Speaking About Them (Matthew 21:45)

 


Thursday, 6 November, 2025


Psalm 18:1-31

2 Kings 14:1-16

Matthew 21:33-46


Speaking About Them (Matthew 21:45)


When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.


The parables of Jesus have such wonderful ambidexterity. They are instantly memorable; they are relatable across time and space; they have never-ending depths of wisdom; and, most wonderful of all, they cut straight into our hearts and make us think about ourselves.


The chief priests and the Pharisees had been condemned before by Jesus, and will be condemned yet. They are hypocrites; they are proud; they are selfish. In today’s parable, they are condemned because they did not give proper credit for what they had, and what they had was nothing less than God himself.


If you are reading or hearing these words, you are probably one who has been given a fair amount of spiritual light. We have the Bible in our own language; we have the sacraments offered in churches on every other street corner every week; we have all the biblical research and commentary in the world on little devices in our pocket. God has planted a vineyard in our midst, and has even sent his Son.


Those who first heard this parable said that the Master would put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons. It is due season for fruit. Are we being good tenants with all the good things God has given us?


Christ our cornerstone, rejected in your day and welcomed in our hearts: give us the grace to do with your gifts what you would have us do, to be a light for the world and salt for the souls of those around us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32)

Image
  Monday, February 3, 2025 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 18:22-19:11 Luke 2:1-7 Observance: First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove, Conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney, 1788 For The Sake Of Ten (Genesis 18:32) From this wonderfully pastoral tableau, of the old man and his wife entertaining three divine guests, comes a dark shadow. Approaching from the valley below them comes the cries of iniquity of the cities of the plain: Sodom and Gomorrah. Rising from their feast, the three men turn from blessing Abraham and Sarah to executing divine judgement. And the story just gets darker from here. But Abraham, in his boldness, has this immortal conversation with God, a conversation that uncovers for us whispers of Jesus’ words about people who are “salt” and “light”. God desires that none should perish, but that all should turn from their sins and live. And for the sake of just ten righteous people, the disaster about to befall Sodom and Gomorrah could be turned away...
Read more

Monday, July 25, 2022

  Monday, July 25, 2022 Psalm 62; 63 Hosea 1 Romans 4:1-12 He only is my rock and my salvation: my strong tower, so that I shall not be moved. The prophecies of Hosea are rich with vivid imagery. Look at these names: firstly, “Hosea” means “salvation”. So too do the names Joshua and Jesus. Then Hosea has three children: “God scatters”, “Not pitied”, and “Not my people”. This is because the children are part of the marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which is an image God is showing to the nation. It is to our profit that God has used real-life events to communicate spiritual imagery and divine truths. We find it very easy to understand our relationship with God as being a faithful wife to a loving husband. We can reconcile this message with what Paul has to teach us today in Romans. He makes the very important observation that Abraham was given God's righteousness as a result of his faith before, not after, his circumcision. Again, this is God using real-life events...
Read more

The LORD will make you a house.

  Friday, July 28, 2023 Psalm 71 2 Samuel 7 John 8:1-11 Observance: Samson, bishop (d. 565) The LORD will make you a house. We learn three things from this conversation between David, Nathan and God. First, it is that we do not invite God into our presence. Rather, God comes alongside us, where we are, hiking through the wilderness. God gets down into the dust with us and puts up a tent. There is a reason why John made so much of this tent language in his first chapter: that the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us. Whichever part of the Bible we are reading, we see God coming to the people, rather than the people moving towards God. This is of particular comfort when we feel like we haven’t prayed enough, or regularly. We might have been distracted by the dust on our feet, but God has always been there right beside us. We just have to look up. Second, it is that God’s presence among us is not something to be feared. Have you noticed that,...
Read more