October 8, 2023
Matthew 21:33-46
None of us can keep this church going. I cannot do it, nor can you. Walker Chapel, like every other church, is God’s. This is God’s church and God’s service. We are God’s people. This is where financial stewardship becomes important, as we are not only a part of the mission of Walker Chapel. What we do here in worship, discipleship, and mission is part of God’s larger work in making all of creation new, which places us in ministry alongside the saints that sustain the church today while also laying the groundwork for the saints that God will work through in the years to come.
Still, we cannot sidestep judgment. We cannot escape that Jesus says he will return. The Priests and Elders say a “miserable death is coming” which can leave us fearful of what is to come. But (and it’s a big but so you know it does not lie) a few chapters later God raises the Son, the second person of the Trinity, buried outside the walls of Jerusalem.
God's amazing grace is a stumbling block to those who insist that their best behavior and good works are more important than trusting God’s forgiveness. God offers grace and forgiveness, and we insist we want law. What scares me the most about this parable of judgment is that we are, that I am, slow to learn and believe that all God has ever wanted was for us to believe.
What happened on the cross and in Christ’s tomb is the cornerstone upon which God’s new creation began. All that is left to do now to escape the judgment of the vineyard owner is to trust that through Jesus Christ, through the Son who gave himself up for all of creation, you, we have already escaped it. The Good News is that the rent has been paid, in total, on our behalf by the Son.
