October 4, 2026 @ 10:30 a.m. | 19th Sunday after Pentecost
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church — Buffalo, NY
NOTE: The 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. sermons were different today largely due to the unexpected interruption of the fire alarm.
References
Scripture: Matthew 21:33–46; Galatians 5:22–23; Micah 6:8
Video of worship/sermon
When Things Get Hot
I was all set to preach a hellfire and brimstone sermon. Evidently, it was too hot—it set off the fire alarm (yes … literally. We cleared the church. When we returned, we resumed with the gospel reading).
So maybe that’s a sign from God that I need to go a different direction.
We’re thankful there was no fire here today. But I’d like us to notice something … Jesus doesn’t shy away from the heat. Instead, Jesus often stands in the heat.
Jesus is not afraid to speak to religious and political leaders. Even when it is uncomfortable, even when things get hot, Jesus stands strong.
How comfortable is it for us to stand in the heat?
What are we called to do and to be in those times that are uncomfortable? Those times that are hot enough to set off the fire alarm?
And, of course, we’re not talking only about physical heat.
We’re talking about those times when we are sitting around the dinner table with family or friends and things start getting heated.
With Thanksgiving is coming up soon, I remember hearing people on the radio interviewing therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists—people who had insight into family systems—talking about how to handle conversations and relationships at the dinner table when things get heated.
We know those moments. And we know how uncomfortable they can be.
What Has God Entrusted to Us?
God has set up a lot for us.
God has set up this entire world—this creation—and has placed us in leadership and stewardship over all of it.
How are we doing?
The scriptures are very clear about how we are to treat, love, and care for the people around us: how we are to care for the poor, widow, orphan, and the resident alien in our midst.
The Bible addresses how we are to work for justice, and how we are to be willing to put ourselves in heated situations for the sake of justice and for the sake of love.
None of this is easy.
But Jesus calls us to focus on bearing fruit–the fruit of the Kingdom of God.
The Vineyard and the Watchtower
In the parable from Matthew 21, we are given this image of God establishing a vineyard.
God plants.
God puts up a fence—a hedge of protection around the vineyard.
God prepares a winepress because there is an expectation that the vineyard is going to produce fruit.
And then there is a watchtower.
I usually don’t think a whole lot about the watchtower, but its purpose is important.
A watchtower gives people a better view of what is actually happening. When you’re in the vineyard among the vines, it’s nearly impossible to have the big picture and the perspective that comes from seeing from another perspective.
Sometimes we have to change our perspective and get to the watchtower.
Throughout the story of God’s people, prophets came calling people back to God. Did God’s people always listen to the prophets? No.
They rejected them. They mistreated them. They killed them. And then, in Jesus’ parable, the son comes.
But beneath all of it is this truth:
It is God who planted the vineyard.
God who prepared it.
God who protected it.
God who expected it to bear fruit.
Sometimes You Need to Get to the Watchtower
Changing perspective can be helpful when we are in those heated moments.
When there are disagreements with friends or family.
When we get overwhelmed, frankly, with some of the nastiness and pettiness that we experience in so much of our lives.
We have lived through political seasons that have been exhausting and divisive, and it is very easy to become focused entirely on the argument right in front of us.
Part of what I hear Jesus doing in this parable is saying:
Sometimes you just need to get to the watchtower.
Sometimes you need to see from another perspective.
Sometimes you need to remember that our purpose is not simply to sit here and bicker back and forth with one another.
Our purpose is to bear fruit.
And our purpose is not just to bear fruit for ourselves—to gather it and store it up for ourselves.
We are called to bear the fruit of love.
And love cannot be contained.
Love cannot be stored.
Love is meant to be used.
Love is meant to be shared.
A Moment of Shared Humanity
I saw a little example of this while watching College GameDay.
Some of you may know the tradition at Iowa Hawkeyes home football games.
At the end of the first quarter, everybody stands and turns in one direction.
Both teams.
The coaches.
The referees.
The people working on the sidelines.
The people in the stands.
Everyone turns toward the children’s hospital overlooking the stadium.
It doesn’t matter what their political affiliation is.
It doesn’t matter how much money they have.
It doesn’t matter which team they came to cheer for.
They all turn in the same direction.
The children, doctors, nurses, families, and people in the hospital know that moment is coming. They gather at the windows and wait.
And then it happens.
The stadium turns toward the hospital.
The hospital looks toward the field.
And they wave to one another.
It is a moment of humanity.
A moment of shared recognition that love is deeper than any division.
Our Call Is to Bear Fruit
There are times when you and I need to get up to that watchtower.
We need to look around and see that the people around us are people.
Yes, there are differences.
There are always going to be differences.
We cannot change everyone.
So stop with the bickering and the name-calling.
Stop with, “This person is worse than that person.”
Stop with, “Don’t you know what this person did?”
Just stop for a moment.
We have been given this wonderful gift of life.
We have been given this wonderful gift of being able to connect with people other than ourselves.
There is such richness in that.
What a blessing that is.
So our call today is to bear fruit.
Our call today is to love.
Because love can bring people together.
Love can change hearts.
Love can soften us.
And perhaps, when things get hot and all we can see is the argument right in front of us, Jesus is inviting us to climb the watchtower.
To see differently.
To remember the vineyard.
And to remember why we are here in the first place:
to bear fruit.
Reflection Questions
- Where in your life are you currently experiencing “heat”—conflict, division, discomfort, or disagreement?
- What might change if you could step into the “watchtower” and see that situation from a different perspective?
- What would it look like for you to bear the fruit of love in a relationship or situation where disagreement remains?
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