Sermon for November 22

Isaiah 5:1-7,  11:1-5

Let me sing for my beloved 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 watchtower 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!

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,  and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The message

Last week, we heard and talked about a chapter from the book of the prophet Hosea.  There, we saw many of the major themes shared by all of the Prophets of Israel.  Hosea wrote warnings that if the people of the Northern Kingdom continued to worship foreign gods, turn to neighboring empires for help  and ignore the  promises they made to their God,  they would be punished severely.  Hosea also offered words of hope, that God would never fully abandon the people and there would be restoration, eventually.  

This week, our reading comes from the prophet Isaiah, a much more familiar figure and book. Isaiah often comes up during the weeks before Christmas. Isaiah’s words and message were a significant part of the expectations for a Messiah who would heal the relationship of sin and separation that happened between God and people.  The words of Isaiah, “the people in darkness have seen a great light”, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,  the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord”, and  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”,  are central parts of our Christmas carols, cards, story and understanding

The prophet Isaish also plays a prominent role at Easter. The disciples along with the early Christians turned to Isaiah to help understand one tough, nagging question:  If Jesus was the long expected messiah, savior and restorer, could he suffer and die only to rise again.  For this, they turn to the words of the prophet Isaish, in particular a series of prophesies known as the servant songs, which talk about a suffering servant of the Lord who endures in faith and overcomes:  One example of these servant songs is Isaish 56:6: I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.

Isaiah prophesied to the Southern Kingdom around the same time that Hosea prophesied to the Northern Kingdom.  Most scholars believe that Isaiah’s book  was partially written by Isaiah himself. The later chapters, called second and third Isaiah probably came from other prophets following in his tradition for  around 200 years after Isaiah’s death.  The first 39 chapters are filled with words, warnings and promises of God’s judgment on sinful , disobedient and unfaithful people and nations. One of the most striking parts of Isaiah his predictions about the Babylonians. About 100 years before the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom, before they were well known or an empire to be reckoned with, Isiash predicts they would play a role in the fall of the kingdom. .

Hosea’s prophesy uses the metaphor of an adulterous spouse. God is the faithful husband while Israel is a wife who cheats and violates scared promises.   The prophet Isaiah uses a very different metaphor about a vineyard to express the same idea of God’s care and humanity’s failure.  For Isaiah, God is the owner and caretaker of the vineyard.  God puts everything in place to allow the grapes to grow. Good land is selected, good vines are planted, the stems are protected and covered, the ground is kept free from weeds and thorns,  the space is hedged in and kept safe from animals (or people) who want to steal and eat the grapes.  This is the way that God cared for the people of Israel, leading them to victory, providing food, water, land and safety, giving them clear laws and instructions on how to follow them, as well as forgiving and allowing do overs.  

Under these conditions, the vines should thrive, producing good grapes and good wine.  Likewise the people of Israel should have grown in faith, remained loyal to the Lord and kept the commandments. The vineyard fails, the work is wasted.  Wild grapes grow.  Stuff that would have grown there with no care or work take over the vineyard.  The people of Israel also fail. Despite God’s intervention, care and instruction, the people of Israel disobey, turn to other gods and empires and forget what the Lord has done.  Like the vineyard, the people will be left without God’s intervention and they will be overrun by their enemies.

Like most of the Prophets,  Isaiah combines words of warning and predictions of doom with news of hope. In today’s reading that news of hope comes as a promise that  “A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots”.  Jesse is the father of King David, whose family line God promised the Messiah would come from.  This shoot, this descendant of David, would be unaffected by the desires, fears and failures that drew the people away from God.  This person will bring God’s grace, love and righteousness to the world.

I wanted to get away from the Isaiah reading for a few minutes to talk about something else. Today is Christ the King Sunday (which is not included in the new list of readings we have been using at worship). However, it remains a special day for me.  On Christ the King in November of 2009, I preached and led worship here at St Jacobus for the first time and the congregation voted to call me as the pastor of this church.  I officially started a few weeks later but I always considered this holiday as my first day.  That means today is the start of my 7^th year here at this church, school and community.  

As I thought about this reading today, this anniversary time and all the changes that have happened over these years,  I kept coming back to the questions “where is our vineyard?” and “how have we cared for it”.   Our Vineyard, this church is facing all different challenges in a changing community landscape. Many expected and unexpected things have happened in this place and the neighborhood that we are part of. Many of the people who were there for that first vote are no longer with us.  Some have passed away, going before us in faith to the place Jesus has promised.  Others have moved to new places or just feel more comfortable being part of other communities.  Everyone listed on the bulletin, our secretary, school administrator, musician, church council president, along with many of its members, have all changed.  On many Sundays, more than half the people at church were not here regularly when I started. 
 

Our vineyard is being cared for, we want to make sure this place stays here for many years to come. The roof over the offices and kitchen is new, there is a new floor in the playground, the floor tiles are new, there is an organ, in a few weeks the carpet will change and the playground equipment will be updated.   We have a food pantry program and a successful preschool that serves over 150 families in our community with faith and love. 

Our vineyard is in good shape. We are doing well from a financial standpoint and we have welcomed new energy, people and excitement.  Thanks to visionary leadership, trust, excellent partners and what people has always called a few leaps of faith, the ministry of sharing our space has thrived.  We have become a vineyard where many different churches and groups gather,  grow, work together and draw strength.  

Like the vineyard, we are covered by the support, care, and promises of God. Of course that means we are held accountable for what we receive, how we care for it, how we use our resources, and what we produce.  I expect to still be here next Christ the King Sunday. At that time, we will be on the verge of 2017, our 150^th anniversary year. As we walk together towards that milestone, we are invited to act boldly and faithfully to share God’s love and serve God’s people.  I look forward to this work together.