Rev Robert Moses

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” May we remember that we ourselves bear the image of God. And because we belong to God, may we offer him not only our worship, but our very lives, serving the living and true God with faith, hope, and love. Amen.

The guests in the parable were invited to a feast. Paul shows us how to live as people who have accepted that invitation: rejoice, pray, give thanks, and let our gentleness be known to everyone. When we live this way, we become people who are not only waiting for God's kingdom but already participating in it. We learn to recognize Christ's presence in ordinary moments and in the faces of those we meet each day.

Lessons, Proper 22A: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:7-14; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46 "Saint Francis," 1229, portion of a mural, Subiaco, Italy. Photo taken 1218. (Public Domain) The vineyard parable in Matthew 21 is never gentle. Jesus takes up Isaiah’s old warning and places it squarely before the chief priests and elders: God’s vineyard has been entrusted to stewards who have forgotten both the Giver and the purpose of the gift. They grasp, they guard, they exclude, and finally they...