You Don't Know What You Got. . .

OPENING PRAYER. . .Loving God, Creator of all that is, here I am--today in this place that you have given me, with all the senses you have given me. Help me to use them to experience you on a deeper level. May I experience you all around me, open me to know more of your ways and know that your goodness surrounds me. Thank you for this time to be with you, to be still and to just listen. Amen

LISTEN:  "Jesus said, 'have you ever read the Scriptures?
You can read it for yourselves in your Bibles:

The stone the masons threw out
    is now the cornerstone.
This is God’s work;
    we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it!

“This is the way it is with you. God’s kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.” Matthew 21:42-43

 

CONSIDER:  Our text today is from the Parable of the Tenants (Mt. 21:33-43) The landowner who plants a vineyard. He rents it and then moves to another place. At harvest time he sends his servants to collect his fruit. The farmers beat and kill the servants. He sends more servants with the same results and then decides to send his son thinking that they would respect him. But when they see it is the son, the heir, they kill him too.

We often don't appreciate what we have until we don't have it anymore. Just think of the persons in your life who you wanted to know and love better. . . but never got around to doing anything about it before they died. . . maybe we wanted to forgive or to be forgiven. . .We may have wanted to promote a good cause, to donate our time or money to make a difference. And now, we regret that such opportunities and people are gone from us.  We may not appreciate or eyesight or hearing until they are compromised by illness or age.

SO WHAT:  We are like the vineyard keepers (the renters) in this Gospel.  We have been blessed with faith in the way of life that Jesus brought the world.  We have been given resources and blessings.  The grace of God has prompted us, opened our minds and kindled a spark in our hearts. However, we have been so slow to cultivate what we have been given, we get to a point where we have no more chance in this world to bear the fruit that is God's love in Jesus Christ in this world. In other words, what are we doing with the gift of Christ in our lives today? Are we taking for granted that we have endless time to do something on earth?

• We don't have forever on earth. What are you doing with the time, resources and blessings you have?
• Who needs to hear from you today the words of forgiveness?
• If you don't make time now, when?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to realize the resources and blessings I have from you. Help me to understand that I don't have forever to share your love and to act on all those promptings you whisper in my ear. May I not take for granted the time I do have to do something. Amen