Compassion
Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. ~Matthew 21:33
Grace and peace to you on this rainy Saturday. May the coolness of the day be a balm to your soul.
This past Sunday evening, the youth of St. Peter’s considered the nature of God. Who is God? We reflected on the stories in Scripture and on our own experiences. We made a list. You can see it in in the Narthex. Take a look.
As part of our conversation, we watched a video by the Bible Project that explores the word “compassion,” a particular word often used to describe God (e.g. Exodus 34:6). God refers to God’s self in this way as well — full of compassion, like a mother who cannot forget her nursing child (Isaiah 49:15).
Time and time again, God is moved by compassion to respond to the plight of the people. Moved by compassion God acts. God so desires for our fruitfulness God even enters into human suffering in the person of Jesus.
Remembering that God is full of compassion may help us understand tomorrow’s challenging gospel passage (Matthew 21:33-46). Jesus tells what is often called the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and poses a question to his audience.
Here’s the parable: A landlord sends servants to his vineyard to collect the harvest. The tenants of the vineyard kill the servants. So the landlord sends more servants. The tenants kill them too. So, the landlord sends his son. Surely “they will respect my son,” he says. But the tenants kill the son as well.
Jesus asks, “what will the owner do to the tenants?” And the people answer, “He will put them to death.” Jesus responds, “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’?”
I invite you to prepare for worship tomorrow by reading Matthew 21:33-46. Read it in light of a core character of God — compassionate. What might Jesus be saying to us about God in this reading? How is this passage calling you to live?
Consider attending the Adult Forum tomorrow at 9 AM. It begins a three-part series on Civil Conversations. We will welcome Alan Yarborough from the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations who will introduce principles of civil conversations. Read more about Alan here. The Rev. David Potter, Associate Rector, will be preaching and leading worship.
Faithfully,
Jenifer
Rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
