Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

Today we had a special sermon about the Tanzania Water Project that Faith Lutheran Church has been supporting over the last year. 

This is a special musical performance from the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir of All My Days with a solo performance from Tammy Heilman.

As we begin to delve into today’s readings, I invite you to look at the beginning words in your bulletin.  There we read:

Open a newspaper, turn on the TV, read online – everywhere we look, the world is crumbling about us.  War, violence, natural disasters, hateful words, anger, and hostility litter our cultural landscape like so much garbage along a highway.  Even within our own homes, sin, death, and the devil seem to have the upper hand.  Anger, betrayal, mistrust, and manipulation hang rotting on the vine, rather than the lush, sweet grapes of love, care and forgiveness we expect and desire.  And if we take but a moment for self-reflection, we notice that it is our own selfishness and hard-heartedness that contribute to this state of affairs.  We are indeed “captive to sin and cannot free ourselves” as we confess in worship.

         These words were not written this past week.  They were written almost two years ago for this Sunday by a handful of leaders in our denomination as they formed and created ELCA resources for this church year.  Yet, how fitting they are on this day as we reflect upon the events of this past week, let alone the events of these past few months and all that we have experienced.  In fact, over the past week, following the massacre in Las Vegas, I have been feeling the weight and sadness these printed words express.  They are timely words and they connect to our readings because today we hear something about judgement and lament. 

         In today’s readings we hear a lot about vineyards, a metaphor used many times in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We are invited to consider the “vineyard” as God’s dominion and we, by virtue of our baptisms, are the tenants of the vineyard.  

In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah begins by singing a love-song concerning his beloved’s vineyard.  When looking at Isaiah’s words, I think he gains the attention of his listening audience when he begins to sing this love-song.  And, like us, the people who listened to Isaiah’s song likely expected to hear of a ballad with a happy ending.  Isaiah sings of how God, his beloved did everything possible to set up a healthy, thriving vineyard. He tells of how God spared no effort to create an environment conducive to success.  The soil was fertile and cultivated; the stones were removed; only the finest quality vines were planted; a watchtower was built in the middle of the vineyard; and a wine vat was built in preparation for the harvesting and processing of the grapes. The love-song is most pleasant to the ears, and listeners’ heartstrings are touched by the nurturing care of the beloved. Yes, the prophet Isaiah is serenading us with such a beautiful love song.

         But wait, before you fall asleep with these tender words; listen to what follows. As the iconic Gomer Pyle would say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Isaiah’s love-song is transformed into song of hard-hitting judgement and lament. Maybe we can gain the sense of such an unpleasant surprise by thinking of the love-song as a gentle, bedtime lullaby which is suddenly transformed into a condemning, raunchy, deafening heavy-metal rock-and-roll song.

         In any case, the irony of the song comes to the forefront when Isaiah, speaking for God, asks the people of Jerusalem and Judah to “judge between me and my vineyard.”  In other words, the people are asked to judge between God on the one side, and Jerusalem and Judah on the other.  In an agonizing song of judgement and lament, God tells his people that there was nothing more God could do to guarantee the success of God’s own vineyard.  God had done everything that could possibly be done. And, quite honestly, implied here in the song is the human freedom that God gives us. In the song, God the beloved expects the best from God’s people: “God expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” And, by the way, a more literal translation of “wild grapes” would be “stinking things.”  So, the consequences of freedom being misused or abused is that a well-cared for vineyard becomes neglected and turns into a dried-out wasteland of briers and thorns and stinking things.

         The concluding verse of the song makes it abundantly clear that the vineyard represents God’s chosen people. God expected and hoped the people would ensure that there was justice for everyone in the nation. Instead of justice, the wealthy class of politicians and business people were killing society’s weakest and most vulnerable citizens. Blood was on the hands of the rich and powerful members of society, since their wealth was gained by cheating and robbing society’s poorest class. God expected and hoped for righteousness from God’s very own people. Instead God heard a cry from the poor and oppressed. God expected God’s own people to look after the poor and oppressed; after all, those who were now blessed with wealth and the good life – had they and their ancestors not cried out to the LORD when they were poor and oppressed slaves in Egypt?  Had God not heard their cries and delivered them from Egyptian slavery? Why now had they abused their freedom and become selfish and greedy? They, with their blood money and ill-gotten riches were no better than their former enemy oppressors – the Egyptians.

         In our day and age, has anything really changed?  Don’t we hear stories of injustice and ill-gotten gain today? Our planet is moaning and groaning due to the selfishness and greed of a minority of the world’s population. 795 million people in this world experience hunger every day.  Increasingly, hateful, venomous words are spoken to others as our words become weapons.   Countless numbers of people are hurting following recent hurricanes and earthquakes.  And, we have just experienced the largest mass murder in our country.  Do we hear the cries of suffering and how do we respond?  Are we really a caring society?

         God’s love, care, and protection come with an expectation:  justice and righteousness.  These are the fruits God longs to see flourish in us.  The blessings and nurture we receive are meant to result in right social relationships.  Justice and righteousness are not things we practice for extra credit; they are the main point.  God is not content until the blessings we receive are shared fairly with all.  If this fruit is not produced, the consequences may be that God allows us to have our own way and leaves us to our own devices.

         In today’s gospel reading, Jesus borrows Isaiah’s words when he tells the allegorical parable of the Wicked Tenants.  God, the landowner, has called us to work in the vineyard of the world.  But, we decide we want the fruits of the land for ourselves and we refuse to give back to God that which is rightfully God’s.  And we beat and mistreat and murder those who would call us to be responsible.  And what does God the landowner do in response?  God keeps sending servants, until finally God sends God’s own Son, who also is mistreated and ultimately killed.  But, the point of this story is that God goes to such great lengths for us because God never gives up on us.  This is the amazing part of Jesus’ story, and the part that is too often missed.  Like the crazy landowner in this parable, God is constantly working to establish a relationship with us and God never gives up, no matter how many servants are treated badly.   And, that’s the thing about God’s grace – it isn’t sensible, it isn’t logical – it just abundantly is!

         This parable Jesus tells is about the abundant and extravagant grace that God has for us!  In this parable Jesus is illustrating how God goes to extravagant, excessive, even illogical and crazy extents to shower this love and grace upon us.  And no matter how many times we reject God, God keeps at it.  God keeps working on establishing a relationship with us!

         So, as I continue to reflect upon the events of this past week, today’s readings not only call me to repentance and grieve the evil in our present culture, they also remind me of a God who never gives up on us.  The Son is continually redeeming creation and this God never lets us forget that we are the characters in God’s divine love song. God is always showering us with immeasurable grace and love.  And, as a tenant in the vineyard, I can only respond by working to bear good fruit.  As people of faith, we respond to God’s immeasurable grace by bearing the sweet grapes of love, care and forgiveness and letting God use us as we work for peace, righteousness, loving kindness, mercy and God’s restorative justice for all. 

This is a special musical performance by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir of Jesus, Clear The Temple.

This is a special musical performance by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir of Jesus, Clear The Temple.

Charles Campbell, professor of homiletics at Duke University, offers this great commentary about having a conversation with Jesus.  He writes:

A few years ago, while channel surfing, I paused and watched part of an interview with television psychologist and celebrity Dr. Phil.  At one point the interviewer asked Dr. Phil, “If you could interview anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?”  Dr. Phil replied, without hesitation, “Jesus Christ.  I would really like to interview Jesus Christ.  I would like to have a conversation with him about the meaning of life.”  As soon as Dr. Phil spoke, I remember thinking, “Oh no, you wouldn’t!  You would not want to sit down with Jesus, treat him like an interviewee, and ask him about the meaning of life.  You would be crazy to do that.  He would turn you upside down and inside out.  He would confound all your questions and probably end up telling you to sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, and come, follow him.  No, Dr. Phil, you do not really want to interview Jesus, and I do not want to either.  It would not go well.”

         Dr. Campbell’s point in telling this story is that conversations with Jesus are dangerous conversations.  They are very dangerous because Jesus is always going to twist and turn your thinking, leave your head spinning and leave you feeling confounded.  Jesus is always going to be moving us beyond the safety of our preconceived notions, perspectives and ideas about God.  And, quite honestly, when one of these dangerous conversations takes place, the participants will rarely leave the encounter singing a hymn like, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus!”

         As we encounter Jesus today, it is the final week of his life.  Just one day earlier, he had entered Jerusalem accompanied by shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David,” as people were proclaiming him king.  He then went to the temple and literally turned the tables, knocking them over as he drove out the money changers.   He called the temple a ”den of robbers.”  It had been an eventful day, to say the least.  Things are becoming intense and there is growing, even violent controversy between Jesus and the temple leadership.  So, it is the morning of the next day, and he has returned to the temple.   As he enters, he is confronted by the chief priests and elders of the people who try to trap him with a question about authority.  They think they are the ones who are in charge and they have ultimate authority at the temple.  So, they demand to know, “By what authority are you doing these things?”  Believing they have control and are in charge, they are ready to challenge whatever Jesus says. 

         Well, the chief priests and elders discover that challenging Jesus results in some very dangerous conversation.  What they are not prepared for is hearing that Jesus’ authority comes not from another human being but from heaven.  Jesus avoids the trap and figuratively turns the tables on the religious leaders with a thorny question of his own, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin.”  This is a very dangerous question because, in making a commitment about John’s authority, the religious leaders would also make a commitment about John’s witness to Jesus – and thus Jesus’ authority.

         Oh yes, the tables have really been turned and the interviewee has now become the interviewer!  Jesus outwits the religious leaders, places the question back on them and unmasks their deepest priorities and concerns.  You see, the religious leaders are not really interested in Jesus’ true identity or in discovering how God would have them respond to Jesus.  No, what they are really interested in is maintaining their privilege, power and control and they want to keep the current order intact.  They want to keep Jesus in their tidy little box or have nothing to do with him.

         Yes, this was a dangerous conversation indeed!  The religious leaders are left speechless and the interview appears to have ended.  But, Jesus does not stop.  He knows they are off balance and confounded and so, he tells them a story – one of his favorite teaching tools.  He tells of two sons.  When the father directs the first son to go and work in the vineyard, the mouthy and rebellious son emphatically answers, “I will not go.” But then, he changes his mind and goes anyway.  The second son, who appears dutiful and obedient, answers that he will go, but then he does not.  When Jesus asks his questioners which of the sons did the will of his father, they say, “The first.” 

         Again, this is a very dangerous conversation, indeed!  According to this parable, those who are seemingly “in the know” are not the ones who are doing the will of God.  Wow!  The tables are again turned.  You see, Jesus’ stories and questions are seldom about right answers; rather, they are about calling his followers and his hearers to be transformed.  The question really is not about what is the will of God.  It is about the deeper question of who belongs in God’s realm or kingdom.  And, through this exchange and his questions, Jesus convicts the scribes and elders of their lack of belief, and finally asserts that the despised, faithful tax collectors and prostitutes will enter heaven before they will.  Talk about dangerous conversation!  This whole exchange begins with the “in the know” religious leaders authoritatively questioning Jesus, and it ends up with a pronouncement that they will follow reviled tax collectors and shunned prostitutes into heaven.

         Yes, conversations with Jesus are dangerous conversations!  Jesus is not interested in simply talking with us about the meaning of life.  He is always confronting us with the issue of his identity and the call to faith in him.  Again today, Jesus is really asking the central question of the gospels: “Who do you say that I am?”  And, Jesus is not about small talk or beating around the bush.  Jesus wants our very lives, and he is going to do whatever it takes, even going to the extreme measure of ultimately dying on a cross, to unmask our deadly priorities and call us to faith in him.

         Yes, conversations with Jesus are dangerous, indeed.  We do not begin by interviewing Jesus, but by believing in him, trusting in his authority and following him to the places where he goes.  And, in the process, our world is always going to be turned upside down and inside out, our heads left spinning and our tongues stammering.  We discover that the privileged –  which I dare say are people like most of us, people who are type A take charge people – the privileged are not leading this parade.  We discover that no matter how much we think we are in control and in charge, whether it be our own lives, the circles in which we function and live, or even the community of faith, we are not.  It is God alone who is in charge.  And, we discover that it is the despised prostitutes, the loathed tax collectors, the reviled “others” of this world, and the most vulnerable of the world that are leading this parade as we follow Jesus.  And, we like the privileged religious leaders, are always going to discover that our preconceived notions and perceptions of who Jesus is will always be shattered.  Jesus will never be captured or controlled or fit into our little boxes.  He is always going to disrupt the ways in which righteousness and privilege and piety and power try to control and manage.  Jesus will always elude our grasp so that we may be grasped by him and by God’s immeasurable grace and boundless love for all.  And, when we are grasped by God’s grace, the tables have truly been turned.  Then, we can truly celebrate a love that is indiscriminate, boundless in mercy, and life-giving for all. 

Charles Campbell, professor of homiletics at Duke University, offers this great commentary about having a conversation with Jesus.  He writes:

A few years ago, while channel surfing, I paused and watched part of an interview with television psychologist and celebrity Dr. Phil.  At one point the interviewer asked Dr. Phil, “If you could interview anyone in the world, past or present, who would it be?”  Dr. Phil replied, without hesitation, “Jesus Christ.  I would really like to interview Jesus Christ.  I would like to have a conversation with him about the meaning of life.”  As soon as Dr. Phil spoke, I remember thinking, “Oh no, you wouldn’t!  You would not want to sit down with Jesus, treat him like an interviewee, and ask him about the meaning of life.  You would be crazy to do that.  He would turn you upside down and inside out.  He would confound all your questions and probably end up telling you to sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, and come, follow him.  No, Dr. Phil, you do not really want to interview Jesus, and I do not want to either.  It would not go well.”

         Dr. Campbell’s point in telling this story is that conversations with Jesus are dangerous conversations.  They are very dangerous because Jesus is always going to twist and turn your thinking, leave your head spinning and leave you feeling confounded.  Jesus is always going to be moving us beyond the safety of our preconceived notions, perspectives and ideas about God.  And, quite honestly, when one of these dangerous conversations takes place, the participants will rarely leave the encounter singing a hymn like, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus!”

         As we encounter Jesus today, it is the final week of his life.  Just one day earlier, he had entered Jerusalem accompanied by shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David,” as people were proclaiming him king.  He then went to the temple and literally turned the tables, knocking them over as he drove out the money changers.   He called the temple a ”den of robbers.”  It had been an eventful day, to say the least.  Things are becoming intense and there is growing, even violent controversy between Jesus and the temple leadership.  So, it is the morning of the next day, and he has returned to the temple.   As he enters, he is confronted by the chief priests and elders of the people who try to trap him with a question about authority.  They think they are the ones who are in charge and they have ultimate authority at the temple.  So, they demand to know, “By what authority are you doing these things?”  Believing they have control and are in charge, they are ready to challenge whatever Jesus says. 

         Well, the chief priests and elders discover that challenging Jesus results in some very dangerous conversation.  What they are not prepared for is hearing that Jesus’ authority comes not from another human being but from heaven.  Jesus avoids the trap and figuratively turns the tables on the religious leaders with a thorny question of his own, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin.”  This is a very dangerous question because, in making a commitment about John’s authority, the religious leaders would also make a commitment about John’s witness to Jesus – and thus Jesus’ authority.

         Oh yes, the tables have really been turned and the interviewee has now become the interviewer!  Jesus outwits the religious leaders, places the question back on them and unmasks their deepest priorities and concerns.  You see, the religious leaders are not really interested in Jesus’ true identity or in discovering how God would have them respond to Jesus.  No, what they are really interested in is maintaining their privilege, power and control and they want to keep the current order intact.  They want to keep Jesus in their tidy little box or have nothing to do with him.

         Yes, this was a dangerous conversation indeed!  The religious leaders are left speechless and the interview appears to have ended.  But, Jesus does not stop.  He knows they are off balance and confounded and so, he tells them a story – one of his favorite teaching tools.  He tells of two sons.  When the father directs the first son to go and work in the vineyard, the mouthy and rebellious son emphatically answers, “I will not go.” But then, he changes his mind and goes anyway.  The second son, who appears dutiful and obedient, answers that he will go, but then he does not.  When Jesus asks his questioners which of the sons did the will of his father, they say, “The first.” 

         Again, this is a very dangerous conversation, indeed!  According to this parable, those who are seemingly “in the know” are not the ones who are doing the will of God.  Wow!  The tables are again turned.  You see, Jesus’ stories and questions are seldom about right answers; rather, they are about calling his followers and his hearers to be transformed.  The question really is not about what is the will of God.  It is about the deeper question of who belongs in God’s realm or kingdom.  And, through this exchange and his questions, Jesus convicts the scribes and elders of their lack of belief, and finally asserts that the despised, faithful tax collectors and prostitutes will enter heaven before they will.  Talk about dangerous conversation!  This whole exchange begins with the “in the know” religious leaders authoritatively questioning Jesus, and it ends up with a pronouncement that they will follow reviled tax collectors and shunned prostitutes into heaven.

         Yes, conversations with Jesus are dangerous conversations!  Jesus is not interested in simply talking with us about the meaning of life.  He is always confronting us with the issue of his identity and the call to faith in him.  Again today, Jesus is really asking the central question of the gospels: “Who do you say that I am?”  And, Jesus is not about small talk or beating around the bush.  Jesus wants our very lives, and he is going to do whatever it takes, even going to the extreme measure of ultimately dying on a cross, to unmask our deadly priorities and call us to faith in him.

         Yes, conversations with Jesus are dangerous, indeed.  We do not begin by interviewing Jesus, but by believing in him, trusting in his authority and following him to the places where he goes.  And, in the process, our world is always going to be turned upside down and inside out, our heads left spinning and our tongues stammering.  We discover that the privileged –  which I dare say are people like most of us, people who are type A take charge people – the privileged are not leading this parade.  We discover that no matter how much we think we are in control and in charge, whether it be our own lives, the circles in which we function and live, or even the community of faith, we are not.  It is God alone who is in charge.  And, we discover that it is the despised prostitutes, the loathed tax collectors, the reviled “others” of this world, and the most vulnerable of the world that are leading this parade as we follow Jesus.  And, we like the privileged religious leaders, are always going to discover that our preconceived notions and perceptions of who Jesus is will always be shattered.  Jesus will never be captured or controlled or fit into our little boxes.  He is always going to disrupt the ways in which righteousness and privilege and piety and power try to control and manage.  Jesus will always elude our grasp so that we may be grasped by him and by God’s immeasurable grace and boundless love for all.  And, when we are grasped by God’s grace, the tables have truly been turned.  Then, we can truly celebrate a love that is indiscriminate, boundless in mercy, and life-giving for all. 

This is a special musical performance of One Step He Leads by the Faith Lutheran Church of Okemos, Michigan's Chancel Choir.