allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

The Economy of Heaven

A sermon for Septuagesima, by Father Dan Suelzle.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, by Hans Schäufelein. Woodcut (hand-colored); 1517.

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard instructs us in the economy of heaven, where God’s generosity subverts human ways of operating. While our world demands that we earn our keep through merit and hard work, the Master in the parable makes the last equal to the first, proving that a right standing before God is a gift of grace rather than a wage to be earned. To the self-righteous who insist on their own merit, the Master sadly says, “Take what is yours and go,” leaving them to their own insufficient efforts. True faithfulness isn’t found in comparing ourselves to others to establish our superior righteousness, or in resenting the blessings of others, but in rejoicing at the just generosity of our Lord. The Christian life that flows out of such a gift is a disciplined race—one we cannot run on our own strength. We daily flee the idolatry of self-reliance and receive the sustenance of Word and Sacrament, where we hear the gracious invitation of Christ: “Receive what is mine, and remain.” Listen to the entire sermon below.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

From “Sight” to Blindness to Sight

A sermon for the Conversion of Saint Paul, from Father Josh Leigeber.

In this homily, we are reminded that our failure to recognize Christ is not merely ignorance, but spiritual blindness caused by sin. Paul’s conversion makes this clear: convinced he was serving God, he was in fact persecuting Christ Himself, and only the risen Lord could break through his certainty.

Yet Paul’s true sight did not come through the blinding light on the road alone. It came through God’s appointed means of grace. Sent by Christ, Ananias spoke the Word and baptized Paul, and only then did the scales fall from his eyes. In this way, Paul’s conversion teaches us how Christ still works today—revealing Himself and giving forgiveness, life, and salvation through His Word and Sacraments.

Having been shown mercy, Paul is immediately sent. The persecutor becomes a preacher, and the Gospel entrusted to him is carried beyond Jerusalem, across borders, and eventually to us. The Church celebrates Paul’s conversion not because Paul is the hero, but because Christ is faithful—faithful to confront sinners, to give sight to the blind, and to send His saving Gospel into all the world.

allsaintsjonesboro Sermons

Our Father & Mother

A sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, by Fr. Josh Leigeber.

Juan de Flandes, ca. 1497

At the wedding at Cana, Jesus reveals the mystery of His love for the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ and our Mother, through whom God gives us new birth, nourishment, and care by His Word and Sacraments. Christ’s first miracle taking place at a wedding is no accident: marriage is God’s creation and a living image of His faithful, self-giving love for His Bride.

Earthly marriage, as St. Paul teaches in Ephesians, reflects Christ’s sacrificial love for the Church—a love sealed by the dowry of His own blood, by which He cleanses and claims her as His own. The miracle at Cana points beyond itself to the greater miracle still given to us today. At the altar, Christ sustains His Church with a foretaste of the wedding feast to come, transforming wine into His blood and strengthening His Bride as she awaits the day when Christ and His Church will be joined forever at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Listen to the entire sermon below.