October 1 – Thursday prior to Pentecost 19 (Proper 22)

 

Philippians 3:4b-14 – God’s people strive to be examples worthy of Christ. Confidence in the flesh cannot stand. Forgetting the past, Paul presses on toward the goal of Christ and lives as an example for others. Paul defends himself as a Christian of the first order through the mercies of God. Yet, he does not think he has it “made,” but keeps striving for complete devotion to Christ by becoming one in the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ. Because he imitates Christ, he is able to ask his people to imitate him in both faith and life.

Though we are in the world, we belong to the kingdom of heaven. When Christ returns, He will transform our earthly bodies to spiritual bodies.

Paul uses this phrase “I press on” twice in this passage. It must have been important to him in getting across his plan. He is not idly waiting for perfection to come to him. He is not neutral. He is urgent, pursuing, and energetic in getting to his goal. To become like Christ is a process over a lifetime — ever striving to be like Christ in every area of life. At the same time, Paul would say that God was in him pressing on, working in him. A Christian dare not be content with his life. He is ever seeking to improve it.

In the readings for this coming week the theme of a vineyard are apparent. The wild fruit are those who are “enemies of the cross of Christ” and serve as an example of the right kind of fruit Christians produce.

In light of this text, we may reflect on what we value most as individuals and as church communities. Perhaps we tend to value certain inherited qualities or achievements as “gains” that give us value before God.  Take time examining your life and your faith, so that you may count such gains as loss and deepen your reliance upon Jesus Christ.

Visit, O Lord, the homes in which Your people dwell, and keep all harm and danger from them. Grant that we may dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels, sharing eternally in Your blessing; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.[1]

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[1] Collect for home and family, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

September 30– Wednesday prior to Pentecost 19 (Proper 22)

 

 Isaiah 5:1-7 God’s people receive judgment for evil fruit.  Confidence in violence and bloodshed leads to judgment. In the Old Testament reading, God’s judgment upon His people is shown for their failure to produce proper fruit.

The prophet sings a love song to God regarding God’s vineyard, his people. God is his “beloved.” God loves His people. Proof of this love is that God’s vineyard, His possession, is His people. Out of love, God accepts and owns His people. And look what God has done for His people! He has placed a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug the ground, cleared away the stones, and planted it with the best vines. Then He built a watchtower and a wine vat.

God is love and He deals lovingly with His people: claiming them as His own and providing for them by giving them the best of everything to be fruitful.

Israel’s injustice is particularized. The “bloodshed” refers to abusive practices that bleed the poor to death. The “cry” refers to their anguished response. These actions are “wild grapes” (detailed in 5:8, 11-12, 18-24). Notably, these texts link abuse of the neighbor to the neglect of God’s word and deed (see 5:12, 24).

This text may be profitably linked to New Testament texts that use agricultural images. An example: Jesus’ discourse regarding the vine and its branches, with expectations to bear fruit, and removing and burning those who do not (John 15:1-17).

See also the parable of the wicked tenants the Gospel lesson for this coming Sunday (Matthew 21:33-44).

O God, whose almighty power is made known chiefly in showing mercy and pity, grant us the fullness of Your grace that we may be partakers of Your heavenly treasures.[1]

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[1] Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

September 29 – Tuesday prior to Pentecost 19 (Proper 22)

 

Psalm 80:7-19 – This week’s Psalm has as the key verse, verse 7. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant He cherished. “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! “ -Isaiah 5:7. After making a lament over the Lord’s severe punishment of His people the Psalmist looks to the Lord who will vindicate His own as He restores and makes His face shine upon them that they might be saved.

This coming week a major theme woven throughout the reading is the point that God’s people constitute a vineyard. The Gospel and Old Testament lessons complement each other in the use of a vineyard as a metaphor for God’s people. In both, the vineyard is at fault; in the Gospel, the tenants refuse to render fruit; in the Old Testament, the fruit is wild.

The image of God as gardener (vinedresser) and the people as the garden or vineyard is found in many places in the Bible, including two of the other lectionary texts for this coming Sunday. Isaiah 5:1-7 (often called “the song of the vineyard”) describes God’s relationship with Israel and Judah. This is reinterpreted in Matthew 21:36-46 (also Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:9-19) in the parable of the wicked tenants in the vineyard.

Repeatedly, the Psalmist calls on God to “restore” and “save” (verses 2, 3, 7, 19) to “turn again” (verse 14) and “give us life” (verse 18). The Psalm opens with a plea to God, the “Shepherd of Israel” (verses 1-3) to restore the people. It names God’s anger as the problem, resulting in the suffering of the people (verses 4-6). There follows a plea for restoration (verses 7).

Prayer for Psalm 80: Lord God, you so tend the vine you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest shore. Keep us in your Son as branches on the vine, that rooted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere; through Jesus Christ our Lord.[1]

Source:

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[1][1] For All the Saints, A Prayer Book for and by the Church, © 1995 American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

September 28 – Monday prior to Pentecost 19 (Proper 22)

 

Psalm 118:22-24 - Antiphon, verse 1:“O Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.” – This is a call to praise the Lord.

This Psalm was originally attributed to the ordination of David as king of Israel. David was the king that was rejected by men, but David instituted a time of peace and prosperity that Israel had not known before. This was a time of celebration, but this Psalm also points to another King that was rejected and has now become the capstone, or the stone that becomes the reference for the rest of the building. Jesus Christ was rejected by men, but now Jesus offers us peace and prosperity in ways that we could never create for ourselves. God has done something marvelous, and in doing so, allows us to say, “This is the day the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”[1]

Psalm 118:22 became one of the passages most frequently quoted by the early Christian teachers to describe the temporary humiliation and subsequent rejection of Jesus the crucified and risen Messiah. Observe how the Apostle Peter used this verse in Acts 4:8-12.

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.'"

David offers a song of thanksgiving for deliverance and victory. The people rejoice over what the Lord has done. Thereafter, the king speaks his final word of praise (see verse 28). We praise and exalt the Lord because He is mighty to save. This is why He is good – His mercy, His steadfast love endures forever.

Prayer for Psalm 118: Lord God, your Son, rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone of the Church. Shed rays of your glory up your Church, that it may be seen as the gat of salvation open to all nations. Let cries of joy and exultation ring out from its courts to celebrate the wonder of Christ’s resurrection now and forever. [2]

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[1] https://www.thedailybibleverse.org/bible-verse-the-stone-the-builders-rejected-has-become-the-cornerstone-the-lord-has-done-this-and-it-is-marvelous-in-our-eyes

[2] For All the Saints, A Prayer Book for and By the Church © 1995 American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY

Proper 22 (Pentecost 19)

Proper 22 Series A

Isaiah 5:1–7
Philippians 3:4b–14
Matthew 21:33–46

The True Vine Redeems the Vineyard of the Lord of Hosts

“The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7), which He planted “on a very fertile hill” (Isaiah 5:1). He did everything for His vineyard, not only clearing it of stones and planting it with “choice vines,” but also building the “watchtower” of His prophets and hewing out the “wine vat” of His priesthood in its midst (Isaiah 5:2). But when “he looked for it to yield grapes,” there were only “wild grapes” of bloodshed and unrighteousness (Isaiah 5:2, 7). 

The Lord Jesus likewise described the unfaithfulness of those who were called to care for His vineyard (Matthew 21:33–35). But in this He also describes His cross and Passion (Matthew 21:38–39), by which He has redeemed the vineyard for Himself. He is the true Vine, planted by death into the ground, and in His resurrection He brings forth “the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41). Among those good grapes of the true Vine is the apostle Paul. Once a zealous persecutor of the Church, he “suffered the loss of all things” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him,” to “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:8–10).

“Lord Jesus, you have endured the doubts and foolish questions of every generation. Forgive us for trying to be judge over You and grant us the confident faith to acknowledge You as Lord.”

The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33

Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἀκούσατε. [a]Ἄνθρωπος ἦν οἰκοδεσπότης ὅστις ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ φραγμὸν αὐτῷ περιέθηκεν καὶ ὤρυξεν ἐν αὐτῷ ληνὸν καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν πύργον, καὶ ἐξέδετο αὐτὸν γεωργοῖς, καὶ ἀπεδήμησεν

Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 

παραβολὴν - a parable - 

Matthew 21:34 

ὅτε δὲ ἤγγισεν ὁ καιρὸς τῶν καρπῶν, ἀπέστειλεν τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς γεωργοὺς λαβεῖν τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ.

When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[a] to the tenants to get his fruit.

- "earth workers" Or bondservants; also verses 35, 36 expected 

Matthew 21:35 

καὶ λαβόντες οἱ γεωργοὶ τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ ὃν μὲν ἔδειραν, ὃν δὲ ἀπέκτειναν, ὃν δὲ ἐλιθοβόλησαν.

And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

- They skinned, stoned, killed, escalated quickly not expected... Jesus is speaking to the elders. Unbelief is never passive. The devil is a destroying demon.

Matthew 21:36 

πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους πλείονας τῶν πρώτων, καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως. 

Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.

- Even more unexpected...they kill more that are sent!

Matthew 21:37 

ὕστερον δὲ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ λέγων· Ἐντραπήσονται τὸν υἱόν μου.

Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

- lastly, he sent his Son, he really wants the fruit. He would stop at nothing. One of the few parables where the Father is the subject, not the Son.

Matthew 21:38 

οἱ δὲ γεωργοὶ ἰδόντες τὸν υἱὸν εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κληρονόμος· δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ [b]σχῶμεν τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ· 

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’

- We will kill the son and take the fruit. Inheritance comes only as gift. Kill the son to receive the merits does not work except in God's economy. 

Matthew 21:39 

καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον ἔξω τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καὶ ἀπέκτειναν.

And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

- they cast him outside and killed him. Notice the details. Note the double emphasis.  

Matthew 21:40 

ὅταν οὖν ἔλθῃ ὁ κύριος τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τί ποιήσει τοῖς γεωργοῖς ἐκείνοις; 

When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

- When the master comes what will he do to those Tenants? Answer is understood w/o speaking.

Matthew 21:41 

 λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Κακοὺς κακῶς ἀπολέσει αὐτούς, καὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνα ἐκδώσεται ἄλλοις γεωργοῖς, οἵτινες ἀποδώσουσιν αὐτῷ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν.

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.”

-Those bad, bad ones will receive a wretched death and He will give the vineyard to those who will give Him the fruit. Whom answers the question? The Pharisees or the crowd? 

-KJV "He will wickedly destroy" same response as David and Nathan.

Matthew 21:42

Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς· Λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας· παρὰ κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη, καὶ ἔστιν θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν; 

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 marvelous in our eyes’?- “CORNERSTONE” Greek ‘the head of the corner’

- Jesus answered, have you never read in the Scriptures the stone the builders rejected has become the head of the corner from the Lord this is, wondrous in our eyes. Ps. 118:22 this is not about their answer but their unbelief. 

Matthew 21:43

διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀρθήσεται ἀφ’ ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς.  

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

- The kingdom of God Will be taken from you and given to a people Jews/Gentiles who will produce its fruit. 

Matthew 21:44

Καὶ ὁ πεσὼν ἐπὶ τὸν λίθον τοῦτον συνθλασθήσεται· ἐφ’ ὃν δ’ ἂν πέσῃ λικμήσει αὐτόν. 

And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

-Some manuscripts omit verse 44

-The one felling upon this stone will be destroyed but upon whom it falls it will crush to powder him. You cannot do it you must be crushed killed to self. 

Matthew 21:45

Καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι τὰς παραβολὰς αὐτοῦ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι περὶ αὐτῶν λέγει·

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

-The chief priests and Pharisees knew that concerning them He tells.

Matthew 21:46 

καὶ ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν κρατῆσαι ἐφοβήθησαν τοὺς ὄχλους, [d]ἐπεὶ εἰς προφήτην αὐτὸν εἶχον.

And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

-And seeking him to seize they feared the crowds for a prophet him they had. They are living out the parable. 

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked SBLGNT are from the The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software

 

September 26 – Saturday prior to Pentecost 18 (Proper 21)

 

John 8:31 – This passage is the inspiration for the hymn, “Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word.”  Faith clings to the Lord and His teaching. We are called to be faithful; faithful to the Lord, to His Word, to each other.

The reflection below was written by The Rev. Dr. Mark Birkholz pastor of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Oak Lawn, Ill.

Luther’s Reformation hymn, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” (LSB 655) is one of his best known compositions.  When it was published in 1542, it appeared with the subtitle, “A Children’s Hymn, to be Sung Against the Two Archenemies of Christ and His Holy Church, the Pope and Turk.” What was going on for Luther to write such a hymn?

Luther and the Reformers’ theological conflict with the various popes is well-known.  The political conflict between the Holy Roman Empire, to which the Reformers and their princes belonged, and the Turkish Ottoman Empire was also a significant factor during the time of the Reformation.

In Luther’s day the Turks controlled not only much of the Middle East and North Africa, they also held land in southeastern Europe (modern day Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Balkans).  In the early 1500’s there were a series of battles in Austria and Hungary between the Turks and the Holy Roman Empire.  The siege of Vienna in the autumn of 1529 led to the decision of Emperor Charles V to call the Diet of Augsburg to unite the Holy Roman Empire against threat of Turkish invasion.

In 1541 there were two additional battles between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Turks, which led Luther to pen this hymn.  The army of the Holy Roman Empire was defeated at Budapest in August, and the imperial fleet was largely destroyed near Algiers in October.

Luther felt like he was surrounded by enemies—both the forces of the pope and the Turk.  He wrote an appeal for the people to pray against the Turks (Vermahnung zum Gebet wider den Türken, LW 43:213-42), and he wrote “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” to encourage them in the face of their enemies. 

The second line of the hymn originally read, “Restrain the murderous Pope and Turk” (Und steur des Papst und Türken Mord).  The translation was later revised to “Curb those who by deceit or sword,” to include all the enemies of the church.

This hymn is written in a threefold, Trinitarian format.  This first verse is an appeal to God the Father to preserve us by His Word, rather than by the force of arms.  God never promises us victory in battle over our enemies.  Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks are reminders that there will be times when our enemies may triumph over us as a nation.  Luther does not lead his people to pray for the imperial armies or for victory in battle, but for God to sustain His people by His Word, come what may.[1]

Lord God heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [2]

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[1] https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/lord-keep-us-steadfast-word/

[2] Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

September 25 – Friday prior to Pentecost 18 (Proper 21)

 

Matthew 21:23-27 – The sinner who repents enters the Kingdom of God.  The Gospel lesson tells of two sons, one of whom repented and entered the Kingdom even though at first he disobeyed the Father. In the Parable of the Two Sons we learn a valuable lesson concerning sin and an appeal to turn to God for mercy. With this parable, Jesus confronts the religious leaders of His time (priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees) who condemn Jesus for His association with sinners (publicans, prostitutes, and so on). This one son who says, “I go” but does not, represents the religious leaders. The other son who says, “I will not go” but later changes his mind and obeys, represents the sinners. Moreover, Jesus points out that when the religious leaders saw sinners repenting upon hearing John the Baptist, they still did not repent. Consequently, the sinners will enter the kingdom before the leaders will.

Here is a case of repentance in action. One son refused to go to work in his father’s vineyard. Then he changed his mind and went to work. This about-face, change of mind from disobedience, from no to yes, from going in the wrong direction to turning in the right direction is the meaning of repentance. When the religious leaders heard the Baptist’s call to repentance, they did not heed it, while the sinners of the day did. It was shocking to the professional religious leaders that Jesus claimed the sinners and not the religious ones were in the kingdom.

Notice that there is action to the young man’s resolve. By the power of the Holy Spirit there is a God pleasing resolve to be righteous. It is Jesus Christ who has changed us. It is His Holy Spirit which works in us to will and to do the Father’s good and gracious will.

"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The latter." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.” Matthew 21:31

He who has entered the kingdom through repentance loves not just in word but in deed and in truth; his faith is not dead, without works, but alive and bearing fruit. God grant this for each of us.

“God of love. You know our frailties and failings. Give us Your grace to overcome them; keep us from these things that harm us; and guide us in the way of salvation.”[1]

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[1] Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis