We NEED a bigger vision! Pentecost 22a Proper 25a 25th Oct 2026

2026  10  25   Pentecost 22 a  Proper 25 A

Deuteronomy 34.1-12   Psalm 90.1-6, 13-17 1 Thessalonians 2.1-13  Matthew 22.34 -46.

Ahhh the two great commands!  Only two.  Simple commands to say, but if only we could keep them!  God gave us the law, but God is also love and the law is about love.  These two commands that Jesus speaks of, are the essence of the ten commandments that God gave through Moses, and in our reading tonight we recall the ending of Moses life on earth.

 

When Moses was shown the land that the nation would inherit, he was shown the land he could see from that high vantage point, but then God showed him more.  God showed Moses all the land that the nation would inherit.  This means that God enlarged Moses vision and supernaturally enabled him to see the fulfilment of the promise.  Moses saw a vision of the future and was comforted.  We all need to hope in a future.  At this time, in every direction, it feels as though there is so much brokenness in our church and the world.  We too need to ask God to enlarge our vision, so that we can see His kingdom.

 

Moses was such an incredible hero of our faith.  He spoke with God.  He led people through the Red Sea.  Can you imagine what it would have been like if we knew the burial site of Moses?  The tourists would flock there!  But God has wisely kept the site secret.  We are prone to have our vision… near sighted.  We’d be inclined to focus on Moses and not on the God he served.

 

There is a mysterious verse in the New Testament that mentions this event in passing.  In the book of Jude 1:9, it describes the archangel Michael disputing with Satan over the body of Moses.  We are told that Moses was 120 years old and he was still strong.  His eyes and his energy were like that of a much younger man.  He didn’t need to die – from a physical viewpoint, but he could not enter the land, we are told, because of a prior incident where Moses didn’t follow God’s directions. 

 

It’s always seemed a bit strange to me, that God forgives so much and yet this sin was held against Moses.  But the law of God is the law, and that is that.

 

Moses is synonymous with God’s law.  We need to remember that God rescued the Israelite nation before He gave them the law and he had chosen them and loved them before the giving of the law.  By extension, we need to remember that God does not love us because we are good people who keep his law.  He rescues us and has chosen us because he loves us.  The law was given to show the community how to thrive.  Keep the law and blessings will flow, not because it is God’s reward for keeping the law, but because the law is intended to bring life.  For example; when we covet (or desire) our neighbour’s goods, we are not living in harmony.  When we murder, we are certainly not living in harmony.  The law was given for our benefit, but it also reveals God’s nature.  Fallen humans that we are, we are unable to keep God’s law. 

 

When we think about the law of God, we generally think of the laws about stealing and coveting and murder, but what about those other commandments? What about commandment number one?  Have no other God.   In the book of Deuteronomy, it is written this way; ““Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”  This is known to Israelites as the “Shema” and it is what Jesus was quoting to the Pharisees.  We often only hear the first part, but the rest was so well known and understood that the Jewish people didn’t need to be told the rest.

 

The Israelites, still today, physically attach this “Shema” in a container they call mezuzah, to the door posts.  As they pass through, they touch the container and either kiss their fingers or touch that hand to their heart.   THEY REMEMBER…. Always… this whole commandment.  And remembering is not just mental, it is an action that they deliberately place as highest importance.

 

Moses gave the law to God’s people, but those ancient people constantly broke all the commandments…. We do too.  Just because we fail to keep the commandments doesn’t mean we do away with them.  They are life… but they ironically perhaps, reveal why we experience disaster.  We can’t keep them.  God is good and His law is perfect, but we can’t keep his law.

 

Moses was the herald of God’s goodness and God’s law.  Because the people – and we- can not keep the law, there needed to be something else…another way to enter God’s Kingdom - the promised land.  We need a saviour. 

 

Sometimes, in the Old Testament, the lives of key people are prophetic parables of the message of salvation.  Moses was equated with the law, but the law doesn’t make anyone righteous.  It simply reveals that we are fallen and need a saviour to bring us into the promised land…. God’s promised land… the Kingdom of God.  We need Jesus.  Moses could only take the people so far, then he handed over to Joshua, who led the Israelites into the promised land.  Joshua just happens to be the same name as Jesus, meaning “God saves”.

 

Jesus was asked which commandment in the law is the greatest and he told them… and then he added “and love your neighbour as yourself”.  On these two, hang all the law and the prophets.  In that conversation, Jesus laid the foundation for how we desperately need a saviour.  He then asks the Pharisees a question; “Whose son is the Messiah,” and he quotes a well-known Psalm (110).  The common understanding at that time was that the Messiah would be a human, probably a great political and military leader. 

 

God’s plans are always so much greater than what we imagine!  Jesus broadens their understanding by his question; "How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'.  "If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?"  It was widely acknowledged that this was a prophetic psalm about the Messiah, who would be the descendant of David.  In the original language the Psalm reads “Yahweh said to my Lord”….No one would ever call his son, “Lord” and the concept of sitting “at the right hand”, is a proclamation of equality.  Therefore, this left the Pharisees with no answer.  Can you see what Jesus is trying to tell them?  The Messiah was to be David’s son but also greater than David’s son and equal to God. 

 

God’s law reveals the goodness of God and the way of life in the Kingdom of God, but the way to enter the promised land is through the Messiah.  God’s law and the Messiah – the saviour.  Scripture tells us that it is only the perfect who can enter the Kingdom of God and so, people would try to keep God’s law perfectly.  No human has ever been able to keep the law- bar one – Jesus!  However, Jesus is both human and God.  We enter the Kingdom of God through Jesus, not the law, but Jesus didn’t do away with the law, Jesus finished it… or accomplished it….  He is the only human who could ever completely keep the law, and through our unity with him, God the father sees us as having also kept the law.

 

This doesn’t mean that we don’t need to worry about God’s law.  Jesus simplified the law for us by putting it into just two simple commands – which I’ll summarize as “love God and love others”. 

 

How many sermons have you heard about loving others?  Lots?  The golden rule of treating others as you’d like to be treated, is widely accepted beyond the church walls.  No one could ever hate you for being loving.  But how often do we consider the first and MOST important commandment?  The two go together, because when we understand God’s love, we know that loving him means loving those he loves. 

 

Moses could not enter the promised land because he broke God’s law.  It was only something that, to us, seems small.  This story is important because it lays down the fact that even the greatest mere man fell short.  For certain, Moses was taken by God to the ultimate promised land because of his relationship with God, yet the story is a parable to show us that God’s law is unbending – a standard that can’t be broken.  Note the 120 years of Moses?  This is what, after the flood of Noah, God said man’s years would be.  Moses’ life was to highlight God’s standard – God’s law.

 

The law is good and brings life, but we can’t, by the law alone, enter the promised land (the Kingdom of God) – because we fail to perfectly keep the law.  That is the bad news.

 

The Good News?  Jesus kept God’s law and through our unity with him we are seen as perfect law keepers.  The only way to the father is through the son.  Jesus is the Messiah.  He is equal to God… He was with God in the beginning and He is God - that is why David called him Lord.  There are spiritual laws governing the spiritual realm and God, himself, went to extreme lengths to make the way to bring us into his kingdom.  The first and greatest command is about having a relationship with God, and this is ultimately what Jesus came to restore; our relationship with God where He is ever on our mind and in our hearts.  In him, and through the gift of his Holy Spirit in us, our vision is supernaturally enlarged.  We are all here because we glimpse the Kingdom of God…. But sometimes we REALLY need that vision enlarged so that we have the hope to carry on, come what may.  In the midst of our broken world this day, let’s ask God for His vision.  

Wedding Robes and the Golden Calf

 2026  10  11 Pentecost 20A  Proper 23A

Exodus 32:1-14  Psalm 106:1-6, 20-24  Philippians 4  Matthew 22:1-14

 

What do you do when things don’t seem to be happening?  Do you take matters into your own hands?  Most of us do.  Or if there is a delay in the actualization of an event, do you just go back to the usual way of life?  Most of us do.   But the readings today remind us to keep waiting for God and don’t give up.  Most importantly, even though God seems to delay, keep expecting him…. Don’t give up.  And then, in the Gospel reading, we have this interesting part of the story about clothing.

 

If you go to visit the Vatican in Rome, you will notice many people selling things to those lined up.  They sell large light weight scarves, long enough to wrap around your waist and have it cover your knees.  Or you can wrap it around you as a shawl in case your shoulders are exposed.  You cannot enter if your knees or shoulders are exposed. 

 

Growing up in this warm and casual town, I missed these rules.  I went to a catholic school and was taught by nuns whose last school was in New Guinea.  They told us that God accepts you no matter how you look or what you wear.  They impressed upon us that it was important to go to church, and if that meant going as you were, that was fine.  And oftentimes I did go straight from a basketball game to church – in our basketball uniform – which is of a style that no one wears now.  The bottoms were called bummers and every girl at that time, playing basketball in Mackay, wore bummers.   I wore mine to church thinking nothing of it…  perhaps naively.

 

So perhaps it is no wonder that something that has always intrigued me, is that line in our Gospel reading about the man who was not wearing wedding clothes.  Does God care really care what we wear?   Oh, my goodness, this makes me laugh!  I’m thinking of all the judgments I’ve heard over the years and some of the outfits I’ve seen on the street – and the arguments I’ve had with people over the years about this issue. 

 

It is a reminder to us that we need to understand that the original writers and readers of this Gospel belonged to a different time and culture.  The word of God stays the same, but to understand what is being communicated, we need to explore the culture and context and discover what the original listeners understood about the story.

 

The first thing to understand is that it was customary to have two invitations to the wedding; the first was kind of like a “heads up.  Soon we’ll be sending for you.” and the second one was to say, “The feast is ready.  Come now”.  Here we have a King who invites people to the wedding feast, but the invitation is ignored.  The King then sends out the second invitation, but this one is also ignored.  While some of those invited made light of the situation, others were actually hostile and mistreated or killed the messengers.  The story is a parable for the banquet in heaven and Jesus coming again.  People say, “We are certainly in the end times and Jesus is coming soon” … but he delays.  He hasn’t come yet, and so when the people say the time is near, we dismiss it.  Perhaps we even mistreat the messengers.

 

Let’s just stop right there.  Since forever, God’s prophets have been treated with contempt.  Some have been mistreated, abused and killed.  These are the prophets who came before Jesus and those who came after also.  The saints and the martyrs… and many whose names we don’t know.  Today, is the same.  

It surprised me recently to read comments on social media that condemned Mother Theresa.  Once upon a time, she seemed like the universal saint that everyone from everywhere respected.  She was the lady from a comfortable background who gave that comfort up so that she could care for the poor in India.  But people now twist and condemn her actions and spread vicious lies about her motives – Things that can’t really be refuted because a motive is a thing unknown.

 

Might I suggest the same is happening with some modern “messengers”.  Those who stand up publicly to proclaim God’s standard.  Joanna Howe who reminds us that life begins in the womb, every word she says, if it can be twisted, it is.  Attacks on her husband and attacks on their relationship.  We really need to pray for these people.  They are doing the job that we are called to do.  Last week we saw that we, Christians, are the tenants of God’s vineyard.  We are to be faithful in producing fruit in the world.  That means that WE are called to be the body of Christ in our world, producing fruit for God the King.  How are we going with that?

 

The King in our reading, sent troops and destroyed the city.  This is not a King who doesn’t care what happens to his messengers, and commentaries on this verse suggest that Matthew's audience would immediately connect that destruction to the literal destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Rome in AD 70.  To re-iterate last week’s message where we had the giving of the ten commandments; disaster always follows when the community fail to follow God’s law.

 

Our first reading tells us how this happens…. It happens when we take matters into our own hands.  We therefore make God into an image of our own making… and liking.

 

Last week we talked about this idea of “You do you and I’ll do me” – living by our own truth… it is called relativism and we all tend to do it.  Throwing gold into a fire and making a calf might seem weird and extreme, but that community were genuinely trying to worship God, and didn’t realize their error. We all tend to make God into an image that is OUR image.  We hear it all the time; people say, “I live by God’s law, but I don’t believe you have to go to church to be a Christian”.    Do they actually know what God’s law is?  They know about treating others as you’d like to be treated…. But that isn’t the first and greatest command.  When we are not immersed in, and studying God’s word, and meeting together etc..  we can all get things wrong also. 

 

ALL are invited to the wedding feast.  The spiritual meaning is that we are all invited to the Heavenly banquet.  Many are called but few are chosen.  In the Greek original language of this verse the word for called Kletos and the word for chosen is eklektos.  So the word play implies a sifting and refining between the two groups.  We are all refined by immersing ourselves in the word of God and by becoming well acquainted with it.

 

Immersing ourselves means being covered by it…  Immersing is what baptism means.  In baptism we are immersed in water – symbolically.   The Spiritual reality is that we are being reborn as a child of God.  Our old nature is said to die with Christ, and we emerge from the water reborn as an eternal child of God, raised with Christ.  Traditionally we wear a white outfit because we are said to now be clothed in Christ, and when God the father looks at us, he sees the sacrifice and perfection of Jesus – the only person who could ever perfectly keep God’s law. 

 

And here is the key to that mysterious verse about the wedding attire.  The king invited ALL to the feast.  They came in from everywhere and in the context of Jesus’ listeners he was telling them that they, the chosen people were rejecting him, but all others were now invited … and they were coming from everywhere.  This is us… the non-Jewish believers.  But know this for sure, we come to God and receive eternal life ONLY through Jesus…. There is no other way.   God does say, “Come one and come all and come as you are”…. But you must put on the wedding garment.

 

In that culture, it was acknowledged that people might come to the wedding without fine clothes and from various stations.  The host of the wedding provided the wedding robe so that all - the rich, the poor, the influential and the retiring… ALL were seen as equal.  The only exception was the Bride and Groom.  

 

God absolutely loves us all and has a special care for those gone astray.  He deliberately seeks them to call them back, but today we need to also understand that God has rules.  Heaven is not a place that we create according to our own design.  It is the kingdom of God, and to enter we must submit to the King.  We come to God through the sacrifice of Christ – the only way to the father.  We are clothed in him… that is the wedding robe we all must wear if we want to be in the Kingdom of God.  What incredibly great news is the Gospel!  We come as we are to God’s banquet, and God himself makes us acceptable by providing the robe.  But God always respects our free will.  If we don’t want to wear the robe that is okay, but we cannot enter the Kingdom.  Will we wait for God, ever ready and anticipating His call and message?  Most importantly, will we accept God as our Lord and King and gratefully wear that robe? We come to him only through Jesus.

The vineyard is our world ! Pentecost 19A 4th Oct 2026

 2025  10  04  Pentecost 19A Proper 22A

Exodus 20.1-4, 7-9, 12-20   Psalm 19   Philippians 3   Matthew 21.33-46

God rescued the Israelite nation and then he gave them the commands so that they could live abundantly.  To put this all into context we need to understand that the ancient society of that time was pretty wild.  We like to think that we are more civilized, but we are still fighting for equality.  There are still women that are being killed in occasions of domestic violence.  There are still many other atrocities.  There are good and bad everywhere and in every generation.  And there are two ways we can choose to live; by agreeing that God’s laws are the absolute standard, regardless of whether we can keep them or not, or by creating laws that we think are good because they are what we can keep….  (they are the ones that make us feel like we are really good people).  

 

Recently, I came across a biblical commentary that seems relevant for today’s readings.  It was about the last verse in the Biblical book of Judges which reads; "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes". (Judges 21:25).   The commentator explained that is a concept called “Relativism”.  It is a philosophical view that asserts there are no absolute truths, standards, or universal rules.  In other words, “you do you”…  “You live your own truth and I’ll live mine”….  Sound familiar?

 

This week’s readings follow on from last week’s where the question was asked of Jesus, “by whose authority do you do these things?”.   Which begs the question; what is the absolute authority?  Which also begs the question; can we make laws based on what seems right in our own eyes?  Will they be right in someone else’s eyes?  by whose authority can we make something law? By what standard of truth are laws made?  Most importantly for us, do they line up with God’s foundational, moral laws?

 

The Israelites who received God’s commandments had been living under the law of Egypt.  They made their great exodus out of Egypt, but they needed to also exit that way of living.  They had no king or Pharoah to tell them what to do.  The ultimate authority was God, and he gave them his law… not because he needed obedience but because He wants his people to experience abundant life.  However, when the Israelites went astray it was a denial, of God as their King and authority, and it was always followed by times of disaster.  NEVER did the Israelites do what was good in their own eyes and prosper -Never!

 

How are we, and our society with these commandments?  It often amuses me that many non-church going people will tell you that they live their lives as good people who keep the commandments even though they don’t go to church.  What is funny about that, is that the first four commandments are to do with our relationship with God - and they aren’t here!!!  Not to mention that one about not mis-using God’s name.   May I respectfully suggest that what they are doing is relativism – living their own truth.  However, as we found out through the life of Jesus, these laws could be and were often mis-represented.  One major one that Jesus tried to set right was the law about the Sabbath.

 

Jesus said that he didn’t come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfil them.  So, for us to simply say that we live in the New Testament times and we live by grace and not the law is a bit of a cop out. 

In the original language, there is an emphasis on the word “remember” - the Sabbath and keep it holy.  “Remember” implied mentally anticipating and preparing throughout the whole week.  In other words, always be preparing for the holy time of rest.   And the word for rest is Shabbat which is not about stopping your work because you want to have a day off, but it is about acknowledging God as the ultimate provider.

 

On the surface it looks like we should side with the Pharisees who didn’t do any work at all on the Sabbath, but Jesus tells us that the Sabbath is made for man and not the other way around.  We need to keep before us always, that God provides for us and gives us rest.   – A reason to always live in hope.

 

Some have objections to holy objects and artwork because they are idols, but God actually commanded the Israelites to make holy objects- the ark of the covenant was to have angels on top of it etc.. The point of the command was to not have anything take the place of God.  We don’t worship things… we worship God.  We have holy objects here in the church, but we don’t worship those things.  We need to know that God is the only God in our life and the only object of our affections – no crucifix, crystal or holy object will save us.

 

The law of the Lord is perfect and when we live by God’s law in the way that God intended, we will live wholesome and good lives, and all will prosper.  There is the irony of life; there are so many people who are idealistically striving to find a way to live that is prosperous- not just financially, but health wise.  For example; my niece’s sister-in-law is the partner of a health and longevity influencer, American tech entrepreneur and biohacker Bryan Johnson.  I met them both at the wedding and had no idea that many of my friends follow him in Instagram, trying to find how to turn back the biological clock.  They are an example of the many like them- Striving….  

 

Everywhere we turn there are people pushing boundaries, but really all are striving to live better, better and best lives.   There is a Chinese scientist who was recently in jail for illegal gene editing. It might be illegal, but many wealthy people are paying for him to do his work.  All are looking for their own truth.  

 

From the 1940s Marijuana and other drugs were used to enhance life.  But some, if not all these things have been shown to be hugely detrimental to life, and mental health wards are full of the long-term effects… not to mention the morgues.  On my social media I happened upon a video of the streets of an overseas major city that the commentator said has become Zombieville.  The video showed homeless-looking people shooting up outside shops.  Others frozen in their drug-affected state and still others were yelling at invisible assailants.  Much like we often see in town here – and why our community has been looking for solutions to what they call, “anti-social behaviour due to intoxication.” 

 

In the striving to live life to the full there is a throwing off of restraints and a denial of God’s truth.  God’s law keeps society well, thriving and living life to the full, but if we pick and choose which commandments to keep and which to throw away then it is possible that we are doing exactly as those who live in denial of God’s law.

 

I think that we, the church, see ourselves as a humble part of the tapestry of life, but that is not the way it is meant to be and that is not God’s view.  The church is the body of Christ – Christ is King…  He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  He is the ultimate authority, but he handed the keys of the Kingdom to Peter and the church.  I guess we could be likened to the tenants of the vineyard. 

 

We are more than tenants, we are the royal children of God, but as such we’ve been entrusted with a task to be Christ’s body in this world, just as an owner might put tenants to work the vineyard, God has entrusted us.  Are we being faithful?  It is a question for us as church and also for us individuals.

 

Our world needs a standard of truth and if we are to be faithful tenants we need to live by, and proclaim that standard of truth.  The reality is that we can’t perfectly keep God’s law.  Only one person ever has, and that is Jesus.  Because of his sacrifice and our baptism, we are identified with him and have kept the law through him.  But this doesn’t mean that there is no longer any law for us.  We are set free from the curse of the law, but the law of God remains, and the law is good. The law of God is perfect, reviving the soul….

 

Saint Paul tells us that although he doesn’t put his assurance of salvation in the works that he does, he presses on working for Christ… “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

Saint Paul keeps the Kingdom of Heaven ever in mind.  The Kingdom of God is our Sabbath.  We have assurance in Christ that he has given us the gift of salvation.  Because it is a gift, we rest from our efforts – The ultimate Sabbath rest.  But we must remember the Sabbath… Remember Heaven/Salvation, and in all that we are and in all that we do, we keep it foremost in our mind and prepare for the Kingdom of God.  We the church are called to be influential and leaders in our community.  We are like tenants of a vineyard.

 

This world is the vineyard and Christians are the tenants.  In what ways are we being called to cultivate, nurture and prepare this world for the Kingdom of God?  What is our part? As a church – as an individual.

IT's ENOUGH 20th September 2026 Proper 20 Pentecost 17A

2026  09  20  Proper 20a  Pentecost 17a

Exodus 16.2-15    Psalm 105.1-6, 37-45     Philippians 1     Matthew 20.1-16

 

II went to a poetry night this week.  My friend gave a performance and in it she mentioned that she didn’t like the word “deserve”.  It is a popular word in our contemporary society…. We deserve this and we deserve that.  It really isn’t that contemporary.  The parable we read today deals with the same issue; a sense of entitlement, deserving of more.  Even the ancient Israelites, wondering in the desert, figured that they deserved more also.  They wanted bread and meat.  God tested them by giving them an abundance, but they were only to gather what they needed. Do you think they passed the test? 

 

Saint Paul lives differently.  He declares that for him, living is Christ and dying is gain.  It always reminds me of Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet.  “To be or not to be”.  Do you recognise this statement?  Hamlet’s speech stands in stark contrast to Paul’s living is Christ and dying is gain.   Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies - it does not end well.  Hamlet’s father, the King, was murdered and the murderer, Hamlet’s uncle then married his mother to take the crown.  Hamlet is upset and he ponders;

To be, or not to be, that is the question: -Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer- The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, - Or to take arms against a sea of troubles - And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, - No more; and by a sleep to say we end- The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks - That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation - Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; - To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:- For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, - When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, - Must give us pause—there's the respect - That makes calamity of so long life.

 

Hamlet is talking about taking his own life to end his suffering.  However, Hamlet contemplates that he doesn’t know what is after death… maybe what is after death could be worse.  In contrast, Saint Paul is writing his letter while he is in house arrest and facing an unknown future – very possibly, death!  In this context, Paul writes that to live is good, but to die is to be with Jesus – which is ultimately fantastic…. Paul says this, not at all because he wants to die, but to reassure his people that if dying was to happen, he was totally certain that he would be with Jesus and all would be well.

 

Both Hamlet and St. Paul had one thing in common.  Both knew that death is not the end.  For Hamlet, it was a great unknown and it held no reassurance.  St. Paul had miraculously met the risen Lord when he was persecuting Christians.  He was absolutely sure that there was more than this life here and now, because he had encountered it.  From that moment Paul was changed.  Paul knew that what he deserved was death.  The all-mighty God showed him that Paul was actually hurting Christ by persecuting Christians.  Paul did not deserve the grace and mercy that he had received.  Paul could well have been fearful of what future he might have in the afterlife, knowing that he was responsible for causing pain.  That would be a logical fear, don’t you think? Yet Paul has none of this fear, because he had experienced God’s amazing grace and love.

 

God’s amazing grace and love doesn’t fit with our normal human logic, which is why the parable Jesus tells in our Gospel reading is so baffling.  Surely if there were workers who worked all day, and some that only worked the last part of the day, those who worked the longest would receive more pay.  That is how it usually works, and that is what is fair, so what is Jesus trying to tell us in this parable?  He is NOT advocating for some kind of political system where everyone gets the same regardless of effort.  He is explaining a spiritual reality.  The economy of God’s love and grace.

 

The Kingdom of Heaven is like….  This is how Jesus begins the parable.  The previous reading in Matthew 19 says ; “Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” This is something that St. Paul understood and he, who calls himself the least of the apostles was sure of his place in the Kingdom.

 

In any group, there can develop an arrogance and hierarchy of those who have been there the longest.  We always and forever fall into patterns of hierarchy.  Our world is forever fighting over this, men over woman, one race over another, etc. This is not the way of the kingdom of God.  We might be working hard for the church thinking we are building our heavenly home but all in all its not just another golden brick in the wall, because this parable puts us in our place… Note that the first workers were happy with their reward for their work, until they saw that those hired last also received the same reward. 

 

It makes sense to have hierarchy.  It existed in the religious structure of Jesus’ time where the Pharisees assumed spiritual superiority and could motivate the people to do things in this way.  But those same people who were the keepers of God’s word, were furious that Jesus was spending time with those considered the sinners.  Surely those sinners could not have the same eternal reward as those who had been born into the priestly family and part of the church all their lives, could they?

 

The Kingdom of heaven is different.  But what reward do we really need or want?  Hold onto that question.

 

In the history of humanity, there was a time when God chose a nation.  We’ve been reading about this in God’s interaction with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel and was the father of the Israelite nation.  We’ve been reading lately about Moses and how he led the Israelite nation out of slavery in Egypt so that they could possess the promised land that God had promised them back in the time of Abraham.  

 

This week we read about those people and the things they wanted.  They complained to God they wanted meat and bread.  So, God sent quails for them and also Manna, the bread from heaven.  Quails we understand, but Manna was a miracle that ended when the Israelites no longer needed it.  This bread from heaven was a substance that they collected each morning and ground to make bread.  On the 6^th day they were to collect twice as much because there would be none on the 7^th day, their day of rest.  Everything about this Manna was a miracle.  It was a gift.  It was God’s abundant provision.  This slave nation didn’t understand about having a day of rest, so God had to command it.

 

If we were to read more of the text about the Manna experience, we’d find that those Israelites showed that they didn’t trust God to give them what they needed for each day and some of them collected more and overnight it went rotten.  Yet when they collected twice as much on the 6^th day it was still good for the day of rest.

 

These Israelites were used to hard labour and the concept of being gifted something, relaxing for a day because it would be there tomorrow when it was needed, was something absolutely foreign.  They were a nation who worked mighty hard for any reward.  That is what they understood.  Even in the Egyptian system of spirituality this is what was understood; work, sacrifice reward.  But the God who is who He is, provided food and rest for his people. 

 

Many people in our society have a sense of hopelessness about the future, a sense of guilt or low self-worth – i.e. they suffer from depression.  What all humans need is hope in a future, reassurance of worth… a way to deal with guilt – honestly –  To love and be loved… to be happy, accepted, valued…

 

This statement, “The first will be last and the last will be first” is about acceptance.  In that ancient culture rejection was the norm…. especially if you were not the heir.  But the Bible tells us about to be understood how God chose Jacob…. How God chose King David who was the youngest and considered insignificant.  God speaks of Israel as being rejected and the smallest of nations.  God delights to choose the small, the insignificant, the rejected and the outcast.  In the story of faith, the Gentiles… that is all of us, are “Johnny come latelys”… add ons to the story.  However, we all have ALL God’s love.  And it is kind of like this… there was a man who owned a vineyard….  No matter if we came late to this party or early, we all have all God’s love.

 

In 1998 I wrote a song called “It’s enough”.  The lyrics are; “Some people live in hope of your rewards.  They imagine a goal and strive and press toward.  Crowns of gold they see and of eating from the tree of life that gives them immortality.  Some people they see streets all paved with gold.  They imagine the glory and the power they will hold.  See them on the street, with the fear of hell they beat a rhythm that gives their inner fears release.  But it’s enough – it’s enough to know His faithful love.  And it’s enough, it’s enough to have His unconditional care.  As for me, I know the passion of the man who died for me.  All I care about heaven is that His arms of love will be there.”

 

It doesn’t matter if we’ve been serving God all our life or turned to him at the last minute, we have the love of God as our reward… We can’t possibly have more, and we will never have less!

 

We, like St. Paul, are called in this life to courageously be God’s witness and be the body of Christ – doing what Christ wants done, without fearing death, because we know that we have all of God’s love.  The test is to live as though God’s love is enough…. Is it?  He gives us the true bread from heaven… Jesus – a gift – the gift of grace we can never deserve or earn.  Eternal life through Jesus is more than a most extravagant reward.  

The Big Rescue Pentecost 15 A 6th Sept 2026

2026  09  06 - Pentecost 15    proper 18a

Exodus 12.1-14    Psalm 149    Romans 13.1-10     Matthew 18.10-20

 

Love does no harm to a neighbour.  Where are we with this?  Do you think we have ever caused harm, personally – or as a church?   We know that harm has been caused in the past.  And we are still paying dearly – the ripple effect has been intense and far reaching.  But what about us? Have we caused harm?

 

The Roman Christians were told to love their neighbours as themselves because love is the fulfilment of the law of God.  It is a letter that Paul could well have written to any church today as I believe it is VERY relevant.  The Jewish Christians had been exiled from Rome under the previous governor, but now they had come back, and the rules had changed.  Saint Paul urged them to be subject to the authorities and do good.  It is a reminder to pray for our leaders, but all the aspects of life were closing in on the church and they had various opinions.  They had concerns for how to live a Godly life.  They and we need to constantly be reminded to be an encouraging and loving community, because God’s great love for ourselves and each other, is the most important thing.

 

We can easily diminish the importance of being loving, but do we realize that it is the lack of truly being loving that causes harm?  Of course it isn’t as easy as it sounds.  We can’t just continuously agree with the loudest voice. That voice could be leading us astray – and we follow, simply because we think it is loving to agree.  Paul didn’t keep quiet when he disagreed with Peter, and it turned out that his argument was vital for safe-guarding the message of the Gospel.

 

How interesting that this topic should come up, as our society is constantly battling this very conundrum.  The freedom of speech- the right to disagree.  And the need to stand up for what we believe to be vital- but not to be disrespectful, or hateful.   And there is another whole can of worms as there are some who interpretate disagreeing as being hateful.

 

It stands to reason then, that we need to have positive ways to deal with conflict and differences.  Our street Chaplaincy leaders are encouraged to deal with someone who does the “wrong” thing immediately.  Glitches become issues when they are not dealt with immediately and they become a complaint with which the committee needs to deal.  Then what happens has the potential to be a mountain out of a molehill.  Does this ever happen in the church?  NO ONE is perfect.  

 

Our Gospel scripture tells us to speak directly and privately to the person who is sinning.  Now, “sinning”, means they have missed the mark.  That can be a tiny thing or something major.  Often, our Street Chaplaincy difficulties are the minor kind- In the beginning at least.  This could be that a Chaplain has given their phone number to someone on the street.  It isn’t a big deal necessarily.  It could be that they have engaged in crude talk with the security guards.  These are the real things that we do need to talk to Chaplains about.  When it happens, we don’t embarrass the person by addressing them in front of others, if possible, depending on the seriousness of the circumstance.  We teach our members that it should be dealt with immediately, as soon as it is possible to have a private conversation.  If that person doesn’t take any notice and continues in the error, then the matter is taken further.

 

I’m hoping that you can see how this fits with our scripture directions.  Sadly, what is more common everywhere, is that the one-on-one correction never happens.  In fact, the two or three witness level rarely happens either, and instead, the first the person knows that they’ve erred, is when a higher authority or larger group become involved.  In these cases, people are left bewildered and hurt.  They leave the ministry they were involved in and they leave the church.  They may even feel rejected by God.   THIS is a serious problem!!!

 

The scripture just prior to our reading says that it “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”  THIS is serious!  Today’s reading begins with, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

 

So many stories I could tell you, of Christians who don’t attend church because they have been hurt by church authorities.  If these people are no longer attending church because of how we have badly handled a situation, we are those who have caused people to stumble.  They are stumbling in their commitment to belong to the body of Christ and that was our doing.  So much hurt… so much sin… can be avoided if we follow God’s way of dealing with issues. 

 

In the middle of the Gospel reading, we have a story about leaving the 99 sheep to go and rescue one.  To some extent it makes no sense.  Surely, you’d do better to care for the 99????  Until we put it into a context we can relate to;  Imagine you are teaching a class of prep children.  One of them runs off.  I guarantee, all your attention is focused on that one!  There is NO peace until you know that that little one is safe and the idea of leaving the 99 to go and find the one, is not that you would leave the others vulnerable.  The shepherds of that time were not likely to be on their own and so the 99 were kept safe, but the value of that one is such that there is much rejoicing when it is found.  As a teacher looking after preps, we might better understand the value of that rejoicing over the one, but do we comprehend that this is God’s care over that one person who left the church because of hurt?

 

Many years ago, in the land of Egypt, the Israelites were slaves.  They were hard pressed by the Egyptians and forced into labour.  The Egyptians had gods that they worshiped and all this impacted the people… it hurt them.

More than that, Pharaoh decided to diminish the numbers of the Israelites by killing every male baby born.  Moses should have been destroyed, except by the divine providence of God and circumstances that led to him floating on a basket to the Egyptian princess.  As a grown man, he tried to rescue his people, but his efforts being misunderstood meant that he was exiled for many years in the desert.   He was supposed to be killed at birth, and then as an adult he lived in exile.  But God cares for the exiled.  God cares for the outcast.  God cares for those whose lives are headed for destruction unless there is some kind of rescue.

 

Last week we read about Moses and how God called him to set the people free.  This week we jump ahead to the final plague and we glimpse what God is doing.  Scripture quotes God as saying, “I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.”  Pharaoh had taken the lives of a whole generation of men, killing them at birth, but God gave Pharaoh every opportunity to repent.  

 

A few things are happening here that we may not have realized.  The people of Israel had been hurt.  Physically they were oppressed.  Emotionally and psychologically, they saw themselves as slaves and second-class citizens.  Spiritually they had been led into the false and harmful religion of the Egyptians.  Each of the plagues that God sent showed God’s sovereignty over those so-called Gods.  Finally, after God proving himself over and over, Pharaoh still defied God.  Why would he do that after all the proof?  Perhaps because of an inflated sense of his own importance.  Pharaoh was considered a living deity.   He was believed to be the son of the sun god, Ra, the source of life, and the goddess Issis, protector of children. 

 

In that final plague God showed Israelite and Egyptians alike, that there is no God other than himself who is the source of life.  He, the LORD – Yahweh –  The God who is who He is- It is He who is the be all, the end all, the source of all.  And the way to life and protection from this plague was through the blood of the lamb  - the lamb of God- God himself is the lamb of God.   LIFE is in HIM.  In this he also prefigured the sacrifice of Christ.

 

Moses had gone to Pharoah with his request.  Then he went again, and again, and again…. Etc. 10 times.  In a previous plague of hail, scripture tells us that those who reverenced the Lord took their cattle in.  The hail didn’t fall in the area where the Israelites lived, so this refers to the Egyptians who had come to believe in Yahweh.  Pharaoh considered himself to be greater than God, therefore no one could possibly harm him.  Pharaoh was warned but he chose deliberate defiance. 

 

Pharaoh was the ruler of the land.  While the letter to the Romans tells us to be subject to the governing authorities, and we certainly should – as well as pray for those leaders, there may be times that we need to petition.  We know that one of our marks of mission is to seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind, and to pursue peace and reconciliation. 

 

Transformation begins when we realize that the person who has gone astray & needs correction is actually all of us!  We are all the “black sheep” in this family of God – but the lamb of God – the one perfect one, died in our place.  When we can see ourselves in each other and truly understand the love God has for us, we can respond to each other with that love. 

 

Today’s readings are all about rescue.  Rescue of the oppressed Israelite nation, rescue of the one sheep gone astray and the rescue we are called to take part in.  The rescue of each little one who has been or is being hurt.  I challenge each one of us to come up with just one way we can step into that rescue today.