The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The sermon today is based on our two readings from the Old Testament and Gospel. Perhaps you already caught the connection between them. The command to “love your neighbor as yourself” is quoted from Leviticus chapter 19. Also, though it wasn’t part of the lawyer’s question to Jesus, Leviticus 19 shows us what it means to be a neighbor to someone else. Today we’ll see in these two readings how Jesus answers the question of “who is my neighbor?” and how they teach us to exercise love to the neighbor. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The Gospel reading is a two-part dialogue between Jesus and a lawyer. Not a personal injury lawyer, but an expert in the Law of Moses—the Old Testament commands. The first part of the conversation is about what someone must do to have eternal life. The second part is when Jesus uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! When you think of the greatest blunders or failures in history, what comes to mind? Do you think of certain individuals who set out with great plans and were met with disastrous failure? Their names probably didn’t stick around so long, precisely because of what they didn’t accomplish. Though some have rebounded from devastating failures to great success. When you think of famous failures, do you think of great projects that went awry? The supposedly unsinkable Titanic, that struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic? Perhaps in Bible history, the failed attempt to build a monument to human glory, the Tower of Babel. Perhaps you would name famous failed inventions or marketing ideas, or even famous failures in battle or war. Some failures are tragic, others are humorous. Some are memorable, some are not. But rarely are failures celebrated. But today, on the day of o...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The parable that Jesus tells today goes by various names: the parable of the vineyard, the parable of the wicked tenants or vinedressers, or as one author suggests: the parable of the noble vineyard owner and his son. However it’s named, the parable is one that speaks a shocking case of rejection, and the even more astonishing response to that rejection. Jesus told this parable shortly after His Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. This was followed soon after with His own rejection by the chief priests and scribes, who were infuriated by His cleansing of the temple and the authority of His teaching. Today we’ll see what His parable told of rejection and also of the mercy and long-suffering of God. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. When Jesus spoke this parable, He was borrowing language from Isaiah chapter 5, a “love song” about a vineyard. The viney...