God's Word in Action: Ask the Pastor BLOG
Welcome to this new resource! At the suggestion of God's Word in Action (GWIA) subscribers, we are expanding this resource to include the opportunity to ask questions of our Pastors regarding their sermons, weekly Bible lessons for Sunday or any other faith/Bible based topics.
To best facilitate the question and answer process and to best share the benefits of all questions and answers with anyone who subscribes, we have choosen an interactive tool called a "BLOG". Short for "web log", the BLOG format allows for you to view the sermon summary from each weekly edition of GWIA and ask questions and view answers.
All questions or responses are welcome, but each week the staff will come up with a conversation starter that you are welcome to respond to. Find it by clicking on "comments."
How to Use the "GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG":
- Click the comments link under the sermon summary to ask your question.
- Scroll down to view a new "Post Comments" form is displayed below the GWIA sermon summary.
- Type a name. Even though a name is required, "Anonymous" and "Guest" are perfectly acceptable if you wish to ask your question anonymously.
- Type your email address. Also required but will not be publically displayed.
- Skip the Website field as it is NOT required.
- Type your question in the Comments Box.
- Click the "Add Comments" button at the bottom to submit your question. Your question now appears below the related GWIA edition.
- Click the <<back to the blog link to return to the BLOG and close the Post Comments box.
- Questions are reviewed and answered by our Pastors which can take anywhere from an afternoon up to 2 days in the event of questions posted on Fridays or Saturdays.
How to View Your Answer:
- Return to the GWIA - Ask a Pastor BLOG by clicking the Question Button in one of your weekly GWIA emails -OR- by visiting the All Saints home page and clicking the "view the current edition" link in the subscription box.
- Scroll down to view the GWIA edition you asked a question about and click the "Comments" link.
- This displays all the questions and answers posted for this edition.
- Once you have completed your review, you can click the <<back to the blog link and return to the complete list of weekly editions. From here you may choose to view other questions and answers posted for other edition, etc.
Questions about or difficulities with the BLOG:
Contact Bobbie Tomasek at btomasek@allsaintsphoenix.org or Gina King at ginaking@allsaintsphoenix.org
October 8 Edition: Tending the Land and Paying the Rent
Matthew 21:33-46
"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 parable, 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 landowner in this parable can't control his tenants or how they treat his property. Neither can he control the tenants lack of respect, greed, jealousy or murderous impulses. Similarly, God couldn't really control the people of Israel. They were trusted with God's earthly kingdom but they didn't care for it, respect God's laws or spread his word. So God sent prophets to remind them how he had loved them and protected them and to urge them to change their evil ways. But they turned away from the prophets and didn't heed their advice. So what did God do next? He sent his son, Jesus. But again, instead of listening, the leaders ignored God's word and put him to death.
We, the children of God, are the tenants in this story. We, who know about what is just and fair in God's eyes, haven't followed through. We've spurn God's words by not listening or pretending not to. God calls us to love him with all our hearts and minds and love our neighbor as ourselves. This is our greatest charge. If we follow this we will hear and listen to our prophets and follow their teaching.
No matter what we have -- prestigious jobs, wealth, fame, security -- we are still just the tenants of the great landowner. All we have we owe to God and this is both a challenge and a comfort. We are called to hear the needs of others, our fellow tenants, and we are challenged to respond to their needs. It is a comfort because no matter what earthly institutions fail us, God our landowner, our Creator and Redeemer, will not.
Listen to the Audio Sermon for this week
