Pain and Anguish in God's Vineyard--March 23, 2016

God, we have much distress and anguish of heart;

the tenants have seized your Beloved Son

and they are going to kill him.

Have you forgotten your

abundant love?

Give ear to our words;

heed our sighing, dear God.

Without him our guidance is gone--

your prophets obtain no visions from you.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 5; 147:1-11; 27; 51

Lam. 2:1-9

2 Cor. 1:23-2:11

Mark 12:1-11

Selected Verses

Ps. 5:1

Give ear to my words, O LORD;
          give heed to my sighing. 

Lam. 2:9

[The gates of daughter Zion] have sunk into the ground; [the LORD] has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; guidance is no more, and her prophets obtain no vision from the LORD.

2 Cor. 2:4

For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Mark 12:8

"…So [the tenants] seized [the beloved son of the owner], killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.  …"  [From Jesus' parable of the vineyard]