Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever. Amen.
Jesus said, "The first commandment is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8,9
We confess our sins against God and others.
Silence may be kept.
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
A Hymn of Praise
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labour and do all your work.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
Psalm 19 Caeli enarrant
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament shows his handiwork.
2 One day tells its tale to another, *
and one night imparts knowledge to another.
3 Although they have no words or language, *
and their voices are not heard,
4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
and their message to the ends of the world.
5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;
it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens
and runs about to the end of it again; *
nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8 The statutes of the Lord are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the Lord is clear
and gives light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.
11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.
13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
The Epistle Philippians 3: 4b-14
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Gospel Matthew 21:33-46
Jesus said, “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 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 get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when 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 lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
The Sermon Fr. Nelson Gaetz
The Gospel readings from St. Matthew seem to be getting more difficult by the week. Or, at least they feel more challenging to me. “Grumpy” seems to be the mood of the day and Matthew fits right in. Putting WRETCHES to a miserable death. Being broken to pieces, crushed…” And, the passage from Exodus in not much help either. The best Moses has to offer as to why God sent the 10 Commandments is to tell the people that “God has come to test you and put the fear of God in you.”
I am really tired of “grumpy.” I’m ready for some hope and good news. For me, the best place to start is to remember that Matthew is telling us a Parable. Parables are Jesus’ favorite way to preach. Never giving absolute answers but always challenging us to dig deeply into the very nature of God. Jesus presents “pictures,” “glimpses” into what the Kingdom of God is like. By throwing everyday events and people together in unexpected ways, Jesus points to how God is, how God acts, and how God expects us to live in light of this discovery. In short – this parable is NOT about wicked tenants or Pharisees or even us. IT’S ABOUT GOD. The one who entrusts us with all good things, blesses us beyond our wildest dreams, even when we disappoint him by what we do with these blessings. He is a God who cares deeply about the smallest corners of our life. God weeps over the injustice in the world, embraces those who fall short, and promises never, ever, to give up on anyone or any situation. Notice that Jesus ends with hope. There ARE others who WILL produce fruit for the kingdom.
The parable, and the text from Exodus for that matter, tells us that God is in the business of unfolding his kingdom for the blessing of all his beloved children. Got that – all his children. God is in the business of loving, forgiving and coaxing out of everyone the best incarnation of his will in creating us and all that is.
SO. What will we do?
► Will we hoard our blessings or share them?
► Will we embrace those in need or shun them?
► Will we use our privileges to work for greater justice for all or secure our own futures?
► Will we reach out to the Christ we see in our neighbors or only come to worship the Christ of the
stained glass windows that adorn our comfortable church buildings?
OK. Every one of those could/should be a sermon. I’ll risk leaving this as a parable. A wide open question to be pondered. Images to haunt our dreams until we are driven to act on them. God bless you in this difficult task. Amen.
THE NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Brief silence
Merciful Lord, You have planted us as Your own vineyard, that we might bear good fruit for Your glory. Grant to us grace, that we may be faithful and show forth in our lives the good works that glorify You and serve Your purpose. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious Father, embolden us by Your Spirit, that we may give witness to Your mighty acts. Bless the missionaries who bring the Gospel to people who have not heard, and raise up faithful bishops, priests and deacons who will nurture the people in their care, especially Michael and DeDe, our Bishops, and Nelson, our Rector. Give us ears willing to hear, minds willing to be instructed and hearts willing to trust You in all things. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Lord, give to the nations both the desire for and the blessing of peace. Thwart the actions of terrorists and those who would oppress with the power of fear. Bless our president; our governor; and all who pass, enforce and judge our laws. Spare us from disease and fear. Deliver the poor from want and help us to provide jobs and worthy employment for all. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of love, deliver the sick from their illnesses, give relief to the suffering, help the troubled to know peace of mind, and be with the grieving and those in their final days. Guide all health care professionals to serve those in need, and give patience to those who must bear with their infirmities & disabilities. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy God, give us a willing spirit, that we may serve You with all that we have and all that we are. Help us to be faithful and fruitful in the godly use of Your resources and gifts, that we may use them in accord with Your will and for Your glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Blessed Lord, keep us from resentful hearts that would begrudge Your mercy or live selfishly for ourselves and teach us to live for You the life that You have given us, treasuring in our hearts all that is good and wise and seeking after these things. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Eternal God, we give thanks for the memory of those who have gone before us in the faith. May they inspire our continued faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear us, O Lord, and give answer to the prayers of Your people prayed in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whom with the Father and the Spirit, are one God and one Lord, forevermore. Amen.
So now we pray with confidence to the Father the words our Lord Jesus taught us:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by the Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
The Closing Blessing
May God almighty bless and keep us, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We go now in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen.