it did that little dance – made a noise, and jumped around, that it would not be long before food and water arrived. And here it was doing that and expecting the same thing to happen.

This time there were no little boys around, but the bird performed that same ritual, which had been answered in the past, hoping food would appear.

 Like from God?

 We read in the Old Testament, and in other historical accounts that people would have gods whose purpose was to help humans. A god who provided rain, another who provided fire, another who brought good luck and so on.

It seems that humans have always had a real sense that there is a God, and have sought ways to influence God. To win his favour. But how to please this God? How to ensure that he would continue to favour his people? The answer appeared to be that sacrifices would have to be made.

The sacrifice would have to be something precious. God wouldn’t want a worthless sacrifice, would he? So sometimes a child was sacrificed.

The Old Testament refers to this, and we know from archeological research that it took place in South America. You will remember the story of Abraham being prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac but being restrained by an angel. Sacrifice has always been a part of worship, it seems.

We especially remember the sacrifice that Jesus made, for us – his own life, And we remember it in the Eucharist, don’t we?

We relive that last night when Jesus was with his disciples when we participate in the Eucharist.

Such rituals help us to remember and to commemorate, and to make a connection, with our God. And are very valuable as a part of our faith. They help us to come close to God. To feel a nearness with God and with each other. And we do them to persuade God to be near us.

But these rituals are for us, not for God. He doesn’t need ritual, he doesn’t need praise, He needs nothing. He created everything there is. Why would he need anything?

Psalm 50, says it well,” I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds. 10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the air,[a] and all that moves in the field is mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine

 If God is so great, and so powerful, then he doesn’t really need anything, does he? Even praise?

 That’s something we need to do. We need to, as I said, to help us feel close to God. I remember the first time I knelt at the altar rail and took communion. I was blown away by the feeling, the blessing, the closeness to God I felt and still do. But really, it’s not what we do in here, in our beautiful old church, that is important. It is what we do out there.

What we do here is to help us to do the important stuff out there. And what we do for others. What we do to others. How we help others. How we Love others.

That’s what He wants from us.

And when we finally do see Him, He is going to ask, ” What did you do? ” Not how much did you worship? Or how many times did you go to church?

 Like he would ask those Pharisees, what did you do for others? And they would say, “We obeyed all your laws.” But he would ask, again, ” What did you do for others?

And He will ask the same thing of us. Not did you jump off your perch and do a dance to please me, but what did you do for others?

You might say, ” Well, I played a good round of golf every week, or I worked hard and built a nice home. Or I attended church every Sunday and sat through hundreds of sermons. And He will ask again, ” But what did you do?” “

And He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”… And the goats on the left…….?.

For over a hundred and eighty years people have needed the church I attend as a place of praise, of prayer , of ritual, of community, and friendship, all of which have helped our forebears, and help us, to know what it is we should be doing out there, and to encourage us to do it.

So we should be able to answer the question, ‘ What did you do?” with confidence.

The man I mentioned at the start of this story, had done nothing good, it seems. In fact he confessed to doing a lot of bad. But when the  minister sat outside that church,for a moment after the service, he thought of people  who attended regularly. Some there would be, the preacher knew,  who didn’t actually follow what he tried to tell them in his sermons.  That old man who had wondered by, not a church attendee, had found something that urged him to move from his old life into a new one.

 He didn’t jump off his perch and do a dance, nor did he make any great sacrifice, all he did was acknowledge his need to be right with God.

I have loved my church. I have loved all who attend faithfully,. I have loved doing worship there,. but I oft need reminding, and maybe you do too, of all we need to do to be right with God. .

It’s not so much is it?

Really!