Book of Common Prayer

Painful visit, painful letter

²³ For my own part, I call on God as witness, against my own life, that the reason I haven’t yet come back to Corinth is because I wanted to spare you. ²⁴ This isn’t because I am making myself the lord and master over your faith; your faith is the reason you stand fast! Rather, it’s because we are cooperating with you for your joy.

2 You see, I settled it in my mind that I wouldn’t make you another sad visit. ² After all, if I make you sad, who is there to cheer me up except the one who is sad because of me? ³ And I wrote what I did so that I wouldn’t come and find sadness where I should have found joy. I have this confidence about all of you, that my joy belongs to you all. ⁴ No: I wrote to you in floods of tears, out of great trouble and anguish in my heart, not so that I could make you sad but so that you would know just how much overflowing love I have towards you.

Time to forgive

⁵ But if anyone has caused sadness, it isn’t me that he has saddened, but, in a measure (I don’t want to emphasize this too much), all of you. ⁶ The punishment that the majority has imposed is quite enough; ⁷ what’s needed now is rather that you should forgive and console him, in case someone like that might be swallowed up by such abundant sorrow. ⁸ Let me urge you, then, to reaffirm your love for him.

⁹ The reason I wrote to you, you see, was in order to know whether you would pass the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ If you forgive anyone anything, so do I; and whatever I have forgiven—if indeed I have forgiven anyone anything!—it’s all happened under the eyes of the Messiah, and for your own sake. ¹¹ The point is that we shouldn’t be outsmarted by the satan. We know what he’s up to!

The parable of the tenants

12 Jesus began to speak to them with parables.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “there was a man who planted a vineyard. He built a fence around it, dug out a wine-press, built a watchtower, and then let it out to tenant farmers. He himself went abroad. ² When the time came he sent a slave to the farmers to collect from them his portion of the vineyard’s produce. ³ They seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴ “So again he sent another slave to them. This one they beat about the head, and treated shamefully. ⁵ He sent another, and they killed him. He sent several more; they beat some and killed others.

⁶ “He had one more to send: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking ‘They will respect my son.’

⁷ “But the tenant farmers said to themselves, ‘This is the heir! Come on—let’s kill him, and we’ll get the inheritance!’ ⁸ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

⁹ “So what will the vineyard owner do? He will come and destroy those tenants, and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Or haven’t you read the scripture which says,