Tuesday after the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 24, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 21:28-44 (NKJV)
21:28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
33 “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Devotion
The two parables spoken by Jesus and recorded in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew appointed for our meditation this day were aimed at the religious leaders of His time. The parables can be applied to all believers, though; especially to the heterodox and apostate “pastors” and “ecclesiastic supervisors” of this rebellious and stiff-necked generation in which we live. Both parables present the harsh judgment and horrible punishment that awaits all those who dare to play the harlot with the countless idols of the temporal world and simultaneously want to hypocritically claim the title of disciple of Christ or Christian. All such pretenders will face the crushing blow of Christ’s words recorded in Matthew 6: “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
The Gospel of Saint Matthew is filled with judgment upon judgment against those who dare to pretend to be faithful followers of Christ while living a life of earthly desire and temporal attachment. The Lord, through His apostle, strongly condemns all who stain and cover with filth His holy Bride through their hypocritical thoughts, words, and deeds.
Prayer: Grant, we beseech Thee, Merciful Lord, to Thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve Thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
