September 27, 2026 | Word Out!
Download the Bulletin from September 27, 2026
READINGS
First Reading: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? 3 As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins who shall die.
25 Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? 26 When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed, they shall die. 27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. 28 Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.
Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-13
1 If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
10 so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work on your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
23 When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.”
SERMON— Guest Pastor Paul Hoffman
We find Jesus being particularly Jesus-y today, as we find him in this final week of his life. At first blush, it seems like another of those Bible stories that are meant to be a real head-scratcher. Typical Jesus, long on wisdom, short on details.
But here is a detail that we’d be wise to pay attention to, both in his tête-à-tête with the chief priests and elders, and in the parable that follows. He’s not being cunning or trying to be clever, and certainly he’s not being dismissive. What Jesus is doing here, above all things, is keeping his hearers engaged.Jesus is offering to people to whom he is speaking an opportunity to change their minds—and that includes us.
I don’t know exactly where or when this great divide in our country began. I’m not sure exactly where the roots are, but I do know that now we’ve painted ourselves into a corner where our minds are closed, locked down, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a civil conversation with someone who has a differing opinion from our own. It doesn’t make any difference on which side of an issue you stand. It doesn’t make any difference what the issue is. I think it’s both fair and accurate to say that we’ve all become fundamentalists of a sort. “I’ve made up my mind, and you can’t change it.” That’s become not only a rallying cry, but sort of a badge of honor.
And then along comes Jesus, Jesus being particularly Jesus-y, Jesus saying things like, “what do you think?” And “even after you saw John’s invitation to righteousness, you did not change your minds.”
And “before I answer you, I have some questions,” Jesus says. In all of it, Jesus creates space for people to rethink their entrenched points of view. He is offering all of His hearers, even you and me, an opportunity to have our minds cracked open to a different way of thinking, a better way.
Jesus being Jesus is always interested in enlightening. He’s offering an invitation, an invitation that says, “you could be a part of this now. Won’t you open your mind and come along? Come on.”
Paul, this morning in his letter to the Christians at Philippi, offers a beautiful, if challenging, glimpse into what that invitation of Jesus looks like. And it is nothing like the arms crossed, ears steaming, eye-rolling postures that we have come to accept as normal in our own brand of posturing. It is something so completely different.
It paints a picture of the followers of Jesus that is completely counter-cultural to our own. And you can kind of hear Jesus whispering over Paul, saying, “Won’t you come along? Come on!” Jesus is inviting us to a community that is humble; obedient. Paul offers a new Christian an invitation to become something different than their surrounding, prevailing culture there in Philippi, or here on Queen Anne.
He invites those Philippians, and us, to let go of selfishness and empty deceit, to be humble, and regard others as better than ourselves. Paul points to Jesus at his “Jesusiest” and says, “Empty yourselves.”
“Empty yourselves. It’s the only way that there will be any space for me,” Jesus says, “to take root in you.” It’s the only way for Jesus to find a place.
Both Matthew and Paul offer an invitation to us today, an invitation to change our minds—full stop. Today, when you see the wine poured from the flagon into the chalice—I’m not sure there’s a flagon up there today, but I know you all have great imaginations—so, when you imagine the wine being poured from the flagon into the chalice, imagine Jesus emptying himself for you. Imagine how, this week, in which Jesus finds himself in today’s Gospel, imagine how this week is going to end for him. This reading comes from Monday of Holy Week, so you know how this week is going to end for him.
By Friday, he will be completely poured out, completely spent, completely poured out for those who agreed with him on Monday, and for those who did not. And on the cross, he will welcome the world who followed him to a completely new mindset about the limitless store of God’s love. And yes, yes, he will welcome those who do not yet follow him to that same limitless gift of amazing grace.
He offers it today for us, pouring himself out, and into a cup where we can drink him in, and can be nourished to do the most Jesus-y thing; to be nourished to change our minds.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.