Well THAT was an interesting set of readings. If you ever had the idea that being a follower of God somehow made everything okay and ensured your safety and security in this world, these readings should put an end to that.
In the lesson from Isaiah, God is letting the children of Israel know the consequences of their bad behavior. God has done all he can for Israel. He planted a vineyard, Israel, on a fertile hill (the Promised Land). He cleared it of stones (all the nations opposed to Israel). He built a watchtower (the Law). With all of this attention to the children of Israel, God had an expectation that they would produce grapes, an expectation that they would yield good fruit. What it produced instead was wild grapes (bitter fruit). Instead of the good fruit of God, what the people produced was bloodshed, a lack of mercy, and systems that trampled the poor and abused, women, orphans, strangers, and aliens.
What was the good fruit God expected? There's a list, but at the top of that list is justice. To quote from another prophet, “What does the Lord require but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.” Quite simply, this is what God expects from his people. Another way of saying that is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Unfortunately, these failings of God’s people aren’t limited to the Israelites, as Isaiah could be speaking to us today.
In the reading from Hebrews we heard a roll call of faithful servants – Rahab, Barak, Samson, and David. And then we heard the litany of how people of faith were treated – with torture, floggings, stoned, sawn in two, destitute, persecuted, and executed. Being a person of faith was a dangerous proposition during that time.
Granted, we are (probably) not in danger of being tortured, beaten, or sawn in two, but every age has its difficulties. Every age has times when the world expects and demands people live a certain way. As people of faith, we are called to proclaim God’s justice, to advocate for those on the margins, to love our neighbors, to respect the dignity of every human being. And those are difficult things to do, especially when the message of Jesus has been co-opted and corrupted by those who believe otherwise.
Hebrews reminds us that we are not alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and we are encouraged to persevere through all sorts of trials and tribulations. Nowhere in scripture are we promised wealth, power, and/or the role of being the ruling class. We are, however, promised trials and tribulations. But no matter what we face on earth, know that you have not been forgotten by those who went before, nor have you been forgotten by God. Part of our call as Christians entails shining a light on a dark world and persevering to the end.
Today's gospel reading is just as cheerful as the previous two. “I came to bring fire to the earth. I haven't come to bring peace, but division. Households will be divided, three against two and two against three. Father against son, son against father. Mother against daughter and daughter against mother.”
There are a lot of interpretations around this passage, some better than others. But the bottom line is that when you throw Jesus into the mix, strong opinions tend to surface, divisions are formed, battle lines drawn, and it does indeed seem that Jesus' mission is far from peaceful. After all, how many wars, how many battles, how many families . . . how many churches . . . have been waged or split apart over people’s interpretation of Jesus and his mission?
These are difficult readings. As I was pondering these readings last week looking for inspiration, I was really trying to figure out what these readings, what bitter grapes, people tortured, and a Messiah bent on division all have to do with us today. As it turns out, quite a bit, actually.
First from Isaiah: know that you are God's beloved. You are the vineyard of God and you are in a fertile place. St. Luke's, as a whole, is a fertile place, and each of you are a choice vine. God has given us everything we need to be fruitful, and God expects us to produce good fruit. The basis for producing that good fruit must be doing justice, living in kindness, and walking humbly with God.
From Hebrews: hold to your faith. Uncountable people before us have faced greater trials and tribulations than we will face. That's not to minimize or make light of our current times, but it is to point out that you are not alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before, and we are surrounded and supported by each other. Persevere in the race set before you, keeping your eyes on Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Remain faithful and don’t let the world co-opt or corrupt the message we proclaim.
And from the Gospel: pay attention to the signs of the times. The world is changing around us. We need to be able to look at what's happening and say, “How can God work in this situation? What can we do to show the love of God in a new way?”
The Church and her people must stand against the evils of the world. We must support each other in that task. We must proclaim the message of Christ – the true message of Christ, which is love, service, and self-sacrifice – in opposition to those who would corrupt that message for personal gain and power.
Do justice. Remain faithful. Be imitators of a loving God. If we do these three things, we may not be popular, but we will be faithful to God. And I would rather be faithful to God than popular with the world.
Amen
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