Isaiah 5: 1-7; Luke 12: 49-56 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 14, 2016
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
he expected justice,
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness,
but heard a cry! - Isaiah 5: 1-7
‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? - Luke 12: 49-56
The prophet Isaiah paints a poetic picture. God has the whole world in his hands as we sang in our previous hymn. The people of God are imaged as a vineyard and God is singing a song of deep and abiding love over them. God’s hands are certainly bigger than we can imagine. They hold the people of God with great care.
God’s hands dig deep into the spiritual earth with great joy to prepare a fertile ground for the hopes and dreams of this great vineyard. Isaiah says God’s hands created rows, fenced boundaries, and cleared the foreseen obstacles for the vineyard to grow and thrive. And then the spiritual soil was ready to receive the finest seeds that would produce the richest fruit. God creates out of a lavish love and desires for the vineyard to bear good fruit.
And then God takes two more steps in hopes that God’s dream is sustainable. God built a watch tower in the midst of the vineyard as a reminder that God is a trusted refuge. God invites a sense of community for others to keep watch in the tower to participate in discerning the vineyard’s needs and vitality. And last a wine vat was placed for the community to taste and see the abundance of good fruit coming forth.
This image of God’s hands as a master gardener recalls to my mind humankind’s story in Genesis with God forming our beginning from the dust. God shaped humanity from the clay of the earth and breathed new life into us (Genesis 2:7). God planted a garden in Eden for humanity to live in relationship with God (Genesis 2:8). Even as God looked at the work of God’s hands and called it good, we remember our spiritual parents sowed wild seeds of disobedience and crossed the boundaries of God’s will (Genesis 3: 1-7). At that moment our story to seek God’s redemption began.
History always has a way of repeating itself. As God’s heart and hands joyfully prepared for another garden of rich fruit in Isaiah's communal vineyard, the fine and rich seeds grew wild. Instead of fruit that bore justice and righteousness (doing right and living in right relationships with God and one another), the fruit bore oppression and cries of despair.
Instead of the fruit growing upwards into the Creator’s lavish and unconditional love, the fruit’s disobedience prevented it from reaching its potential. The Creator looked at the creation of wild grapes and instead of hearing God say, “It is good,” Isaiah says God was disappointed and heartbroken. God says, “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?
When I was a child and growing up there was only one thing that would stop me in my tracks when I had not lived by the house rules. It was not a time out. It was not being grounded. That one thing was to hear my father say that I had disappointed him. When these moments happened my dad would take me aside to talk and he would always speak in a loving voice. Sitting in that space made me sad to know that my actions hurt others and hurt him. But that space always encouraged me to do better next time. Isaiah’s vineyard parable creates a space for us to reflect on the ways our broken human condition needs a pathway towards forgiveness and redemption.
While you and I still miss the mark sometimes, even as we experience disappointments, even as we sow wild seeds that hurt ourselves, others, and God we come into God’s House to be assured that we are still held in God’s hands. Later on in the book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of the way in which God turns this vineyard around with the promise of salvation (Isaiah 27: 1-6). God’s voice sings over this vineyard once again for the Lord is its keeper. God guards it day and night so that no one can harm it. God sings for the vineyard to cling to God for protection for this vineyard will fill the whole world with fruit.
Today as we come to the Table we are reminded once again of God’s promise of salvation. The lavish love of God put on the vulnerability of humanity in Jesus Christ to meet us where we are. In doing so, God fashioned a new hope that we might truly experience the very hands and heart of God in life giving ways. Christ came and lived among us to be an example of how to grow more fully into God’s intentions.
Christ’s hands care for all of God’s children with compassion that comes alongside us with hope. Christ’s heart guides us to approach each day in a new commitment to follow God’s ways. Christ’s feet lead us on the path to do what is right for the sake of right relationships that encourage us in God’s love. Christ’s example breaks down the walls that we build to compartmentalize our life and faith. Christ urges our faith to touch every aspect of our lives - our relationships and commitments - so that our families, our work, and our spirits are united in God’s hopes and dreams to bear nothing but good fruit.
Today as we gather around God’s Table of lavish love and hospitality I want you to imagine the very hands of God.
As we break the bread of life reflect where has God been nurturing your spirit? When have you heard God singing a song of joy in your heart? Where are you hungry to experience God’s presence?
As we take the cup of salvation reflect upon the places of your own spiritual soil that seem parched and dry. What in your life has become an obstruction for good fruit to take root and grow? Where might God’s hands break up and remove the disappointing rocks and weeds that are weighing upon your spirit? Where might God’s hands rework your spiritual soil to bring forth new life?
As we break the bread of life and drink the cup of salvation remember the hands of God have been stretched out upon the cross so that our brokenness may be held and reshaped and resurrected by God’s redeeming grace. These hands that hold the whole world with care and compassion create a space for us to acknowledge our brokenness. These hands encourage us to stand tall as the body of Christ and partner with God’s hope to bring about a new kingdom where justice and righteousness are the good fruit for all to taste and see God’s goodness. These hands invite us to be nourished and strengthened by the bread and cup in order to go and bring about this good fruit through and for one another.
He’s got the whole world in his hands. May we sing so others may hear and experience the song of God’s lavish love too.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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