God's Vineyard and Divine Anticipation

Text: Isaiah 5:1-7 

1 Let me 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 wild 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 wild 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 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.

7 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!

I have to admit some hesitation in approaching the scriptures before us today. Some commentators have admitted a "chilling" quality to this text. Others, have questioned its suitability for preaching within the church, having a message that is essentially antithetical to the "good news" of the new covenant. This is obviously not good news for its recipients. Nonetheless, regardless of my own difficulties with the text, or the reservations of some regarding its suitability, I think there is value here that is definitely worth our attention.  

A casual observation of this text can provoke troubling questions regarding abandonment and divine culpability. But, thankfully, while we are dealing with a particular text in a specific place, it is not a complete snapshot and therefore, must be interpreted in light of everything the Bible says about God's relationship with his people. While there is clearly a disconnect between God and his people here, and obviously, as we will see, for good reasons, and this separation ultimately has dramatic consequences, this must and can be mitigated by the demonstration of God's love and forbearing. This God who pronounces judgment here, is the same God whose mercy and loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting. 

So, with these things said, let's now take a look at what this text has to say to us about God and his purposes.

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Readings for August 15

Readings for the Coming Week Proper 15 (20) (August 15, 2010)

Isaiah 5:1-7


Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

Alternate First reading and Psalm:


Jeremiah 23:23-29


Psalm 82


Second reading


Hebrews 11:29-12:2


Gospel
Luke 12:49-56

Collaboration Desired!

I want to invite anyone who uses the Revised Common Lectionary in your weekly devotions and/or sermon preparation/preaching to participate here. I want to make this blog a collaborative effort and I can assign as many authors as I wish. If you are interested in doing this, please send me your information and perhaps a sample of what you'd like to post to my email.

Lectionary Table

As I stated in a previous post, I plan on composing at least one sermon a week based upon the RCL weekly readings. In addition, I think I will also use this site as a sort of lectionary table. Using the readings that are left over on a weekly basis, I will throw out ideas that may serve as embryos for those looking for ideas to base a sermon upon. 

If one of these ideas do materialize into a sermon and you are comfortable in letting me post one, do let me know. As I stated earlier, just drop me an email with the sermon attached. You can reach me here.

Welcome to TLP!

I hope to use The Lectionary Pulpit [TLP] as a platform for the development and dispensing of sermons based upon the Revised Common Lectionary [RCL]. Over the next few years, I will be preparing to re-enter ministry in a mainline denomination. As a matter of discipline, I plan to use TLP to prepare and present sermons based upon the Lectionary.

Although I have been preaching since the age of 11 (31 years now, off and on), I have never followed a Lectionary in sermon preparation. In fact, I only recently became acquainted with the RCL. It has not taken long, however, for me to discern its value and develop a keen respect for the device. 


Most ministers, myself included, have an affinity for certain biblical passages and topics and as such, spend allot of their sermon time covering the same subjects over and over again. This tendency can leave huge portions of scripture untouched, to the detriment of both the minister and the congregations they serve. A lectionary is designed to overcome this weakness and to help ministers present a more balanced portrait of biblical teaching. 

As I practice the use of the Lectionary, the sermons contained here will be fair game. You are more than welcome to take all or part of the material found here and use it in your own setting. I would, however, enjoy reading of how you were able to put it to use. Also, if you have original sermons that you have put together based upon RCL readings, I would love to read them and perhaps post them here at TLP. Just drop me a note with the sermon file and I will post it (with your permission) and give you credit. 


Lastly, I also intend on creating a list of resources that I use in sermon preparation. There are already a number of excellent websites devoted to sermon preparation and as I use them and discover more, I will post them here. My prayer is that God will use this site for his glory! 

Shalom,


C. M. Keel, Sr

Readings for the Coming Week

Proper 9 (14) (July 4, 2010)

• First Reading and Psalm
  
  • 2 Kings 5:1-14
  • Psalm 30
• Alternate First Reading and Psalm
  
  • Isaiah 66:10-14
  • Psalm 66:1-9
• Second Reading
  
  • Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16
• Gospel
  
  • Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Quick Update!

This blog is an idea in gestation. Please check back from time to time. It will be up and active in the near future. If you'd like to be notified when this blog becomes active you can email me at:

mailto:cmkeel@gmail.com

I will keep your email confidential and will not share it with anyone or use it for anything other than an initial notification of this blog's activity. I look forward to learning from and sharing with you in the days ahead. God bless!

Christopher Keel, Sr