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| The entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE! |
The Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called
Passion Sunday.
The
Collect.
W
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E beseech
thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great
goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And due to the rubric, the Collect for the Day is
followed by the Collect for Ash Wednesday, which is found on Page 124:
The first day of Lent, commonly called
Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday.
The
Collect.
A
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LMIGHTY and
everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the
sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite
hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and
forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be said every day in Lent, after the
Collect appointed for the day, until Palm Sunday.
One salient point
of this Collect is government in the House of God – not just the secular arm,
but the religious and spiritual as well. Just as a nation wavers and stumbles
under wicked kings and rulers, so does the Church of God under immoral and
unrighteous ministers and Episcopal shepherds. Today’s sermon text touches upon
the same subject.
9 Then began he to speak to the people
this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and
let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent a servant to the
husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the
husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat
him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him
also, and cast him out. 13 Then
said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it
may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned
among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours. 15 So
they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the
lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and
shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said,
God forbid. 17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be
broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 19 And
the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and
they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable
against them. (Luke
20:9-19)
The Lord often refers to His people as a Vineyard, or a Garden. Solomon
makes reference to the church as the Bride of Christ in SS 4:12 – “A
garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain
sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard.”
In Bible times, and even today in Asia and the Middle East, gardens
were enclosed by walls of either hedge or adobe to protect the INSIDE from the
OUTSIDE. Additionally, there is usually a source of water dug in wells inside
the enclosure, and a watchtower from which the farmer can watch for intruders.
So this vineyard of God is like that Garden enclosed. It has its own source of
the Water of Life that is sealed only to those of the Garden. That Water of
Life is a Type of Christ, and the High tower is a Type of God the Father. The
Wall of Enclosure is a Type of the Holy Ghost separating the people of God from
those of the world.
God has made a fence around His people to keep the world from coming
into it. Our behaviors and associations are hedged about so that we do not grow
wild as the tares and briars of the field.
Our parable today comes after Christ has vanquished the Sanhedrin in their
attempt to undermine Him in the Temple when they demanded to know by what
authority Jesus spoke these things. Jesus exposed their treachery and ignorance
publicly. It also comes just two days before His betrayal and arrest in the
Garden of Gethsemane. He has, on many occasion, told the disciples plainly that
He will be crucified, and that this is the reason for His going up to Jerusalem
for the Passover. In fact, Jesus Christ is the long awaited Passover Lamb of
God fore-shadowed in the first Passover in Egypt. It is Tuesday – and on
Thursday evening, He will be betrayed! Though He has plainly spoken to the
disciples, He will now address the Jewish scholars and rulers in a Parable
which is very clearly discernible
Now He speaks to the people, and subtly to the Jewish leaders present
as well. He makes reference to a certain man… the Lord of Hosts.
9 Then
began he to speak to the people this parable; A
certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a
far country for a long time.
The certain man represents
God the Father. While it is true that God created all things by the executive
agency of His Son, in a grander sense, He created the church by way of the
Promise given to Abraham, and hinted at in the Garden to Eve. The people
of God (church – both Old and New Testament) is typified by the Vineyard.
The planting of the Vineyard has been the establishment of His elect
people, of the church, and of old Israel. God labored long and patiently in
leading His people to the Land of Promise, and in leading you to a favored
place in His Kingdom, too.
Matthew, in a parallel account, adds: There
was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about,
and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen
(Matt 21:33) He hedged it about to keep
the world out (as in SS 4:12-13).
He digged a winepress in it – perhaps an allusion to His coming
sacrifice in blood of purchasing His people out of their sins and bondage.
Built
a Tower – set
watchers over the people to warn them of thieves and unsavory types who would
attempt to invade the garden. Ultimately, the High Tower is God, and the
under-shepherds are His ministers. They have done a very poor job of defending
the truth and doctrines of the Gospel in our day, have they not?
and let it forth to husbandmen; the husbandmen here referred to are those rulers of Israel whose duty
it was to preach and to teach, to counsel and to warn.
and went into a far country for a long time; the time from the giving of the Law until Christ.
10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen,
that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat
him, and sent him away empty. 11 And
again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him
shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a
third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.
God sent His prophets unto them. Their treatment of the prophets was a
gradually escalating trend of cruelty and ill-treatment. Jeremiah was
imprisoned, Isaiah was sawn asunder. Abel was murdered by his own brother,
Cain. They laughed at Hosea and Noah.
13 Then said the
lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be
they will reverence him when they see him.
Finally, God determines it
is time to send His Only Begotten Son. He did so wittingly, knowing that they
would treat Him with harshness and even murder Him.
14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned
among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed
him
This exposes the greed and
jealousy of the Jewish leaders in wanting to destroy Christ. They knew full
well that He was the Heir of the Father, yet they wanted no interference with
their own power. They had Christ beaten, taken outside the gates of the City –
Via Dolorsa – and finally murdered Him.
What therefore shall the lord
of the vineyard do unto them?
If you were a
powerful King who sent His Son to claim the fruits of His own Garden, and the
keepers murdered Him, what would YOU do?
16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the
vineyard to others
Christ would take the Kingdom from the Jews and give it to a nation
bearing the fruits thereof. Remember His rebuke to the Jewish leaders? 42 Jesus
saith unto them, Did ye never read in the
scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head
of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof. (Matt 21:42-43)
And when they heard it, they said, God forbid It is abundantly clear by their response
that they Knew Christ spoke of them (the Jewish leaders).
17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be
broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
The very cornerstone of the Great Pyramid at Giza lay half buried at
its base and kept getting in the way of the workers. They often cursed the
stone until, nearly completed with the pyramid, they discovered that this was
the capstone. By that time, it was too late to erect it to the top of the
structure. So the Great Pyramid remains unfinished without its capstone.
Without Christ as the Chief Cornerstone of our Church, we are unfinished. In
that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt,
and a pillar at the border thereof to the LORD. 20 And it shall
be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt:
for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send
them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. (Isaiah
19:19-20)
The Dollar Bill depicts that Chief Cornerstone above the pyramid on the
National Seal.
19 And the chief priests and
the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the
people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them
There is an old adage that says: If the shoe fits, wear it! The shoe
did fit the Jewish leaders and they were incensed to the point of desiring to
murder Christ on the spot – but they feared the people – they were political
creatures and must consider how they would be viewed by the people. They would,
rather, allow Rome to do their dirty deed of murder.
We are that
Vineyard to which Christ refers. He has planted us, purchased us, and set
watchers on the towers above us to keep us from error.
He has made a
winepress, flowing with His own blood and sacrifice, in the midst of the
Vineyard.
He has hedged
us about to keep us separated from the world and its weeds of sin.
Have you
heeded the watchman’s warning of the world of sin and filth?
Have you
remained within the limits of behavior that God has set for you?
Have you
drunk from the winepress of His Blood shed for you?
Are you eager
for the return of the Owner and Heir of the Vineyard, or do you tremble to know
that He is Coming to receive His own and to judge those who have not been
faithful?
Decide today
upon which side of the Line of Decision you shall stand when He returns.
