Episode 127 | For Love of God’s Vineyard

Episode 127 • October 01, 2026 • 00:46:19
Episode 127 | For Love of God’s Vineyard
From His Word to Our Hearts
Episode 127 | For Love of God’s Vineyard

Oct 01 2026 | 00:46:19

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Hosted By

Sally Moriarty-Flask

Show Notes

In this week’s parable, Jesus is still trying to reach the chief priests, but they still don’t understand. Jesus’ words echo Isaiah’s love song for God’s vineyard, but the chief priests don’t make the connection. Even the Psalm tells the Jewish religious authorities that they are the vine planted in God’s vineyard, but that God is unhappy with the fruit they produce, and he withdraws his protection from them. We cannot sit back and think Jesus speaks only to others in this parable, however, because we sometimes reject God’s servants… we mistreat God’s messengers… and we, too, will be judged for our wicked behavior. Paul reminds us, though, that it is never too late to repent. That we should have no fear or anxiety but turn everything over to God who loves us. So, let’s repent while we can and focus our attention on all the good God gives us!

This week's readings:
Gospel – Matthew 21: 33-43
1st Reading – Isaiah 5: 1-7
Psalm 80
2nd Reading – Philippians 4: 6-9

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Episode Transcript

[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, October 4, 2026, the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This week's episode is entitled: For Love of God's Vineyard, and in this week's Gospel, Jesus is still speaking to the chief priests and elders of the Jewish people in parables, and they still don't understand his message. As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following: Jesus’ words in the parable echo Isaiah's love song for God's vineyard, but the Jewish religious authorities still can't connect the dots. And we have to realize that Jesus' parable is directed at us as well, because we too reject God's message, we mistreat his servants, and we will be judged for our wickedness. This week's Psalm, which would have been quite familiar to the chief priests and elders, says that the house of Israel is the vine planted in God's vineyard, but that God is unhappy with the fruit being produced. Paul reminds us that it's never too late to repent. So, let's repent while we can… let's focus on all the good things that God gives us so that we can produce good fruit for him. [00:01:46] Let's begin in prayer: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the lessons you teach us in the Scriptures, for the repentance you engender within our hearts, and for the limitless goodness and mercy you shower upon us. We entreat you, Father, to show us your love though we may not deserve it, to implant your peace within our hearts though we may not reap all its benefits, and to bestow your divine peace on our imperfect and troubled world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [00:02:34] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures. Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 21: 33-43. “[Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people;] ‘Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and [the tenants] did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir, come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.” And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their season.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read the Scriptures: “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.?” Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.’” [00:04:37] This passage follows immediately after last week's passage. Jesus is still in in the temple in Jerusalem, he is still speaking to the chief priests and elders of the people, the Jewish religious and civil authorities. Last week, we heard Jesus tell the Parable of the Two Sons… but Jesus’ listeners didn't realize when he was talking not just TO them, but ABOUT them. Now he tells another parable, but this time does not leave the interpretation of his parable to chance. [00:05:21] And let's just say… the Jewish authorities are not happy with the outcome. So, let's listen to what Jesus has to say in this parable…. “[Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:] ‘Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard,’” In this scenario, the householder, of course, represents God, and the vineyard he planted is the nation of Israel. “And [he] set a hedge around it, and dug a winepress in It, and built a tower,” The hedge is set around the vineyard to keep wild animals out, while the tower ensures that someone will keep watch over that vineyard and it won't be damaged by fire or thieves. Allegorically, the hedge and the tower represent the Mosaic Law - those 613 statutes that keep the Jewish people safe and secure. The winepress will be used to extract the juice from the grapes after the harvest is complete; allegorically, the winepress represents judgment. And it's important to note that we will encounter all of these same images in our First Reading from Isaiah. Now it is apparent that the householder - God - has invested a lot of time and effort into his vineyard, so he expects to reap a bountiful harvest. Then Jesus says… “[He] leased [the vineyard] to tenants, and went into another country.” Jesus now introduces characters that are not present in Isaiah… the tenants. The tenants represent the very people Jesus is addressing - the chief priests and elders, the Jewish leaders to whom God entrusted the care of his vineyard, those who were supposed to be responsible for God's people. [00:07:33] And because his vineyard is in good hands, because the householder is confident that his tenants will watch over the vineyard with the same care and concern God himself would demonstrate, he goes into another country… meaning the kingdom of heaven. And we should understand all of that in light of Genesis. God created the world, saw that it was good, and entrusted its care to mankind. [00:08:06] Here God planted his vineyard, made sure it was safe, and entrusted its care to the Jewish leaders. “When the season of fruit drew near,” [00:08:21] So when it was time to harvest the grapes… “he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit;” Now we meet additional characters that are also not present in Isaiah… the servants. The servants are the prophets and the fruit they have been sent to obtain for the householder is adherence to the Law, faithfulness to the Covenant, and right worship of God. Unfortunately… “the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.” Those things all happened to various Old Testament prophets… Jeremiah was beaten, both Jeremiah and Zechariah were stoned and killed. God's tenants - those Jewish religious leaders - clearly weren't as trustworthy as they should have been. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and [the tenants] did the same to them.” Obviously, those tenants had no intention of sharing the harvest with its rightful owner! Let's put this in perspective… there are 16 books in the Old Testament that tell the story of the prophets for whom they were named. That doesn't even include Elijah or Elisha, nor does it include any of the leaders who spoke for God in the time of the Judges. [00:10:02] So… God sent lots of servants, but those servants encountered lots of opposition, lots of persecution, lots of rejection, mistreatment, torture, and even death. [00:10:23] All because the Jewish religious leaders didn't carry out the work God entrusted to them. They didn't always adhere to the Law, they weren't always faithful to the Covenant, and they did not always worship God as they should have. “Afterward [the householder] sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” And remember, the promise of the Messiah is as old as creation itself when God warned the serpent that “the seed” - the descendant of the woman, Eve - would strike at the serpent's head while the serpent struck at his heel. Those words from Genesis 3 are sometimes called the protoevangelium or the first gospel. But throughout the Old Testament run promises of the Messiah, the Savior, the Deliverer, the Anointed One. [00:11:33] Now, the Jewish people are still awaiting the advent - the coming - of the Messiah. However, all Christians acknowledge that the promised Messiah is Jesus, the Son of God. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” If a Jewish man died without heirs in Biblical times, it was common practice for his tenants to claim the man's property as their own. That's why those wicked tenants hatched such a wicked plan, but in their greed to possess the vineyard they neglected to consider the vineyard's original owner… that will turn out to be a huge error. And we are well aware that, as Jesus is telling this parable, he in the temple, his death has not yet taken place… but we know it will, we know it did. Jesus WAS cast out of the vineyard - led outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem - and he WAS killed - crucified on the hill of Calvary. And remember the original owner of the vineyard… remember God? [00:13:13] “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” Jesus is asking the Jewish religious leaders about God's judgment at the end of time, certainly, but he is also testing them to see if they have finally connected the dots, to see if they have come to understand that he has been talking about them all along… in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant that he told them earlier, although we heard it last week, or in this Parable of the Wicked Tenants. “They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.’” From their response, we can see that they still don't get it! It appears that they may have made the connection to Isaiah, but used that connection to reach the wrong conclusion. They have assumed that they are the heroes of the story, because they are descendants of the exiles that returned after the Babylonian captivity… that they are those “other” tenants to whom the owner of the vineyard has leased his land, entrusting them to care for it and surrender its harvest of fruit at the proper time. “Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read the scriptures: “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes”?’” That is a quote from Psalm 118. [00:15:11] Cornerstones tend to be primarily ceremonial in modern times, but in ancient times, choosing the right cornerstone or foundation stone was crucial to any building project. A cornerstone was both flat and level, it would have been the first stone set in place, and it was the stone upon which all other stones in the building were set. From the Jewish perspective, the cornerstone in this Psalm probably referred to either the foundation stone or the capstone of the temple. But Jesus is using this Psalm to teach the chief priests and elders that their hearts are hardened against him… that they are the builders and he is the cornerstone they have been rejecting, will continue to reject, but that everything will happen according to God's plan. “Therefore I tell you” In other words, because the Jewish leaders have misinterpreted and misunderstood Jesus' Parables, he now tells them just how wrong they are, saying… “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” In this Gospel, Jesus tells the chief priests and elders that they will lose the kingdom and it will be given to those who are more deserving, who listen to the words of the Messiah, who follow Jesus - meaning his disciples, his followers, and the Church he will establish. But remember, the Scriptures are living, which means that Jesus is not only speaking, but to the Jewish religious authorities of his time… he is speaking to us as well. He is telling us that we can't assume we're always the good guys… that we, too, will lose the kingdom if we are unfaithful, if we reject God's message, and mistreat his servants. Paul will remind us that it's never too late to repent. So, let's repent while we still can, appreciate all the good things God gives to us, and produce the good fruit God expects from his vineyard… meaning faithfulness, adherence to Jesus’ commands, and right worship. [00:18:00] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Isaiah 5: 1-7. [00:18:07] “Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I beg you, between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!” This passage is from 1st Isaiah (which is chapters 1 to 39), written by the original prophet before the Babylonian Captivity. It is filled with allegory and words of judgment. God is reminding the people that he gave them everything… the Exodus which liberated them from their bondage in Egypt, the Law and the Covenants, the Promised Land, and the Prophets. [00:20:11] They are his Chosen People, but they are unfaithful despite God's generosity to them. This is a warning to the people to repent, to return to Covenant fidelity, to offer God, and God alone, right praise. So, let's listen to Isaiah's song… “Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard:” The NAB says friend rather than beloved, either way Isaiah is talking about God. “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.” Isaiah means the end of the Exodus, when God brought the Hebrews to the Promised Land, a fertile land, a land flowing with milk and honey. “He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines;” Isaiah means that God's care for his people has always been boundless. Even when they were unfaithful, when they rebelled against him, when they tested him in the wilderness, he always drew them back to himself. And when they worshiped idols and false gods, causing their hearts to harden like stone, he softened their hearts with his mercy. And at the end of the long journey, their 40-year Exodus toward freedom, the Hebrews were the choice vines God planted in the land of Canaan. “he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes,” I never found any reference to this line in any of the commentaries that I read, but I keep thinking that the watchtower should represent the temple… and the wine vat that's in it would represent the sacrifices that people brought to the temple… and that's what is meant by “he looked for it to yield grapes.” God looked for the people to worship in his temple and present acceptable sacrifices to him. And it is quite obvious that all of these images that Isaiah has presented so far form the beginning of Jesus' Parable. [00:22:55] Now, when a farmer first planted a vineyard that it would take years for the vines to grow and mature sufficiently to produce a crop that could be harvested. [00:23:10] And when Isaiah says that God looked for his vineyard to yield grapes, he means good grapes, a good harvest, a harvest of right worship, worthy sacrifices, just behavior, adherence to the Mosaic law, faithfulness to the Covenant. “but it yielded wild grapes.” Wild grapes can also be translated as bad grapes, and it means essentially small, sour fruit that cannot be pressed for wine. What Isaiah means by wild grapes is the people's infidelity to the Covenant, their worship of false gods, their unjust and unrighteous behavior. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,” Isaiah is addressing not just the city of Jerusalem, but all of the Southern Kingdom - the land of Judah. “judge, I beg you, between me and my vineyard.” In other words, offer an opinion… render a judgment. “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?” Those words are God's lament. God has done everything he could for his people, yet they do not provide him with a good harvest. Instead, they are unfaithful, idolatrous, and unjust. “And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.” So here come the consequences. [00:25:04] “I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.” A hedge and a wall are basically the same thing - both represent security, safety, and protection. God is saying that he will withdraw his protection and allow his people to experience the consequences of their own bad actions. “I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain with no rain upon it.” This continues God's consequences for his people… not pruned or hoed means that God will no longer provide correction when his people do wrong; briers and thorns mean that the people will have to confront challenges on their own and rely solely on themselves to deal with the difficulties they encounter; no rain means that God will no longer provide nourishment or care for his people. Those sound like awfully harsh consequences, given that Isaiah devoted so much attention to God's kindness, his graciousness, his care for his Chosen People at the beginning of this passage. But these are consequences, not punishments… God is allowing his people to experience the natural consequences of their own infidelity, their own idolatry. And why does God do this? “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!” Isaiah is saying that God looked for justice from his people, but they were not just. That he expected right behavior, but they were wicked. And remember, this is a prophecy. Isaiah was called to his prophetic ministry about 740 BC and neither the Northern Kingdom of Israel nor the Southern Kingdom of Judah have, as yet, experienced any of those dire consequences. This is intended as a warning, not a prediction! Unfortunately, God's people didn't heed the warning… the Northern Kingdom was overrun by the Assyrians in 720 BC, and the Southern Kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians in 598 BC. That does not mean, however, that these words were only meant as warning to ancient Israel… just as Jesus’ Parable was not meant only for the religious leaders of his time. [00:28:25] Because we too can be unfaithful, idolatrous, unjust, wicked and sinful. So, we too need to heed Isaiah's warning. We need to examine the harvest we yield for God… are we producing good grapes - are we just kind, generous, patient, tolerant, and loving? Are we listening to the words of Jesus and following his example? Or are we producing wild grapes - prejudice, greed, hatred, injustice and selfishness. Isaiah reminds us, just as he did his original audience, that we will be judged for our wicked behavior. So, let's repent while we can. Let's focus on all the good things God bestows upon us, and let's do our best to produce a harvest of good grapes. [00:29:32] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which is Psalm 80, and the refrain is: “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel.” And if that refrain sounds familiar, it should! We just heard it at the end of our passage from Isaiah. And here are the verses: “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. It sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.” “Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way please pluck its fruit? The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.” “Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock which your right hand planted. The son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!” “Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name! Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let your face shine, that we may be saved!” This Psalm is a Communal Lament mourning the conquest of Israel, while also suggesting that it is God who is responsible for Israel's suffering solely because God allowed it to happen - at least that is the Psalmist's point of view. However, that opinion ignores Israel's own culpability in the situation… remember, the people chose to be unfaithful, they chose to be unjust, they chose to worship false gods. So, saying that God is responsible for Israel's plight is like saying that a child's tears, which result from being punished for stuffing themselves with cookies from the cookie jar right before dinner, are the fault of the parent who put the child in time out, rather than the fault of the child for breaking the rules. [00:31:55] But we all know that's not how this works! Every parent sets limits for their children - whether they are human parents or God, our Heavenly Father. And when those limits are transgressed, appropriate consequences must be imposed so that the offender (be they a 5-year-old child or the nation of Israel) learns that disobedience has consequences, that established rules cannot continue to be broken with impunity. [00:32:32] Now I'm going to go through the text of this Psalm line by line, which I don't normally do, but I think it will be beneficial this week. “You brought a vine out of Egypt;” Meaning the Exodus, meaning God brought the Hebrews out of their captivity in Egypt. “you drove out the nations and planted it.” Referring to the conquest of the land of Canaan and God establishing the Hebrews in that Promised Land after the Exodus. “It sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.” The sea referred to here is the Mediterranean Sea, and the River (which is capitalized by the way) refers to the Euphrates. Israel's territory, under King David and King Solomon, was massive. It encompassed all of the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River. “Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?” There begins the lament. The Psalmist is asking why God withdrew his protection from Israel, why he allowed harm to befall its people. “The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.” [00:34:03] Those are the natural consequences predicted in 1st Isaiah that result from God withdrawing his protection. [00:34:13] “Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, the stock which your right hand planted.” The Psalmist is asking God to have mercy on the people he brought out of bondage in Egypt and established in the Promised Land. “The son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!” The words “son of man” here are all lowercase, so they likely refer to the king. “Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name!” The Psalmist has this backwards! It's not supposed to be do this for us and then we'll obey… it's supposed to be we repent, we obey, and then God will bestow his blessings upon us. [00:35:09] “Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let your face shine, then we may be saved.” This last line, at least, mostly gets it right… especially in the NAB translation which says: “if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.” And that puts events in their proper order. The nation of Israel repents, the people obey, and right worship is offered to God… the things they should have been doing all along. [00:35:46] Then God's favor will rest upon the people, and his blessings will rain down on upon the nation of Israel. This Psalm reminds us that we cannot demand God's forgiveness before we offer him our sincere repentance… that would put events out of their proper order. [00:36:13] God wants to forgive us, he wants to bestow his mercy upon us, but we have to first repent of our bad behavior - our sin - and then we have to ask for God's forgiveness and his mercy. Taking things out of order absolves us of our responsibility, it removes the need for us to change, the need for us to turn away from our sin, the absolute need for us to repent. [00:36:50] So, let's repent while there's still time. [00:36:54] That takes us to our Second Reading, which is from Philippians 4: 6-9. “[Brothers and sisters:] Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the peace of God will be with you.” [00:38:05] This is the third of four passages we will hear this fall from Philippians. There are only four chapters in Philippians, so we are close to the end of this letter. Paul offers encouragement to the Philippian community throughout this letter, but nowhere is that more apparent than in this passage. In fact, the beginning of this passage contains my favorite quote from Philippians - one that I turn to again and again when I find myself overwhelmed, when I'm sad or discouraged, or when difficulties threaten to disturb my equilibrium. So, let's listen to how Paul encourages the Philippians - and us… [00:38:58] “[Brothers and sisters:] Have no anxiety about anything,” Paul certainly means anxieties about everyday life, to be sure… things like paying the bills, putting food on the table, providing a safe and secure home for our families, worrying about our kids, our friends, our job, our health… but he also means anxieties about faithfulness to God - times that we wonder if we're really being faithful disciples of Jesus, times we question our prayers - are they sincere and are we praying for the right things, times we doubt that we are being as kind or as generous as we should, times we ask ourselves if we are doing enough to help others… especially those who are less fortunate than we are. But Paul says… “in everything” [00:40:02] So, no matter what the concern, no matter the circumstance… “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” Meaning that we should be deliberate in setting aside time to pray, that we should never neglect our prayers… we shouldn't let other concerns interfere with our time of prayer. And that we should never forget to thank God for all of his goodness toward us. We sometimes think that prayer is a one-way street of us pouring out our laundry list of wants and needs to God… and we don't remember to thank him for all the good things we have, nor do we take the time to listen to what God may have to say to us. Paul does encourage his audience to… “let your requests be made known to God.” God does want to hear what's in our hearts, what's on our minds, what troubles us, what makes us happy, what makes us sad. Because let's face it - worrying about our problems doesn't solve them and it doesn't make them go away. I have a good friend named Wendy, who is a regular listener, and she told me years ago: if you're worrying, you're not praying, and if you're praying, you're not worrying. Those are very wise words and excellent advice that has been in my heart ever since. Paul tells us that when we do turn everything over to God, then… “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [00:41:59] Meaning that we will be focused on Jesus rather than on ourselves, focused on prayer rather than on our worries, we will be oriented toward God and open to receiving his peace rather than being oriented away from God and consumed by our own selfish desires. Then Paul offers a list of good things on which we should meditate, a list of gifts that come from God in his goodness… [00:42:40] “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” [00:43:08] All of these good gifts, these blessings, will help us “hold fast to what is good” as Paul advised in his First Letter to the Thessalonians a decade earlier. This passage concludes with Paul saying… “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do:” Meaning that the Philippians - that all Christians - should listen to Paul's words, learn the lessons he taught, and follow his example, because if we do then we are not just imitating Paul, we are imitating Christ as well. “and the peace of God will be with you.” We can't see God's actions directly, but we can detect evidence of his actions, we can be aware of his activity in the world, when we see the goodness that surrounds us. [00:44:17] So, let's focus on all the blessings that God bestows upon us and on our world, even if those blessings are at times obscured by the negativity of others. Let's listen to God's message and respect his servants so that we produce a harvest of good fruit in God's vineyard, rather than the wild grapes of discord and disobedience. Let's repent while we still can, let's follow Paul's example, let's be Jesus’ faithful disciples and live as God's faithful people, so that God's peace will be with us. [00:45:08] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at [email protected] Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand. From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions. The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask. Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved. Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request. Thank you for listening and God Bless.

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