Mesore

2021-08-29: 4th Sunday of Mesore - Watch

Introduction

End of Calendar Year

Theme of Mesra - Be Ready

Theme of 4th Sunday Mesra

1 - Spiritual Growth

Watch Lest You Become Stagnant

Watch Lest Your Growth not be Spiritual

2 - Spiritual Warfare

Watch Lest you fall into Temptation

Watch Your Participation in the Sacraments

3 - Talents

All have talents

Watch Lest You Use the Talents for Your Own Glory

Watch Lest You Ignore or Reject your Talent

Conclusion

Review

Application

Concluding Prayer

Glory be to God forever. Amen. 

2025-08-10: 1st Sunday of Mesore - Stewardship

Visual Aid

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/errr849iohyvaoo4do91l/Stewardship.pptx?rlkey=74vvntrmijvdl3ssurzfl3y4h&dl=0 

Background

Today is the 1st Sunday of the Coptic Month of Mesore and the Church arranges the readings of the first three Sundays of this month to speak about how the Lord cares for His Church.

Introduction

Today the Gospel Reading according to St Luke showed us one of the very important parables that the Lord preached: The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers. The Lord said this parable near the end of His ministry in Jerusalem and its meaning was very clear to the Pharisees and Chief Priests and Scribes - so much so that they sought to lay hands on Him after hearing it.

A vinedresser planted a vineyard. Then he leased it to some vinedressers, and went away for a long time.

When it was vintage-time, when it was time for the vineyard to produce fruits, the man sent his servant to go and get some of that fruit. The vinedressers beat the servant and sent him away. So he sent another servant... again, they beat him and sent him away empty. Then he sent a third... again, they wounded him and cast him out.

So the man sends his son, and the gospel says specifically: "his beloved son" - but when the vinedressers saw him, they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. And the Lord tells them "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."

And the chief priests and scribes UNDERSTOOD the Parable, so they said "Certainly not!"

They understood that:

The message of the parable was that God had entrusted them with a vineyard, a promised land, a nation, a people. And when God sent His servants, the prophets, they persecuted them and cast them out and rejected them. And that now God sends His Son - His beloved Son - and He is rejected, and He will be killed. And God will destroy them and give the vineyard to someone else.

And the Lord drives home the idea by referring to the prophecy of Psalm 118 - "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone."

This is the prophetic meaning of this parable. The Lord prophesies His death at the hands of the Jewish people, and the giving of the Heavenly Kingdom to others; to Gentiles. We, the Christian people. The New Israel.

There is also a spiritual meaning. These wicked vinedressers were evil stewards. The owner of the vineyard leased it to them - he made them stewards. He entrusted them the care of his vineyard, the responsibility of it, and they were evil in their stewardship. What about us? Are we good stewards? What does it mean to be a steward? What are we stewards of?

The Concept of Stewardship

A steward is someone who is entrusted with responsibility over something... a business, a piece of land, a vineyard. The steward is not the owner, but the owner entrusts him with the stewardship.

St John Chrysostom says: “A steward’s part is to administer well the things committed to his charge: not to say that his master’s things are his own; but, on the contrary, that his own are his master’s.”

So the key word in stewardship is "I am not the owner"

We are not the owners of:

Sometimes we conduct our lives as if we are the owners, not as stewards. We are stewards for God. God is the owner. We are born with nothing on our backs, nothing in our hands... and when we leave this world, we will take nothing with us... whatever we have here is given to us from God as a stewardship.

Today we will discuss three principles of stewardship.

1 - What God Gave Us is Good

The vineyard that the Lord planted was not just a basic vineyard.

"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" (Matthew 21:33)

The Lord gave these stewards something that is good and something that can bear fruit. If the man hadn't set a hedge around it, it would be exposed to thieves or wild animals. If he hadn't dug a winepress, there wouldn't be anywhere to gather the harvest. If he hadn't built a tower, there wouldn't be a place for watchmen to guard against danger. The man prepared everything perfectly so that the vineyard could flourish. And THEN he gave it in a stewardship.

The Lord has made me steward over many things, and equipped me with much to be fruitful. But my job is to bring those fruits for God's glory.

The Lord when He created the heavens and the earth, at the end of each of the six days, He looked and "saw that it was good" (Genesis 1)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17)

What am I a steward of?

The Lord has given me a good vineyard. He entrusted me with many things to be steward of them.

2 - Faithful and Wise Stewards

What does the Lord expect me to do with my stewardship? "Who then is that faithful and wise steward" (Luke 12:42)

Faithfulness and Wisdom

“It is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2)

An owner of a business who wants to hire a manager will look for someone who is faithful and wise.

If he is wise but unfaithful, then he will make good profits and then steal it for himself. If he is faithful but not wise, then he will honor you and support you and be loyal, but he will not make a profit. He won't bring fruit. But you want someone who is faithful and wise.

The faithful and wise steward of God will use his gifts to make a profit and render that profit to the Lord - to give glory to God. 

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)

This is what the Lord expects from us. We are stewards of our body, our time, our money, our talents, our intellect, our health, our jobs, our educations, our children - but we must be faithful and wise.

Why? What is the result?

3 - Stewards Are Accountable

Stewards are accountable. "Give an account of your stewardship"

If we know that God will ask us "How did you spend your time?" we will be careful to spend our time in a way that glorifies God.

If we know that God will ask us "What did you do with your money?" we will be careful to use our money to glorify God.

If we know that God will ask us "What did you do with your children?" we will be careful in raising our children to be well-balanced in their spiritual life, in their education, in their social life. 

If we know that God will ask us "How did you deal with your employees?" we will careful to treat our employees with respect and honor them and give them a fair wage and serve them.

The Lord will ask us - "I gave you money, children, family, intelligence, health, career, talents, time... what did you do with these gifts? Did you waste them? Did you bury them? Or did you produce fruits glorifying God? Give an account of your stewardship."

If the Lord asked me right now, "how did you use your time last week?" - What would I say?

If the Lord asked me right now, "what did you do with your children this summer?" - How would I respond?

Let me put these questions at the front of my mind, knowing that I am a steward and that stewards are accountable. It's a good exercise at the end of each day, and at the end of each week, and at the end of each quarter and year to give account of my stewardship. To look at all that the Lord has entrusted to me and ask myself these questions.

Conclusion

In today's parable, the Lord warned the wicked vinedressers because they failed in their stewardship. They received a good vineyard that was protected and provisioned and able to produce fruits. But they were not faithful. They were not wise. And instead of rendering fruit for the owner, they kept it for themselves.

We also are entrusted with a vineyard - a good vineyard that is prepared for us. Our life, our time, our money, our talents, our intellect, our health, our relationships, our children, our jobs, our employees. These are not our own - they are God's, and He gave them to us for stewardship... to tend them and to return the fruit.

One day, the Lord will ask each one of us: "Give an account of your stewardship." God forbid that we show up before Him empty-handed. But if we are faithful and wise in our stewardship, we will hear those fateful words, the reward of faithful stewardship: "Well done good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord."

May the Lord grant all of us to hear those words, and may He give us faithfulness and wisdom in dealing with our stewardship, lest we become like those evil vinedressers.

2025-08-17: 2nd Sunday of Mesore - Follow Me

Visual Aid

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kb3sihtftcl4c2oaq5uyu/Follow-Me.pptx?rlkey=cc4r5g3l8vqfh02x3zsyxkrkm&dl=0 

Background

*Good morning, dear beloved*

We are coming to the end of the Coptic year now - today is the 2nd Sunday of the Blessed Month of Mesore.

And the Church arranged for us today the Gospel Reading of the Calling of Matthew the Apostle. Matthew was a tax-collector named Levi working in a tax office and the Lord passed by him and said two words: "Follow Me." The Gospels don't mention to us that they had any interaction before that. They don't mention that Levi saw a miracle or heard a teaching. It was two words - Follow Me.

I think to better understand this story, we have to understand a little bit of the culture in the time of the Lord Jesus Christ - 1st Century Judaism.

Follow Me

In those days, education was very structured for Jewish males.

A boy, from age 5-10 would go to the Synagogue and learn Torah, Hebrew Language, memorization, chanting, etc. Sort of like Elementary School. Then from age 10-14, those who excelled would go to school to learn the Oral Law and the Prophetic books. And this is like Middle School.

At 13 or 14 years old, there would be a split. Those students that were not the top of their class or were not so exceptional in their schooling, would go back to their family business or find a different trade to work in. They were respectable, but they were ordinary. What about the exceptional ones?

They would seek out Rabbis and ask to become their disciple. The Rabbi would examine him - quiz him on his knowledge of the Torah, test his memory, see how he applies Scripture to situations, assess his reputation. And if he doesn't pass the exam, the Rabbi would reject him. He might tell him to go back to his family and their trade, or tell him you don't have what it takes, or just you cannot be my disciple.

So if he passes the Rabbi's test - if he is the best of the best, top of the class in his village or town, memorizing the whole Torah, having a good reputation, then the Rabbi would look at him and say: "Follow me." And he would follow him.

The Lord Jesus comes to Levi today and says "Follow Me." No test, no memorization, no reputation... even though Levi had a terrible reputation. He's a tax collector - he's taking money from Jews and giving it to Romans, he's supporting the enemy! That didn't matter - "Follow Me." So it's no wonder that Levi left all, rose up, and followed Him. And the same goes for all of the disciples. The Lord chose His disciples from the rejected - those who were filtered out by the system already. Those who weren't the most knowledgeable in Torah. Those who didn't have advanced training in the Oral Law. Those who weren't experts in the prophets. Those who didn't have the best reputations. So the Lord, goes to THEM and says the words that they all wished to hear in their youth - "Follow Me."

What does it mean to "Follow Him?"

St Matthew - again, Levi is St Matthew - he did five things today. And we'll take them as five points for our benefit.

"And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house." (Luke 5:28-29)

1 - Hear His Voice

The first thing Levi did is he heard the voice of the Lord Jesus. And he wasn't in a private conversation, he wasn't in the Synagogue, he was sitting at the tax office. In the hustle and bustle of people paying their taxes and bartering and arguing, he heard the voice of the Lord.

Are we listening to the voice of the Lord?

The Lord is telling us to Follow Him... but can we hear Him?

There are other voices:

But can we set those aside and hear the voice of the Lord?

The Lord Jesus didn't call Levi in silence, but in the middle of all these distractions. 

If my ears are not tuned to the frequency of His voice, then I won't hear Him. If I can't hear Him, then I can't Follow Him.

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27)

How do I tune my ears to His voice?

The more I engulf myself in God's voice, the more I will be able to hear Him.

Let me ask myself at the end of every day - whose voice filled most of my day? Was it God's voice or was it something else?

2 - He Left All

When the Lord Jesus said to Levi: "Follow Me," Levi left all. No excuses. No hesitation. No looking back.

Let me leave behind the evil things, the things that are causing me to sin, the people that are causing me to sin.

Today in the Catholic Epistle, we read from 1 John: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world."

All that is in the world. Any evil thing or any sin can be categorized under these three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.

The gospel tells us that St Matthew "Left all." He didn't say "okay I'll follow you and I'll work as a tax-collector part-time." Or "I'll follow you on Saturday and Sunday but I have work during the week." No, he left all.

"Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:33)

We can't have the old life and the new life at the same time.

It seems radical to leave all... and it is! The Gospel is radical. Being a disciple is radical. If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Radical. Leave all - even my eye? Yes, even your eye. How?

"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

Following the Lord requires us to leave all.

Let me ask myself: What is one thing I am clinging to that is preventing me from following Him?

3 - Rose Up

Levi left all and then he rose up. He took action. Imagine if he said "Okay I'm following you, Jesus" but he doesn't get up from his chair... we do that sometimes.

Saying it is easy. Doing it is the hard part.

St James says: "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)

Levi rose up - he took an action. He made a decision in the moment.

Abouna Reweis shared with us last night the story of St Paesa and her repentance. And in her story, the Lord revealed to St John the short that St Paesa's repentance was accepted the moment she left the house of sin. When she took action.

Abouna also shared an example of a hurricane - if the weatherman says a hurricane is coming, believing him is not enough. I need to board up my windows, bring in my trash bins, gather supplies... only then will I be ready.

Following the Lord requires action. Levi rose up!

What actions can I take to follow Him? To become an active disciple?

We all know the answers... we know what we need to do... we know what is good for us. But do we do it? The important part is taking action. Intentionality.

Let me ask myself - what is an action that I will take today to rise up like Levi and follow the Lord?

4 - Followed Him

So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Following a Rabbi was not just "come walk behind me" - it meant to leave your home and your family and your village and your trade and travel with him full time. It mean to learn his teaching. It meant to imitate his life - his speech, his actions, his mannerisms.

This is exactly what Levi did with the Lord Jesus Christ. He spent time with Him, he heard His teachings, and He imitated His life. 

St Paul teaches us: "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also loved us" (Ephesians 5:1)

Following the Lord is about imitating His virtues in every relationship, in every role, in every aspect of my life: DAILY.

St Paul reminds us in today's epistle:

Following the Lord is about imitating His virtues and striving to become like Him in all aspects of my life. 

What is one specific way that I can imitate Christ today? In my words, actions or relationships

5 - Great Feast in His Own House

Finally, Levi celebrated His discipleship by inviting the Lord to his house and making a gathering of all of those around him to share the Lord with them.

Following the Lord is not just something personal, but it means that we share His love and His mercy and His truth with others.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

With my actions, I can share the faith. There's a saying: "Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words." I can spread the message of the gospel simply with my actions, my behaviors and my speech. That which I imitate in Christ.

At the end of the liturgy today, Abouna will say "Go in peace, the peace of the Lord be with you all." - This peace that we receive from the Liturgy is meant to go out with us into the world. Do we take into the world? Or even into our neighborhood? Or even into our own homes?

Is my house a house of prayer, a house of purity and a house of blessing? Is my house a house of peace? Is my house a house of forgiveness and compassion and love and mercy? Is the Lord invited to my house? Or is my house a place of arguing and complaining? Is it a place of gossip?

What do I share with my coworkers and my classmates and my friends? Is it rumors and stories? Is it just jokes and memes? Or do I share the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I share a verse that resonated with me? Do I share a story of a saint that I liked? Do I share a positive word, a word of encouragement? Do I share a smile? Do I share good deeds? Do I share love and mercy?

Am I a light to the world and salt of the earth?

This is what Levi did today - he invited all of the tax-collectors and sinners to his house to meet the Lord. This was his response to discipleship. This is how he followed the Lord.

Conclusion

The Lord said to Levi - Follow Me, and Levi became His disciple. We, too, are disciples of the Lord. The word Christian means "disciple of Christ." What does it mean to be a disciple? What does it mean to follow Him?

There's a flavor of Evangelical Protestantism in the world now that is "seeker-sensitive" or "seeker-friendly." They love to say "Come as you are." And "The Lord loves you just the way you are." In Orthodoxy, our message is a little different. Yes, come as you are... but be ready to follow Him. And following Him means radical change:

May the Lord grant all of us to take the example of our beloved St Matthew - to hear the Lord's voice, to leave all, to rise up, to follow Him and to share Him with the world.

Glory be to God, forever. Amen.

2025-08-31: 4th Sunday of Mesore - Watch

Visual Aid

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ly0exceudvgqlen61qfnm/Watch.pptx?rlkey=lpbszfs8zplevdmae42kggz5e&dl=0 

Background

*Good morning, dear beloved*

We are coming to the end of the Coptic year now - the Coptic Calendar has twelve full months. Each month is 30 days... so that gives us 360 days. So there are 5-6 days leftover which we call the Little Month.

So today we're in the fourth Sunday of Mesore. And next Sunday, God willing, will be the Sunday of the Epagomenal Days and this is called Sunday of the Little Month. After that, on September 11th, God willing, we will celebrate the Nayrouz which is the new Coptic Year.

So that means this Sunday and next Sunday are the last Sundays of the year. And the theme of these two Sundays is the same. Watch. Be Ready. 

The Church reminds us at the end of the year with the end of life. Actually, the Church gives us this reminder at the end of each day, at the end of each week and at the end of the year.

Every evening in Vespers, no matter which day of the week, no matter if it is a Feast or a regular day, we pray the Litany of the Departed. End of day - end of life. Also on Saturday morning in Matins, which is the last day of the week, we pray the Litany of the Departed. End of the week - end of life.

Also in our Agpeya prayers. At the 12th hour, which is the end of the day, we pray "Behold, I am about to stand before the just judge, terrified and trembling because of my many sins." - it's a reminder about the end of life. And also "If life were everlasting and this world ever-existing, you would have an excuse O my soul" - if this world lasted forever, and there was no death and no judgment, then you would have an excuse to live according to your flesh,,, but there is a judgment day. There is death. "If your wicked deeds and ugly evils were exposed before the Just Judge what answer would you give?"

So the same thing with today's Gospel and next Sunday's Gospel

The theme is to be ready. We heard in the Gospel today about:

When we read these passages, our first instinct is we want to know "WHEN" will this happen? Will it be during my lifetime? If I see an earthquake or a pandemic like COVID or a plague.. is this what Christ was talking about? If I see a war, are we in the end times? Many people are so curious about these things, pouring through Revelation and Daniel and monitoring the news trying to figure it out.

Watch

But the Lord is very clear... that's NOT what he wants from us. Last night in the Vespers Gospel, the Pharisees asked Him: "When will the Kingdom of God come?" The Lord answered them and said "The Kingdom of God does not come with observation" but "The Kingdom of God is within you."

The Lord is telling them - don't worry about the end of the world. Don't worry about the signs. Worry about yourself. Worry about the end of your life which could come at any moment!

The message from today's Gospel is not about the signs but actually it comes to us from the very important passage at the end of today's Gospel reading:

"It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming - in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning - lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

What does it mean to watch? How do I watch? What do I watch?

We'll see the answer in three points

Spiritual Growth

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." (Psalm 92:12)

Watch Lest You Become Stagnant

In the Spiritual Life there is no concept of idleness or stagnation. There is only growing or falling. And if you're not growing, you're falling!

Watch lest you become stagnant and fall

Remember the Israelites. After God delivered them from Egypt, many of them still lived in fear. Many of them were disobedient to God's commandment. They even refused to enter the Promised Land! After everything God had showed them - the plagues of Egypt, the pillar of fire, the cloud, the Red Sea, the Manna from Heaven, the Water from a Rock... but because they were stagnant, and they had no desire to increase, they fell. And they wandered 40 years until they had all died and the next generation entered the Promised Land.

The Church gives us many resources for spiritual growth:

Let me ask myself...

Watch lest you become stagnant and fall.

Watch Lest Your Growth not be Spiritual

There's also another danger in Spiritual Growth - that I think I am growing, but I am not.

Watch Lest your Growth be not spiritual

If we take the example of King Saul - King Saul calls himself a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and from the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin... and then he became King of Israel! That is Growth! If we read Deuteronomy 17 we see that God laid down some principles for kings through Moses - the king is a spiritual leader. He is meant to write for himself a copy of God's Law, keep it with him, read it all the days of his life, fear the Lord, be careful of all the Lord's statutes. But this is not what King Saul did. Because King Saul's growth was not spiritual. His heart did not grow with God.

Watch Lest your Growth be not spiritual

Spiritual Growth

In today's Pauline Epistle, St Paul writes to the Thessalonians and he thanks God for their spiritual growth.

This is real spiritual growth. To let the word of God penetrate my heart, influence my thoughts and my actions, that I imitate the Lord.

Spiritual Warfare

Watch Lest You Fall into Temptation

Even if I am growing, the enemy is not idle. Satan is crafty. He can come at you in many different ways and with many different methods.

Think of King David - the man after God's own heart. And then he was tempted - and he committed adultery, and then murder to cover up his adultery.

The good news is... We are not ignorant of Satan's devices. We know his tricks.

I have to be watchful of Spiritual Warfare and the tricks of Satan. Of course, the Spiritual Growth we just finished talking about gives us weapons and defenses against the temptation of the devil - fasting, prayer, Bible, etc. 

Watch Lest You Do Not Repent

If I am tempted, and I fall, then what? I must repent of course.

Repentance is the remedy to Spiritual Warfare.

Let me ask myself...

To overcome Spiritual Warfare, I must repent.

Talents

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10)

Watch Lest You Ignore or Reject Your Talent

Cain was jealous of Abel because God accepted Abel's offering but not his. Instead of improving his offering, or using his gifts correctly, he rejected them. He submitted to anger and killed his brother. 

Every one of us has talents, given to us by God, without exception. Sometimes we reject our talents because we would rather have other talents. We have seen youth who are so talented in reading and writing and speaking and memorizing and learning... but those aren't the "cool talents." The cool talent is playing basketball... so they forsake all that they have - leave behind their talents and spend all of their energy pursuing some other talent. 

Watch Lest You Use Your Talents for Your Own Glory

And if I am using my talents, let me ask myself - Am I using my talents for the glory of God? Or for my own glory?

The Pharisees had a gift. They were knowledgeable in the Scripture and they could memorize the Oral Law, They knew the religious duties. But they did the religious acts to be seen and praised by men. They did not care about honoring God. They only cared for what people saw.

Using my talents for God's Glory

Acts:

Throughout the Book of Acts, we see how the apostles are using their talents for God's glory. In this passage we see that many disciples traveled to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word. They have the gift of preaching, they use it. Then we see that Barnabas came down and encouraged them all. That's one of his talents, and he used it for God's glory. Then, Agabus prophesied about a famine in the world - this is a spiritual gift. And finally we sum it all up with the last verse of the chapter - "Then the disciples each according to his ability, determined to send relief" - each one according to his ability. According to his gift, his talent, his stewardship.

Watch lest you don't use your talents, or you use them for your own glory instead of God's glory

Conclusion

May the Lord grant us to conclude this year with Him, to examine ourselves, to WATCH and to BE READY and to always remember that there is no guarantee for my life. At any time, I can find myself in Judgment Day.

Glory be to our God, forever. Amen.

2026-08-09: 1st Sunday of Mesore - The Stone Which the Builders Rejected

Visual Aid

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jvgr52xhaijwwl4lt72wq/The-Stone-Which-the-Builders-Rejected.pptx?rlkey=4pzujsajpir0vsthfnobjv5jr&dl=0 

Background

Today is the 1st Sunday of the Coptic Month of Mesore and the Church arranges the readings of the first three Sundays of this month to speak about how the Lord cares for His Church.

Introduction

Today the Gospel Reading according to St Luke showed us one of the very important parables that the Lord preached: The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers. The Lord said this parable near the end of His ministry in Jerusalem and its meaning was very clear to the Pharisees and Chief Priests and Scribes - so much so that they sought to lay hands on Him after hearing it.

A vinedresser planted a vineyard. Then he leased it to some vinedressers, and went away for a long time.

When it was vintage-time, when it was time for the vineyard to produce fruits, the man sent his servant to go and get some of that fruit. The vinedressers beat the servant and sent him away. So he sent another servant... again, they beat him and sent him away empty. Then he sent a third... again, they wounded him and cast him out.

So the man sends his son, and the gospel says specifically: "his beloved son" - but when the vinedressers saw him, they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. And the Lord tells them "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."

And the chief priests and scribes UNDERSTOOD the Parable, so they said "Certainly not!"

They understood that:

The message of the parable was that God had entrusted them with a vineyard, a promised land, a nation, a people. And when God sent His servants, the prophets, they persecuted them and cast them out and rejected them. And they understood that now God sends His Son - His beloved Son - and He is rejected, and He will be killed. And God will destroy them and give the vineyard to someone else. The Gentiles... the Christians.

And the Lord drives home the idea by referring to the prophecy of Psalm 118 - "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone."

This is the prophetic meaning of this parable. The Lord prophesies His death at the hands of the Jewish people, and the giving of the Heavenly Kingdom to others; to Gentiles. We, the Christian people. The New Israel.

There is also a spiritual meaning. These wicked vinedressers were evil stewards. The owner of the vineyard leased it to them - he made them stewards. He entrusted them the care of his vineyard, the responsibility of it, and they were evil in their stewardship. They rejected the chief cornerstone... they rejected Christ.

Let me examine myself, as a steward of God's vineyard, do I reject Him? What does rejection of Christ look like? We will talk about three types of rejection.

1 - Reject Christ in Doctrine

It is like saying: "I will not believe what You teach"

2 - Reject Christ in Morality

It is like saying: "I will not obey what You command"

3 - Reject Christ in Priority

It is like saying: "I will not give my life to You"

Conclusion

The Scribes and Pharisees heard these words today, and heard the Lord quoting Psalm 118: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." But when they heard this, and understood the parable was about Him, they sought to lay hands on him. They did not turn in repentance. They did not examine themselves. 

How about me?

Today I hear the same verse - "the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." Will I go and examine myself? Will I turn in repentance?

Let me examine myself to see if I reject the Lord in His Doctrine, or in His Commandments or in Prioritizing Him in my life. The Lord is always ready and waiting for our repentance.

Glory be to God, forever. Amen.