The Grapes of Wrath - Message given on 8/19/07
This message was shared with the Grace Vision congregation of my church. That's our very contemporary worship. Our church has a special license that allows us to show audion and video clips. Immediately before the service began, we showed a clip of the Veggietales rendition of "The Grapes of Wrath". The following was my message that day:
Let us pray: Almighty and gracious God, you have placed in a good place. We have all the advantages we could possibly imagine. We should be a bright beacon of hope, life and joy to all who come near us. Yet we have fallen short of your expectations. Lord, forgive us. I pray that each heart here be open to your word this morning and that my words become truly yours in spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our rock and our redeemer. AMEN
Isaiah 5:1-7 NLT
1 Now I will sing a song for the one I love about his vineyard: My beloved has a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. 2 He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with choice vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour. 3 "Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you have heard the case; you be the judges. 4 What more could I have done to cultivate a rich harvest? Why did my vineyard give me wild grapes when I expected sweet ones? 5 Now this is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will tear down its fences and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it. 6 I will make it a wild place. I will not prune the vines or hoe the ground. I will let it be overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no more rain on it." 7 This is the story of the LORD's people. They are the vineyard of the LORD Almighty. Israel and Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected them to yield a crop of justice, but instead he found bloodshed. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of oppression.
The Word of God, written for the people of God - Thanks be to God
As I looked through the suggested lections for this week, you could imagine my thoughts as I came upon this passage. I’m a pretty positive guy. I consider the glass half full, not half empty. If I get down, it’s usually not for long. I’ve even been accused of wearing rose colored glasses. But my first reaction to today’s Scripture lesson was not positive. Through the prophet Isaiah God is telling the Jews in the southern kingdom what is going to happen to them.
The passage starts out nice enough. It describes a beautiful vineyard and how their beloved one (that’s God) had set up such a wonderful place. He put in all the trappings, tended the vines and awaited the rich harvest that would come. Sweet grapes. He wanted sweet grapes. Instead, he got wild grapes, sour grapes. The beloved one was not happy. After he had done everything possible to cultivate a sweet harvest, he got nothing but wild grapes. So he tore the whole place down.
In this passage Isaiah was foretelling the impending fall of the kingdom of Judah and its capital city of Jerusalem. All that did come to pass, too. Jerusalem came under siege. When the Israelites could no longer hold out, the king and all the brightest and best of the citizens were carried off to Babylon, and the city, including the temple, had been destroyed. The chosen people of God were seemingly forsaken. All the hopes they had had for themselves in their promised land were dashed. How could that have happened?
It was easy. The Israelites smugly went about their business taking advantage of all the gifts God had given them. But instead of following God’s plan, they turned away from His teachings. They put other gods before Him. They treated their poor with injustice. They abused their blessings in the Promised Land, and God finally had enough. They got their just desserts.
But what is the Scripture lesson saying to us, today? Is it merely a historical account, or is it telling us something? Could any of the situations in old Judah parallel any our own activities? Surely not us! We’re Christians. We live in the USA. We have great resources and an economy that is the envy of the world. Our armed forces can protect us from any country around. We are living in arguably the best country in the world.
But we have forgotten God. We’ve kicked him out of the schools. The prayers at ball games must now be silent. The celebration of our Savior’s birth is now called winter holidays instead of Christmas. In our government and business offices we can get into trouble for mentioning our faith-assuming of course, that we even wanted to talk about our faith. One of our national discount stores even kicked the Salvation Army off their premises. And what about justice? We have the best legal system money can buy. If you have the money, you get the justice. Well not exactly. If you have money you can escape justice. Not only that, we seem to have manufactured a society where more and more things that are wrong are declared to be right.
We might argue that while the country could be in some trouble faith wise, surely we’re OK here in Trussville First Methodist. Let’s look at the kind of harvest God wants here.
(Show clip of child reciting the 23rd Psalm.)
Now, that was a sweet grape! But is that what He gets? Sometimes yes; but often no. In our churches we have a habit of treating each other in less than Christian ways. We get jealous of others who are chosen to take positions of leadership. Sometimes we want our own way so much that we go to great lengths to control what goes on, in what way it’s done, when it’s done, and who it’s done to… You get the message. And what if someone should actually offend us or do something wrong? There are people who will hardly speak to some of the members of their family of faith. Churches have a horrible record of shooting their wounded rather than encouraging them.
Does this mean we are all doomed? Will we all be rounded up and carried off to Iraq as our country and its churches are razed? I don’t have the gift of prophecy; but I don’t think that’s about to happen. Here’s why. Let’s look and a story Jesus told us in:
Luke 13:6-9 NLT
6 Then Jesus used this illustration: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's taking up space we can use for something else.' 8 "The gardener answered, 'Give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down.'"
The fig tree, like us, was worthy for destruction. Instead, the gardener gave it another chance, another shot to get it right. That is exactly what Jesus does for us too. Despite the fact that we are less than perfect, regardless that we have done all sorts of things that give Christians a bad name, He give us hope. That’s why when somebody I’m trying to get to come to church says, “That place is full of hypocrites!” I respond, “Come on in. There’s always room for one more.” As Christians we are not perfect, merely forgiven. Jesus gives us another season to get it right. He takes on our sins, gives us grace and allows us to continue on in this old world.
I guess that’s what makes us different from those old Israelites in Judah. They didn’t have Jesus; we do. But there’s a problem. Our Lord has told us how to live. Jesus stressed time and again that we are to bear fruit. His degree of requirements is even higher than before. In the Old Testament folks were punished for doing bad things. Jesus tells us we cannot even think of the bad things. And we are still accountable. Listen to what Jesus himself says, “9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down.'”
We may be able to get into heaven and still do what is wrong; but we will have some serious explaining to do when we face Jesus, the one who took the pain of all our sins upon Himself. Relate story of Christmas lights, stealing them. Getting caught. Then my father took me over to those neighbors. He apologized on my behalf. I had visited on him one of the embarrassing moments in his life. He offered restitution. I never felt so small. I had caused the man I loved and respected more than anyone else an unbelievable amount of pain. Imagine the pain of Jesus on the cross as he took on every one of your and my sins. It makes me want to do better. How about you? In the name of the father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
MAY WE PRAY? Lord, thank you for not giving up on us when we have disappointed you. But Lord, don’t let us be comfortable in our unchristian behavior. Instead, put a burden on our hearts to try to do better, and help us to grow in righteousness day by day. In Jesus’ name AMEN.
Let us pray: Almighty and gracious God, you have placed in a good place. We have all the advantages we could possibly imagine. We should be a bright beacon of hope, life and joy to all who come near us. Yet we have fallen short of your expectations. Lord, forgive us. I pray that each heart here be open to your word this morning and that my words become truly yours in spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight oh Lord our rock and our redeemer. AMEN
Isaiah 5:1-7 NLT
1 Now I will sing a song for the one I love about his vineyard: My beloved has a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. 2 He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with choice vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were wild and sour. 3 "Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you have heard the case; you be the judges. 4 What more could I have done to cultivate a rich harvest? Why did my vineyard give me wild grapes when I expected sweet ones? 5 Now this is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will tear down its fences and let it be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it. 6 I will make it a wild place. I will not prune the vines or hoe the ground. I will let it be overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to drop no more rain on it." 7 This is the story of the LORD's people. They are the vineyard of the LORD Almighty. Israel and Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected them to yield a crop of justice, but instead he found bloodshed. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of oppression.
The Word of God, written for the people of God - Thanks be to God
As I looked through the suggested lections for this week, you could imagine my thoughts as I came upon this passage. I’m a pretty positive guy. I consider the glass half full, not half empty. If I get down, it’s usually not for long. I’ve even been accused of wearing rose colored glasses. But my first reaction to today’s Scripture lesson was not positive. Through the prophet Isaiah God is telling the Jews in the southern kingdom what is going to happen to them.
The passage starts out nice enough. It describes a beautiful vineyard and how their beloved one (that’s God) had set up such a wonderful place. He put in all the trappings, tended the vines and awaited the rich harvest that would come. Sweet grapes. He wanted sweet grapes. Instead, he got wild grapes, sour grapes. The beloved one was not happy. After he had done everything possible to cultivate a sweet harvest, he got nothing but wild grapes. So he tore the whole place down.
In this passage Isaiah was foretelling the impending fall of the kingdom of Judah and its capital city of Jerusalem. All that did come to pass, too. Jerusalem came under siege. When the Israelites could no longer hold out, the king and all the brightest and best of the citizens were carried off to Babylon, and the city, including the temple, had been destroyed. The chosen people of God were seemingly forsaken. All the hopes they had had for themselves in their promised land were dashed. How could that have happened?
It was easy. The Israelites smugly went about their business taking advantage of all the gifts God had given them. But instead of following God’s plan, they turned away from His teachings. They put other gods before Him. They treated their poor with injustice. They abused their blessings in the Promised Land, and God finally had enough. They got their just desserts.
But what is the Scripture lesson saying to us, today? Is it merely a historical account, or is it telling us something? Could any of the situations in old Judah parallel any our own activities? Surely not us! We’re Christians. We live in the USA. We have great resources and an economy that is the envy of the world. Our armed forces can protect us from any country around. We are living in arguably the best country in the world.
But we have forgotten God. We’ve kicked him out of the schools. The prayers at ball games must now be silent. The celebration of our Savior’s birth is now called winter holidays instead of Christmas. In our government and business offices we can get into trouble for mentioning our faith-assuming of course, that we even wanted to talk about our faith. One of our national discount stores even kicked the Salvation Army off their premises. And what about justice? We have the best legal system money can buy. If you have the money, you get the justice. Well not exactly. If you have money you can escape justice. Not only that, we seem to have manufactured a society where more and more things that are wrong are declared to be right.
We might argue that while the country could be in some trouble faith wise, surely we’re OK here in Trussville First Methodist. Let’s look at the kind of harvest God wants here.
(Show clip of child reciting the 23rd Psalm.)
Now, that was a sweet grape! But is that what He gets? Sometimes yes; but often no. In our churches we have a habit of treating each other in less than Christian ways. We get jealous of others who are chosen to take positions of leadership. Sometimes we want our own way so much that we go to great lengths to control what goes on, in what way it’s done, when it’s done, and who it’s done to… You get the message. And what if someone should actually offend us or do something wrong? There are people who will hardly speak to some of the members of their family of faith. Churches have a horrible record of shooting their wounded rather than encouraging them.
Does this mean we are all doomed? Will we all be rounded up and carried off to Iraq as our country and its churches are razed? I don’t have the gift of prophecy; but I don’t think that’s about to happen. Here’s why. Let’s look and a story Jesus told us in:
Luke 13:6-9 NLT
6 Then Jesus used this illustration: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's taking up space we can use for something else.' 8 "The gardener answered, 'Give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down.'"
The fig tree, like us, was worthy for destruction. Instead, the gardener gave it another chance, another shot to get it right. That is exactly what Jesus does for us too. Despite the fact that we are less than perfect, regardless that we have done all sorts of things that give Christians a bad name, He give us hope. That’s why when somebody I’m trying to get to come to church says, “That place is full of hypocrites!” I respond, “Come on in. There’s always room for one more.” As Christians we are not perfect, merely forgiven. Jesus gives us another season to get it right. He takes on our sins, gives us grace and allows us to continue on in this old world.
I guess that’s what makes us different from those old Israelites in Judah. They didn’t have Jesus; we do. But there’s a problem. Our Lord has told us how to live. Jesus stressed time and again that we are to bear fruit. His degree of requirements is even higher than before. In the Old Testament folks were punished for doing bad things. Jesus tells us we cannot even think of the bad things. And we are still accountable. Listen to what Jesus himself says, “9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, you can cut it down.'”
We may be able to get into heaven and still do what is wrong; but we will have some serious explaining to do when we face Jesus, the one who took the pain of all our sins upon Himself. Relate story of Christmas lights, stealing them. Getting caught. Then my father took me over to those neighbors. He apologized on my behalf. I had visited on him one of the embarrassing moments in his life. He offered restitution. I never felt so small. I had caused the man I loved and respected more than anyone else an unbelievable amount of pain. Imagine the pain of Jesus on the cross as he took on every one of your and my sins. It makes me want to do better. How about you? In the name of the father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
MAY WE PRAY? Lord, thank you for not giving up on us when we have disappointed you. But Lord, don’t let us be comfortable in our unchristian behavior. Instead, put a burden on our hearts to try to do better, and help us to grow in righteousness day by day. In Jesus’ name AMEN.