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 This parable Jesus told describes a vineyard owner who hired workers at different times of the day but paid them all the same. Sometimes when God blesses people in ways that he has not blessed us, it is easy to feel a bit jealous. When this happens, we are admonished to put away childish attitudes, and to rejoice with those who rejoice. We should never lose sight of the many ways God has kept his promises and agreements with us. youtu.be/aK3FMccR4PI
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 Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question about how often to forgive someone is a reversal of the ancient idea of unlimited vengeance. Jesus calls us instead to unlimited forgiveness. This is possible because God’s forgiveness of us is more than an exercise in bookkeeping. It is an act of reconciliation that changes peoples’ lives, so that they can be not only forgiven people but forgiving ones. https://youtu.be/0SvlDYxI0Aw  The process that Jesus outlines for church discipline has much to teach about interpersonal relationships in a technology-saturated world. It is a gracious process that highlights the value and dignity of each party involved. https://youtu.be/0Tp-sX-ip9Y  Our passage is about a time when Jesus showed Peter a “course correction” he needed to make. Had he not made that correction, Peter would have continued “setting his mind not on divine things but on human things.” The good news for us is that Jesus is patient and willing to help us make course corrections as we follow him. https://youtu.be/c6cVB0jVK6g  The gospel story today may be difficult to hear. It appears at first sight that Jesus is insensitive and even prejudiced. However, if we keep faith as the woman in the story did and listen between the lines, we might hear something about a world that tends to divide itself in ways that God never intended. This woman who never went to church has something important to show the people who do. https://youtu.be/d5MJxC6q_MU  Matthew, Mark, and John all tell the story of Jesus walking on the water, but Matthew includes details the other two gospeleers do not. Those details help us to hear the message that rather than attempting to walk away from our problems, we are better to ask Christ to join us in our shaky crafts, trusting him to sail the rest of the journey with us, and to eventually land us safe on heaven’s shore. https://youtu.be/lKrXtRF6kf4  Two popular responses to the accounts of Jesus’ feeding thousands of people are: “There must be a natural explanation,” and “It’s a miracle.” Neither is entirely satisfying. More to the point is who did it — Jesus as the presence of the creator. And his initial statement to his disciples reminds us that responding to the basic physical needs of people is part of the Christian community’s calling. youtu.be/OtkaTtkAbCc  Life sometimes heaps crushing loads on us. We help neither ourselves nor others by mouthing pious platitudes such as “God never gives us more than we can bear,” which is not promised in scripture to start with. But let us trust instead what the Bible does tell us: that God is with us no matter what, and that we have in our power the ability to help one another carry the burdens of life. https://youtu.be/R772AnZfajA  This parable is about leaving judgments in God’s hands, about waiting until the harvest to pull up the weeds. When evil is rampant and the threat is immediate, we cannot wait that long, but when there is no imminent danger, it’s sometimes a good idea to allow negative people to continue until others see their behavior for what it is. In fact, much of the time, we can wait and let God do the sorting. https://youtu.be/cHpwf_sLig8  We’re told that “the evil one” snatches away the Word that is proclaimed so that it doesn’t result in anything positive. Evil is always negative and destructive, and it is by hearing God’s creative word that people are brought to faith and enabled to do good things. We are to hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and keep on hearing it, so that we remain faithful and able to be God’s instruments in his creative work in the world. https://youtu.be/fIKLxBczWDM |