Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
One of the hardest things we can do is give up power. To accept change.
That was one of the things I had to do in my time at St. Peter’s in Helena, Montana. With a program I myself had started. Our 20s&30s program.
I wanted to make sure there was a smooth transition. That the program outlasted me. So I let my successor take over planning events.
And of course she had different ideas from me. And as often happens when giving up power, I found myself not sure of all her ideas. Not so much because I thought they were bad, but because they were different from mine. They weren't things I hadn't thought of.
And I could have stepped in and said “I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t think we should do it this way.”
But fortunately I was able to let go of my ego. I said to myself “No Trey. You decided to give this up. You need to let go. Let’s see what happens with this.”
Which fortunate was absolutely the right thing to do. Her ideas were great and ended up bringing new people in. Her new ideas and creativity ended up being exactly what we needed.
At the end of the day, I may have started the 20s&30s group, but it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even about the young adults we were serving. It was about Christ Jesus.
When we start to feel that what we do here in this church is about us or anyone other than Jesus, then we fall into a dangerous trap, as we see in our readings this morning.
In the Gospel, we hear the story of a vineyard. It’s owner leases it out to tenants. In other words, he puts the care of this vineyard in the hands of others who He expects to produce good grapes. So the owner keeps sending His servants. And the same thing happens.
Finally, He sends His Son. Because surely the same thing wouldn’t happen to Him. Surely His Son would be treated with respect.
No such luck. The tenants are so mad with power, so unable to let go of what isn’t even theirs that they kill the Son too.
To give some context, the Landowner is God, the tenants are those in power in Jesus’ day, the slaves are the prophets of old, and the son is, of course, The Son, Jesus Himself.
And this parable is very similar to the story we get in Isaiah. In both stories the vineyard is not producing as it should.
In Isaiah’s story, we are directly given what will happen to the vineyard by Isaiah himself. But in the Gospel, it isn’t Jesus who tells us what will happen. Ironically it is those listening to it, the chief priests and Pharisees. Those who this parable is really about.
And they say that the landowner will put the tenants to death. A miserable death too. And that the vineyard will be given to others who will do the work they are supposed to be doing.
All of our ministries in the church, they aren’t really ours. They are God’s who has given us care over them.
The problems we often face is when we make our work about us, and not about God. When we forget that we aren’t in charge. We are merely caretakers.
If Jesus is not our center, then we are nothing. And we will fail. If our focus in on who we are, what we are doing, or on our importance, then we are like the chief priests and Pharisees we hear about this morning. We are tenants who are not doing our part to give the glory to God.
This is something we all need to stop and do from time to time. We all need to ask ourselves what are we doing this for. Rather, who are we doing this for. If the answer is for ourselves or for our own glory, or even the glory of our own families or communities, then all is for nought. But if it is for Christ Jesus, then we have truly gained something.
As Paul tells us in Philippians this morning, all that he once had was for nought. But through Christ, he has all things. Mainly, the gift of grace. The new and transformed life in the resurrection from the dead.
And as Paul says, and as you have often heard me quote, he presses on to reach the goal of Jesus Christ. He presses on to make it his own even as Christ Jesus has made Paul, and all of us, His own. As the church that bears his name, we are called to press forward with Paul. We are called to put aside ourselves, our own glory and our own need for power and control, and give all that we have to Christ Jesus. Because in the end, we are only caretakers of this church and all its works belong not to us, but to Jesus Christ and to Him alone.
That was one of the things I had to do in my time at St. Peter’s in Helena, Montana. With a program I myself had started. Our 20s&30s program.
I wanted to make sure there was a smooth transition. That the program outlasted me. So I let my successor take over planning events.
And of course she had different ideas from me. And as often happens when giving up power, I found myself not sure of all her ideas. Not so much because I thought they were bad, but because they were different from mine. They weren't things I hadn't thought of.
And I could have stepped in and said “I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t think we should do it this way.”
But fortunately I was able to let go of my ego. I said to myself “No Trey. You decided to give this up. You need to let go. Let’s see what happens with this.”
Which fortunate was absolutely the right thing to do. Her ideas were great and ended up bringing new people in. Her new ideas and creativity ended up being exactly what we needed.
At the end of the day, I may have started the 20s&30s group, but it wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even about the young adults we were serving. It was about Christ Jesus.
When we start to feel that what we do here in this church is about us or anyone other than Jesus, then we fall into a dangerous trap, as we see in our readings this morning.
In the Gospel, we hear the story of a vineyard. It’s owner leases it out to tenants. In other words, he puts the care of this vineyard in the hands of others who He expects to produce good grapes. So the owner keeps sending His servants. And the same thing happens.
Finally, He sends His Son. Because surely the same thing wouldn’t happen to Him. Surely His Son would be treated with respect.
No such luck. The tenants are so mad with power, so unable to let go of what isn’t even theirs that they kill the Son too.
To give some context, the Landowner is God, the tenants are those in power in Jesus’ day, the slaves are the prophets of old, and the son is, of course, The Son, Jesus Himself.
And this parable is very similar to the story we get in Isaiah. In both stories the vineyard is not producing as it should.
In Isaiah’s story, we are directly given what will happen to the vineyard by Isaiah himself. But in the Gospel, it isn’t Jesus who tells us what will happen. Ironically it is those listening to it, the chief priests and Pharisees. Those who this parable is really about.
And they say that the landowner will put the tenants to death. A miserable death too. And that the vineyard will be given to others who will do the work they are supposed to be doing.
All of our ministries in the church, they aren’t really ours. They are God’s who has given us care over them.
The problems we often face is when we make our work about us, and not about God. When we forget that we aren’t in charge. We are merely caretakers.
If Jesus is not our center, then we are nothing. And we will fail. If our focus in on who we are, what we are doing, or on our importance, then we are like the chief priests and Pharisees we hear about this morning. We are tenants who are not doing our part to give the glory to God.
This is something we all need to stop and do from time to time. We all need to ask ourselves what are we doing this for. Rather, who are we doing this for. If the answer is for ourselves or for our own glory, or even the glory of our own families or communities, then all is for nought. But if it is for Christ Jesus, then we have truly gained something.
As Paul tells us in Philippians this morning, all that he once had was for nought. But through Christ, he has all things. Mainly, the gift of grace. The new and transformed life in the resurrection from the dead.
And as Paul says, and as you have often heard me quote, he presses on to reach the goal of Jesus Christ. He presses on to make it his own even as Christ Jesus has made Paul, and all of us, His own. As the church that bears his name, we are called to press forward with Paul. We are called to put aside ourselves, our own glory and our own need for power and control, and give all that we have to Christ Jesus. Because in the end, we are only caretakers of this church and all its works belong not to us, but to Jesus Christ and to Him alone.