From Rev’d Caroline – 01285 712467 – carolinesymcox@googlemail.com
Readings for Sunday: Isaiah 4.1-7; Philippians 3.4b-14; Matthew 21.33-end
To hear the Gospel reading and Caroline’s sermon click on the arrow below
The following is taken from the Parish Newsletter for Sunday 4th October 2026
In the Vicarage household, I’m lucky enough to be married to a man who not only can cook, but will cook, and likes to cook, which beautifully supplements my fundamental inability in all three of those crucial areas. To keep the division of labour equitable though, we decided a long time ago that if Paul cooks, then I should wash up and tidy away. This generally works very well and smoothly, but every so often there will be a meal that leaves behind some really grimy pans. And, not to my credit, but in a spirit of honesty, I will admit that sometimes dealing with grimy pans is so distasteful that I put off washing them up for a few days. Now often I don’t feel good about that, so some guilt might build up around this unstarted task.
Now imagine being in that position, nasty grimy pans in the sink, a day has passed and you’re feeling a bit guilty, and you decide today’s the day and you’re going to take care of them. And then your other half walks past and says, “Could you do something about those pans?”
The feeling that jumps out of me in that situation is what psychologists call ‘reactance theory’. I know the pans need washing. I feel guilty I haven’t washed them. I want to wash them. I’ve decided to wash them. But when somebody tells me to wash them? Well, then I just don’t want to anymore. I bristle. My ego puffs itself up. “Why’s he telling me that? I would have done it without being told! Am I a child needing to be told what to do?”
All of which, after a calming breath or two, feels very silly. But it’s part and parcel of the human condition. Being pushed for something, even when it’s something we might normally want to do or offer, can easily be experienced as a threat. In the Parable of the Vineyard, as Jesus tells it in Matthew’s Gospel, we see that the tenants are feeling just this threatening pressure. They are tenants. They know they owe rent to the owner of the vineyard. But when that rent is demanded, suddenly that pressure is too much to bear, and they will do anything to resist it, up to and including murder.
For us as followers of Jesus, we are in the situation of those tenants. We have been called into service, and there are expectations upon us in that service. We are to bear the fruit of the Kingdom. The question we need to ask ourselves is – when the Master comes to demand that fruit, what will our response be? Will we bristle? Will we feel threatened and defensive? Will we feel guilty and ill-equipped? Or will we be ready to offer up the fruit of a life lived in service to our Lord? And what might that fruit look like in your life?
Rev’d Caroline
Updated 6th October 2026