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What seems to be missing in the parable in the wicked tenants is the agreement about what goes to the owner and what goes to the tenants. In other words, why would the tenants work the vineyard and give all to the owner?

Given the religious atmosphere of the day it is not surprising that Jesus’ authority is questioned. Here is this itinerant preacher associating with tax collectors and sinners and earlier in Matthew, Jesus throws the money-changers out of the temple. The religious elite want to know by what authority he is doing what he is doing.

This parable like so many can be viewed from a variety of perspectives. For example, the last ones hired at the end of the day have no problem seeing the justice in them receiving the day’s wages. Besides it is not as if they did what they wanted to do instead of working and only came to the market just before being hired. They were waiting all day to get work.

The Gospel: how many times do we forgive and the parable of the unforgiving servant. The issue of forgiveness in the parable seems to be about forgiving or not a financial debt. This may be a metaphor.

This passage in Matthew seems pretty straight forward. It is a how to in resolving conflict of a personal and individual nature, by moving forward in resolving the conflict by bringing witnesses to hear what you say to the person you have the conflict with.

Get behind me Satan. Is it just me, or is this one of the more well-known phrases from the Bible? And is this again Jesus being harsh to Peter? Just last week, Jesus calls Peter the Rock on which he will build his church, And promises him the keys of the kingdom, and this week…

Who do you say that I am? This may be where the evangelicals are on the right track. We as Anglicans never seem to ask that question. We tend to hide behind the concept of faith as a private and personal decision which is no one else’s business. Yet, at some point the question needs to be asked and that is what Jesus is doing.

I can understand Jesus and why he answers the way he does. It is clearer in the Mark version of the passage, Mark 7:24-30. Jesus enters a house there and did not want anyone to know he was there. He was trying to get away and take some time off from the lost children of Israel.

One way of looking at the Gospel today is: walking on water and the storms of life. Is this Peter’s impulsiveness, rushing ahead without fully thinking about this? Have each of us done this at some point in our lives…