Grace in the Vineyard (Prophet Margins – Part VII)

Sermon Title: Expectations: Grace in the Vineyard

 Good News Statement: God expects us to do His will

Preached: Sunday, August 28, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Isaiah 5:1-7 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah, who was writing during the mid-eighth century alongside the Minor Prophets Amos and Hosea. We will be reading chapter five verses one thru seven. Listen to the words of Isaiah ben Amoz…

The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard

5 I will sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. ² He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes.

³ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. ⁴ 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 rotten grapes?

⁵ 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.
⁶ I will make it a wasteland; 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.

⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished garden; he expected justice but saw bloodshed; righteousness but heard a cry!

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

Introduction:

It seems a farm boy accidentally overturned his wagon load of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise. “Hey Willis!!” the farmer yelled. “Forget your troubles. Come in with us. Then I’ll help you get the wagon up.”
“That’s mighty nice of you,” Willis answered, “but I don’t think Pa would like me to.”  “Awe, come on,” the farmer insisted. “Well okay,” the boy finally agreed, and added, “But Pa won’t like it.” After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. “I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset.” “Don’t be foolish!” the neighbor said with a smile. “By the way, where is he?” “Under the wagon.”

Last week, in a brief and roundabout way, we were introduced to The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew “yesha’yah(u)”) meaning “The LORD saves.” The Prophet Isaiah ben Amoz, who lived during the latter half of the eighth century BCE, is writing during the time of the Assyrian invasions of Israel and Judah. Isaiah chapter one verse one states, “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” Isaiah begins his three part saga by calling us to “learn to do good” (Isaiah 1:16-17). When we learn to do good, we “seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17). Essentially, we begin to live out and practice the words of Jesus.

In Matthew 7:12, Jesus reminds his followers, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you….” These words are about practicing what we preach. These words, as Isaiah prophesied, encourage us to “wash ourselves and remove the evil from our doings” (Isaiah 1:16). And these words teach us to continually seek justice—to do what is right, rescue the oppressed—find and save the lost, defend the orphan—to acknowledge the lowly and lonely, and plead for the widow—comfort those who are in pain and sorrow. Needless to say, Isaiah’s words along with Jesus’ instruction in the Gospel of Matthew echo the words of Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, [and] to set free those who are oppressed…” Isaiah’s words from last week challenge us to pay attention to those who God places in our life, and to treat them the way we want to be treated. Did you do that this past week? Did you treat someone with love, kindness, and compassion?

In a similar fashion, from our text today, Isaiah encounters another truth about the people of Israel. In addition to neglecting God, the vineyards of Israel yielded wild grapes. What the people of Israel expected to grow did not line up with God’s expectations; therefore, the harvest wasn’t ripe and beautiful. Instead the harvest was sour and rotten. The people had expectations for themselves. These expectations left them dumbstruck. But God’s grace didn’t leave them. Rather it motivated them to change their ways. God expects us to do His will.

Opening Prayer:

            Let us pray… Holy God, allow your words to motivate all of us to seek your expectations so that we can help produce grapes that are ripe and beautiful. May my words fall to the ground as your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In Your name we pray, Amen.

Body:

As you have learned from your study of Bible history, when Jesus spoke in parables, he used earthly stories with heavenly meanings to make his point. The same is true with the prophet Isaiah and this parable of the vineyard. He is speaking about God’s chosen people—the people of Israel. Through a love song, Isaiah sings about how the expectations of the people of Israel did not match the expectations of God. They expected their vineyard to yield ripe grapes, but instead it yielded rotten grapes. Have any of you ever created expectations for yourself but then found out that they weren’t met? That God had something else in store for you…

Vineyards are aesthetically beautiful places. They have beautiful greenery, well-manicured lawns, and rows of grapevines. They are exquisite and breathtaking. In biblical days, a vineyard was a prized possession. We are first introduced to the idea of a vineyard in Genesis 9:20, “Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard.” Then in Jeremiah 31:5, we are instructed to plant a vineyard and enjoy its fruit: “Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit.” Later on, Jeremiah writes about how Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who gave the poor vineyards and fields (Jeremiah 39:10). The last time we encounter a vineyard is in Paul’s epistle to the people of Corinth: Paul wrote when questioning the people, “Who at any time pays the expenses for doing military service? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its fruits? Or who tends a flock and does not get any of its milk?” (1 Corinthians 9:7). Vineyards in Biblical times, and even today, were important for living. However, whether they produced what we expected them to produce or they had an off year, they still took time and effort to maintain.

God, while witnessing His people continuously produce sour grapes, notices that they have lost faith; they have let down their guard and because of this their faith has become weak and fractured. God’s people, the Israelites, have given up on working keeping their faith and vineyards strong and bountiful. They have lost sight of what James states to the people, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). It takes work, dedication, commitment, endurance, and care to fulfill the faith and expectations that God has planted in His vineyard. But are we doing the work? Are we doing what God has called us to do? Are we taking care of God’s vineyard, His people?

It actually took a great deal to take care of God’s vineyard. There is always the nurturing of the grapes or whatever fruit was featured. This tending to the vineyard was all orchestrated for one thing: grapes—fresh, whole, round, perfect grapes. Workers in the vineyard were meticulous and detailed in their care. The parable speaks of all the effort that would go in to making a vineyard. You pick a piece of fertile ground. Ridges and hillsides were desirable because cold air would sink down and give some frost resistance to the upper areas of the ridge. Of course, hillsides make other things difficult. Sometimes one had to deal with other elements such as rocks and boulders in the fields. In Palestine, where Isaiah is writing from, there are lots of rocks in the soil. The rocks had to be cleared away and the soil tilled. The rocks were used to build the tower which was used to watch for predators that might destroy the crop. The best vines were put into the soil and carefully cultivated. It took lots and lots of work to maintain a bountiful harvest of grapes. Lots and lots of time had to be put in—years of careful cultivation and pruning of the vines—before one could expect a crop that could be turned into wine. It takes work to do the work of God. The vineyard won’t produce anything healthy on its own.

Isaiah, “expected [the vineyard] to produce clusters of sweet grapes, but it produced only sour grapes” (Isaiah 5:2, EHV). A person should be able to expect results after all the effort put in to the project—and not just average results, but good results—superior results. Sour grapes, not sweet grapes, were the result all this hard work. The text notes, “What more could have been done for my vineyard that I have not already done for it?” (Isaiah 5:4, EHV). The question expects a certain answer: “nothing.” Nothing more could have been done.

Growing up in a rural town, I thought I understood the basic premise of farming: planting in the spring and harvest in the fall. But when I moved to Oblong, I quickly learned that there is more to farming than what I saw driving to and from school every day. There’s the ordering of the seeds, the contracts, the maintenance of the equipment, dealing with the setbacks, noting which type of soil will produce a better harvest in the fall verses the other type of soil, keeping record of how much rain is collected in the rain gauge, noting the depth of the roots, packing a meal to eat in the tractor because you can’t stop working, driving a side-by-side from field to field checking on the crops, wearing the right hat, making sure your pocket-knife is sharpened, and the list goes on and on and on. Farming takes work, dedication, endurance, and care. Farming also comes with expectations that are sometimes met and sometimes not. When things don’t go to plan, what we expect, we become defensive and a little bit aggravated. We put forth all this work only to have it crumble below us. God’s people had expectations and did all the work, but yet their harvest wasn’t ripe.

God gave his people every advantage: cords of human kindness, bands of love, abounding faith, commandments, words of wisdom, and instruction. They were His chosen nation. Countless times they turned away to serve and follow other gods—gods that are no gods at all. With all the work God put in to His vineyard—the people of Israel—He should have been able to expect them to carefully follow the Ceremonial Law. Instead, clusters of sweet grapes gave way to clusters of sour and rotten grapes. The people lost faith. God gave them all that they needed, but yet they still wanted more. “God is able to provide you with every blessing…so that by always having enough of everything…” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Look at the way God has carefully prepared things in your life. He planted faith in your heart in baptism. He nursed and cultivated and pruned your life of faith. The soil of his Word and Sacraments are there. He provides ongoing nutrition and water through opportunities to use the gospel—the Means of Grace—by hearing His Word in worship. He speaks his law to wound and convict hearts, and pours out the gospel to soothe and heal. God has provided more than enough: “He scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His righteousness endures forever” (2 Corinthians 9:9). But yet, we find ourselves expecting more. And when we expect more, what does He find? Sour grapes.

Despite the surpassing goodness shown by the Savior God in every area of life, His people complain that His blessings haven’t been sufficient or the right ones or they have come at the wrong time. He looked for clusters of sweet grapes of His people living in peace and harmony with others, but found the sour grapes of envy and strife and jealousy. He looked for clusters of sweet grapes of forgiveness and kindness displayed among His people, but He saw only the sour grapes of impatience and lack of forgiveness. He looked for clusters of sweet grapes of humility in His people, but found the sour grapes of sinful pride. He looked for clusters of sweet grapes in the attitude of joy in worship and receiving the Supper of our Lord, but found the sour grapes of willful avoidance, even a refusal to hear his Word. God “expected justice but saw bloodshed; righteousness but heard a cry” (Isaiah 5:7).

God spent a great deal of time and effort planting His people and cultivating His people, both ancient and today. He provided every advantage. He carefully planned and prepared everything. No stone was left unturned. No task left incomplete. The plan to save His people was at the same time elaborate and simple. God knew of the sour grapes of His people. The People of Israel were a nation over whom God carefully watched. He sent them prophet after prophet to reiterate His message of the coming Savior and elaborate on what people knew of the plan. Yet…time after time…they failed. Time after time the people followed godless and irresponsible leaders into the chaos of unbelief. Time after time, in His love, God called them back. The people couldn’t do it, though. They kept messing up the plan. Are we messing up God’s plan today? Are you doing something in our lives that causes us to produce clusters of sour grapes instead of clusters of sweet grapes? Are we, as a church, avoiding what God needs us to do? Are we maintaining the vineyard in which He has called us to plant?

I want you to look inside your heart and find what is causing sour grapes in your life. What is testing your faith? Who is testing your faith? What is making you set aside the work of Christ for own benefit? What expectations do you have in your life that you know are not God’s expectations for you? Is there something in your life that would cause God to say to you, “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 walls, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a wasteland; 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” (Isaiah 5:5-6). How many sour grapes do you have in your life? I wonder what life would be like if you chose to leave them at the door of this church and let God take care of them? You know He is never going to give up on you, so why not let Him help you as you plant a vineyard of grace?

God has done so much for His people. He has given every advantage. The consequences are dire for those who reject all He has done and just act like a bunch of sour grapes. Even in a warning there is an exhortation: don’t be sour grapes; instead, be a cluster of sweet grapes. Isaiah sings, “Let me sing for my loved one a song about my loved one’s vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge. He dug it up and gathered the stones out of it. He planted it with the best vines. He built a tower in the middle of it. He also cut a winepress into it” (Isaiah 5:1-2, EHV).

Sing a song for your loving Savior God. Tell about the great things God has done for you and for all people in the careful preparation and fulfillment of his plans to send Jesus to be the Savior of all. Live in the sweet realization that He continues to give you everything you need to grow in your faith. You are grafted into the Vine of Jesus to receive the strength you need to overcome those moments of trials, tribulations, and temptations in your life. You are part of God’s graceful vineyard! And He is calling you to set the old vineyard aside and strive to plant a vineyard for tomorrow. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Certainly Paul was not forgetting Jesus in the things that are behind, nor do we want to forget, but we can set behind us all the mistakes and the sins of the past. We can set aside the sour grapes; because they don’t define us. They don’t control us. You are forgiven and free in Jesus. Strain toward and press on to the goal—the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. When you do that, you won’t live as sour grapes anymore, but as a cluster of sweet grapes who gained all that you need through the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion:

Wild grapes, according to Isaiah, means that the people of God were following no leadership but their own will and conscience. God wants us to be cultivated grapes, guided by the Word and tended by the Spirit, wherever we live and work. God needs us, God needs you, to help cultivate a healthy and faithful vineyard so that others will be nourished and replenished by the same grace and love that God has given you. This world has enough sour grapes. It needs more sweet grapes. And the time has come to remove the sour and replace it with sweetness.

The author of Ecclesiastes writes, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to throw away; a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). The time has come to build up your faith, to work on your faith, to fill your faith with sweet grapes, and to set aside your own expectations and allow God take the wheel as you find yourself doing the work of Christ. Remove the sour and share the bounty of God’s graceful vineyard.

Closing Prayer:      

Let us Pray: Holy God, You offer such goodness to us. You give so much to us, blessing us with resources. Despite your goodness, humanity has collectively responded selfishly, taking what we can get, using it for our own gain, and not thinking of the consequences. Forgive us for producing rotten fruit when you’ve given us everything we need so that ALL people can thrive. May we learn to be more like you, bringing forth goodness and care so that good fruit may come to the world.

Benediction:

As you seek to have a bountiful harvest, know that God is working in your life to help you get rid of the sour grapes. My God bless you with a harvest of faith and grace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go transforming lives as you live well and wisely in God’s world. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen.