OUR DISAPPOINTED GOD

I came one day to this vineyard of mine;
hoping, expecting that it would all be fine.
The soil was rich, the corner... divine;
I loved it, for sure- this vineyard of mine.

The water was plenty, the sun warm and bright;
I worked it by day and watched it by night.
The hedge was protective, the tower sublime;
I invested so much... in this vineyard of mine.

I came to visit my vineyard in the course of time;
Expecting a yield in this vineyard of mine.
Looking for truth, I found nothing but lies;
Looking for justice... I heard nothing but cries.

I came to bask in it's righteousness;
but there's blood in the garden and it smells of distress.
My disappointment's so deep- who will pay for the crime?
What more could I have done, for this vineyard of mine?

Down with the hedge, the watchtower too;
My disappointment's real- I was counting on you.
I gave you a garden with a world of potential;
I filled it with love and all that's essential.
I did all I could, but there will be no wine
for my people never loved... this vineyard of mine.

There you have it: the first draft of a love song that I'm writing about our disappointed God. We've all experienced the sting of disappointment. It's led to a hundred little deaths. Love is disappointing, especially love based on fairy tales. Friends disappoint us. Work disappoints us, especially if we expect it to be more than it ever can be. To mention that politics is disappointing is too easy, but church is disappointing too.  What ought to be a labor of love becomes just a labor for many, and people who are expecting to experience the grace and joy of Christ... are likely to be disappointed.

We all know disappointment well... but it may surprise us to see that God knows it too. According to Scripture, God has experienced moments of extreme disappointment, and he experienced them from the time he walked in the garden to the moment he hung on his cross. After God created Adam and Eve, He said it was "very good," and He delighted in His evening walks with them... until the day came when they were both hiding... in their nakedness and in their sin. They were punished, of course, but as He made clothing for them, I can't help but think that God was extremely disappointed... in and for them. They had had it all and just threw it away. Later, in Noah's day, when God could no longer watch his people sin, his heart filled with a grief that we will never know, He said it plainly: "I am sorry I made humankind." How disappointing to know that no one, save Noah, gave any thought to pleasing or obeying him. So, with emotion that our Bible doesn't try to hide, God started over with Noah. Then came his call to Moses, and his law, which was an act of grace, showing his people how to practice mishpat (justice) and sedeqah (righteousness), but they continued to chase idols and go their own way. Prophet after prophet came to teach, warn, cajole, and plead with them. God tried  ...  but his people would not listen, which brings us to our passage today- Isaiah's wonderful love song. It is much better than my song, and it calls for a moment of our time.

Imagine the emotions- the disappointment- that underlies this song of a love gone wrong.

 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines
      (the ones that were sure to bear fruit)
He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well
      (believing that it would soon produce wonderful wine)
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit
      (called "wild grapes" by other translators, the fruit also had a displeasing odor)

 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
      (take stock in yourselves. I'm listening-tell me...)
What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?
      (Sunlight, gentle rain, the best of soil, alot of care, preparation and maintenance-
        I've done all of this and more)
When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled.
      ^{(Animals will eat what is left and trample on what they don't eat)}
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds not to rain on it.
      (It will be as dry as hopeless as those who refused to take care of it)

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Cross references:

1. Isaiah 5:1 : Ps 80:8-9; Isa 27:2; Jn 15:1
2. Isaiah 5:2 : S Ex 15:17; Isa 16:8
3. Isaiah 5:2 : 1Sa 2:9; Isa 27:3; 31:5; 49:8; Mt 21:33
4. Isaiah 5:2 : S Job 24:11
5. Isaiah 5:2 : Mt 21:19; Mk 11:13; Lk 13:6
6. Isaiah 5:3 : Mt 21:40
7. Isaiah 5:4 : S 2Ch 36:15; Jer 2:5-7; Mic 6:3-4; Mt 23:37
8. Isaiah 5:4 : Jer 2:21; 24:2; 29:17
9. Isaiah 5:5 : 2Ch 36:21; Isa 6:12; 27:10
10. Isaiah 5:5 : S Ps 80:12; S Isa 22:5
11. Isaiah 5:5 : Isa 10:6; 26:6; 28:3, 18; 41:25; 63:3; Jer 12:10; 34:22; La 1:15; Hos 2:12; Mic 7:10; Mal 4:3; S Lk 21:24
12. Isaiah 5:6 : S Ge 6:13; S Lev 26:32; Isa 6:13; 49:17, 19; 51:3; Joel 1:10
13. Isaiah 5:6 : ver 10, 17; S 2Sa 23:6; Isa 7:23, 24; 32:13; 34:13; 55:13; Eze 28:24; Hos 2:12; Heb 6:8
14. Isaiah 5:6 : S Dt 28:24; S 2Sa 1:21; Am 4:7
15. Isaiah 5:7 : Ps 80:8; Isa 17:10; 18:5; 37:30
16. Isaiah 5:7 : Isa 10:2; 29:21; 32:7; 59:15; 61:8; Eze 9:9; 22:29
17. Isaiah 5:7 : S Isa 1:21
18. Isaiah 5:7 : S Ps 12:5

Isaiah's song, which probably rhymed better in Hebrew, in 720 BC, give or take a decade or two, and I wish I could say that God never again experienced disappointment...but I can't... because Jesus also endured the pain of watching others, even his friends, turn their backs on His Father's invitation. For instance, when Jesus preached his sermon in Nazareth, (Mark 6) I imagine that he was really anticipating the moment because Nazareth was his hometown. He had more important things to do than making a good impression, no doubt, but it's reasonable to think that he expected a warm reception. In any event, when he finished preaching, the people accused him of pretending to be more than he was. "Look at you," they suggested, "Up there at the pulpit, acting like you're a prophet, when we all know that you're just the kid who used to play on our streets." According to Scripture, Jesus narrowly avoided physical harm, but it seems that his feelings were hurt the most. The Bible says, Jesus was "amazed at their unbelief" and "could do no miracles in their presence." Jesus was disappointed with his people's unwillingness to accept the good news he was offering, but he was also disappointed with the pain that he saw all around him. We can almost feel his pain when he stood in front of Lazarus' grave.  The Bible says, "Jesus wept," which some believe is better translated, "Jesus sobbed." He sobbed, not because he thought death had won (he knew he would resurrect Lazarus), but because he was overwhelmed by the fear and loss his friends were experiencing. When he saw the "holes in their souls," when he considered their fears and their dashed hopes, he could scarcely take it in... and he sobbed. Standing as God Incarnate, he knew that people, like foolish sheep, had forsaken God's ways and in doing so, they had forfeited his promises. There's nothing much sadder and more disappointing than watching those you love miss opportunities for life. Finally, as he approached Calvary, Jesus stopped and cried over Jerusalem itself, exclaiming that he had longed for a long time to gather her people unto himself. He meant it. He meant it with all of his heart, and he showed it by carrying his cross to Golgotha. He hung there, on that cross of his, feeling a pain that we will never know, taking on our sins, and looking around, in disappointment, I suspect, to see that his friends had run and hid. When he looked down, he saw his mama crying, he saw men taunting him, and he saw any number of others simply gawking or passing by. It must have been keenly disappointing, but in a moment of unimaginable grace, he cried, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing."

For this he had come, lived, suffered and died. "It is finished," he said, in victory, and utter disappointment died with him- at least for those who embrace him as Lord and Savior.  There can be no real disappointment for those who are in Christ for they have inherited full, abundant, and eternal life. Other than not keeping my head down when I swing a golf club, I have little reason to be disappointed because Jesus is my Lord and Savior... but I am convinced that unachieved possibilities still disappoint God. Friends, if you, or anyone you know, is still laboring under the illusion that they don't need Christ, it is time to invite them, or yourself, to experience a joy that only surrender can bring. Friends, if God has given you gifts of time, talent, and/or treasure, please use them. In fact, use them as if there is no tomorrow... for someone you know may not have a tomorrow, and to someone, you may be the only representative of Christ that they will ever know. Friends, God has given us a vineyard, with very rich soil, and he's given us every opportunity to bring forth a yield of life-giving grapes. If you can nurture our vineyard by calling on others, by tending to a section of our property, by joining our choir, by helping us with Drop-In Center, by picking up the cross of servant-leadership, or simply by showing up so that the rest of us don't feel so lonely, you need to respond. I can't promise you a standing ovation, but I am sure that God will smile. When God visits South Park, he expects to see sedeqah and mishpat- righteousness and justice- where righteousness includes the way we live, worship, and serve... and justice includes who we invite and serve, who we stand with, and what we stand for. Let's tend to his vineyard- this one that he has entrusted to us- and let's do it with energy and love... so that we will not disappoint him. Amen.