So this morning, we read a love song …a song God sings about his beloved vineyard. This is about God and God’s beloved people…and God’s beloved creation. God created this beautiful world and all it’s people…in love…and for love. God looked at all of us..all the world and said “it is good”…and desired goodness for us. But well…we keep mucking it up, don’t we?
I don’t think I’m lying when I say that the vineyard isn’t looking so good these days. We’ve poisoned our land and water and food supplies with endless pesticides and growth hormones and antibiotics and chemicals of all kinds. We’ve created brand new islands in the ocean that span for miles…made of garbage….while draining our underground water reservoirs to sustain cities in the desert. The earth we’ve been given has not been cared for as it should.
But beyond that…we have not cared for one another. Violence and injustice? We’ve got that covered…on a global stage and in our own homes and communities. Wars, terrorism, domestic violence..hate crimes and genocide….mass shootings….not to mention the constant barrage of ugly, violent, angry words that flood our daily media and social media sites. Yes, we do violence well. And then there’s injustice….that’s actually our forte. We live in a nation…and in a world….where tiny percentages of people control vast amounts of resources….while millions of people struggle to survive — some reeling from natural disasters — many simply lacking access to clean water or sufficient food or basic health care. Yes, we have been immensely creative in our unending quest for power and wealth..for a life of ease….with little thought for those who might have been hurt along the way. And throughout history, throughout the world…we have consistently found ways to discriminate against and disenfranchise those who are not “like us”.
Indeed…if this world is God’s vineyard…we’ve not been the best tenants to be sure. And so today…we read two of God’s vineyard stories in Isaiah and in Matthew. Actually, Jesus retells Isaiah’s familiar story to his listeners.. almost word for word. The landowner (God) dug his vineyard (God’s creation), cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower and a wall to protect it…and then, he put a wine press right in the middle of it. Think Tuscany…think Napa Valley….lush and breathtakingly beautiful. With just some basic diligence and care…it should produce abundantly and we could all be enjoying the fruit of the vine — a nice glass of merlot with friends.
Of course, the problem is….instead of wine….we’ve made toxic waste.
So how does God feel about that? Well, in Isaiah’s version of the story, when the Lord comes to the vineyard…and expects justice, but finds violence….looks for righteousness and compassion,and hears people crying….he responds by tearing down the walls and letting the vineyard be trampled. And in this particular case, what that meant was that the land of Israel would be overrun by the invading Babylonian armies.
But Jesus tells the story differently. He says that the landlord sends messengers to gather his share of the wine barrels. But, instead, those messengers become victims of the tenant’s out of control violence and injustice. And then, he sends his own son…but not even the son is spared the ugly results of the tenant’s blind greed.
So what does the landlord do?
Well…the chief priests and leaders of the temple who were listening to the story have an answer – “he will certainly put those wretches to a miserable death”. Babylonian armies…or whatever armed force is at hand will be sent to restore order..with violent shock and awe.
That’s what they would do, after all…if their tenants were to act in such an atrocious way. Indeed, that is what we humans always do, isn’t it? We get even. We kill and bomb and exact our revenge and pay no attention to the collateral damage — whether it’s in human life or ecosystems.
But here’s the rub….it’s not what God does. Indeed, God hates, abhors our greed, our injustice, our abuse of this beautiful planet…our cruelty and violence to one another. But Babylonian Armies …or any armies for that matter…aren’t going to change anything. They are just more of the same. And putting perpetrators to a miserable death? More of the same. It doesn’t change a single thing. The world goes round. And the vineyard is still a mess.
So what does God do? We kill the son….and God simply raises him from the dead. And then…sends a few people out….to love the world again, like Jesus did. To heal. To offer forgiveness. To remind people that they belong to God. To remind people that the whole world belongs to God. To be the goodness of God.
Jesus called those people …“disciples”.
And your know what? That’s you and me.
We are here…..because we want to be Jesus’ disciples in this world. Because in the face of this world’s insanity….and in spite of our own propensity for violence and injustice and indifference….we want to follow the way of Jesus.
And that doesn’t mean we’ll always get it right….we won’t . The stories told in the Bible make it clear that disciples don’t always get it right….not by a long shot. But we want to try. We want to try to remember that we are just tenants here, not owners, in this world’s vineyard….and our job isn’t just to get everything we can out of it while we can for ourselves. Rather, our job is to make beautiful wine for the world. To preserve the vineyard so everybody can benefit from it. The job of Jesus’ disciples…is to care for others….and to care for all creation. We live in God’s beautiful vineyard. And we’ve been placed here to nurture it…to tend it carefully….so all can share the fabulous, sumptuous wine that God has given to us. The wine of grace.
At this table, we share the wine of grace. But we also share that wine with every choice we make, every injustice we confront, every bullied child we stand up for, every corner of creation we care for. Every time we give back…..the wine of grace flows. And you know,….it’s good when the wine flows. Wine gladdens the heart — that’s in the Bible, you know….(Psalm 104…you can look it up).
Yes…we are meant to be God’s good gardeners — nurturing, protecting, and sharing the abundance of God’s wine…God’s grace…God’s love in this messy vineyard. And the shocking and somewhat unnerving thing is….that this is God’s response to the wicked tenants. You are God’s response to the violence and injustice and greed that threatens all creation. Not revenge. Not devastation. But a small group of people giving back and sharing goodness. A small group of people sent out to love the world. To love the world that God so loves. And it is the only thing that will change the world. I am reminded of Margaret Mead’s quote. ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ This is how God confronts evil and hatred…through our simple, seemingly small, acts of kindness and love in response to evil and hatred. This is the power of God at work in God’s beloved vineyard. And it is beautiful. You, God’s beloved…are beautiful. So let us sing together…God’s love song.
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than darkness,
Life is stronger than hate.
Victory is ours, victory is ours,
Through God who loves us.
Leave a Reply