30 November 2010
Psalm 5, 6; Isaiah 1.21-31; 1 Thess. 2.1-12; Luke 20.9-18


The nation has lost its first love. Economics has become the important thing and those who do not add to the prosperity of the nation are forgotten. Sound familiar? There will always be poor among us and yet we have an obligation, beginning at the house of the Lord, to assist those in need, the vulnerable in our society. It often happens that we seek the gifts and not the giver of gifts. Things like prosperity are to be a by-product of the relationship, not its core. There is not a one to one correlation between our relationship with the Lord and our material prosperity or lack of hardship. The only true “good” is the Lord Himself, everything else is tainted by sin in some way or other, let us seek the good with all our hearts.

The owner planted the vineyard, got it to a productive state, and then let it out to tenants whose only responsibility was to tend it. He didn’t hire them, he essentially made them partners in the venture. They had only to provide him a return on the land, a portion of its productivity in spite of the fact that he did all the work to make it productive. Sounds like the Garden of Eden to me. The imagery isn’t just Israel here although its immediate application is to the leaders who refuse to honor the Lord. It could as easily apply to the church and to us as individuals. All that we have is from Him. All our gifts and talents that allow us to thrive are from Him therefore we cannot truly produce anything of ourselves. We the church have a responsibility for all we have been given for mission, beginning with the message, continuing with the Holy Spirit to convey the truth, and the people of God. The assets all come from Him, are we producing a harvest and giving the yield to Him or are we complaining about the lack of resources?

Paul reminds the Thessalonians that not only was his theology pure, so were his motives and his deeds. He gained nothing of earthly value from his time among them, he was not enriched financially by them or by the proclamation of the Gospel, he worked full-time for his own keep. He didn’t flatter anyone but rather proclaimed the truth not to please man but to please God. Paul loved the people to whom he preached and with whom he spent his life but never more than he loved the Lord. He was always and only playing to an audience of one, and was willing to let the chips fall where they may. It allowed him to always be able to speak truth into difficult situations. How would our lives change if we truly lived always to the glory of God?

Let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.