Whose Is She?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). The son of destruction will be revealed at the coming of the Lord in His kingdom. This is promised by the Holy Spirit, as recorded by St. Paul.

And so it happens. The man of lawlessness is revealed. The son of destruction comes to light. Sometimes he ventures into the light all on his own, as though he could get away with mischief in broad daylight. Other times he sneaks out under the cover of some shadow, some ruse that he thinks will cloak him with stealth, so that he can lead off captive the sons of light.

The Sadducees are the face and the mouthpiece of the son of destruction in today's text. But they are not alone. The Pharisees and scribes are right there alongside them on the Temple Mount. The Herodians have just finished trying to trick the Lord of Glory with their false questions. Read through all of Luke chapter 20, and you might marvel at how the devil can unite such diverse and ordinarily opposed people and groups in the effort to unseat the Lord of Hosts.

The Son and the Stone

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus tells a parable to the people, neither the subject nor the interpretation of which are particularly difficult to grasp. The theme of the careful vineyard owner and his unfruitful vineyard echo throughout the Scriptures, and especially from the Song of the Vineyard in Isaiah chapter five.

In the parable, as St. Luke records it, the Lord of the vineyard planted the vineyard and then leased it to some tenant-farmers. Then he went away for a long time. At the right time, he sent a servant to collect the rent. But the tenants would not give it, and instead they beat the servant and threw him out. The landlord sent a second, and then a third servant. And each time the tenants treated the servant worse than the one before. But still no rent paid.