Unbarrening the Vineyard
“He expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.”
The flower beds and hedges appear barren and stark beneath a leaden sky in Van Gogh’s drawing, Winter Garden at Nuenen. Van Gogh lived in the parsonage to which this garden belonged -- and where his father served as pastor -- from 1883 to 1885. During that time, he painted several versions of the scene, observing the changes of the seasons -- both subtle and dramatic -- and experimenting with medium and form.
Here, it is winter, starkly portrayed in pen and ink. We are reminded of the master's garden, which turned barren and cruel in his absence -- not because the earth had soured, but because the hearts of the tenants he had left it to had turned against him in the progress of seasons. The gnarling empty branches reach up, tearing at the steeldark sky, scratching the heavens with their emptiness. We are reminded of the spooky season we are entering: the brilliant death-born transformations of autumn, and the dark-times it forebodes.
In our readings this week, the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist cry out over God’s people brought low, a vineyard failing to bear fruit. Yet even in the depth of winter, there is a hope of rebirth. Jesus tells of the wicked tenants who reject the landowner’s servants and even his beloved son. But the son lays down his life to reconcile us to the Father.
In Van Gogh’s frozen garden, we sense the yearning for spring. So too our hearts ache for the coming of Emmanuel – God with us. We often wander astray, but our Lord patiently awaits our return. Let us look for his coming, and proclaim Christ’s lifegiving death and resurrection until he comes again in glory. What appears barren earth will yet be transformed into a garden of new life. Even now, redemption draws nigh.
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!
— Psalm 80:3
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Texts for This Week
Prayer
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in continual godliness, that through your protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly serve you in good works, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Waterwheel
In the Turkish folk song "Dertli Dolap," the whirling waterwheel sings of its sorrows, carved and forced to endless toil though it longs for stillness.
Waterwheel, why do you moan? For I am sorrowful, that is why I moan. To the Lord I've given my soul, For I've troubles, I moan. Troubled water-wheel is my name, My water flows pure, As the Lord wishes thus, For I am sorrowful, that is why I moan. They found me as a mountain tree, They broke my arms and cut my wings, They thought me fit for a water-wheel, For I've troubles, I moan. From a mountain I was brought down, Neither sweet, nor bitter, am I, A devoted of God, am I, For I am sorrowful, that is why I moan. They felled my trunk and carved my branches, Every piece of mine to be remade, Yet, this commandment came from God, For I've troubles, I moan. I lift my waters high, I turn, Only to pour them low, They do not see this burden I carry, For I am sorrowful, I moan.
Like the waterwheel, we often moan under God's purposes. And with good reason, when those purposes drag us through suffering, and the crucible of ceaseless change. But we miss, as we are moaning, that we are nourished by the Water of Life.
The waterwheel descends and rises with the stream's flow, just as our faith ebbs and flows through seasons of drought and rain. We often feel cut, broken and weary from our burdens, but Jesus promises living water and rest for our souls.
Theophlyact of Ochrid - On the Parable of the Wicked Tenants
Jesus told another parable showing that even though the people of Israel had received an immense amount of care and provision from God, they did not respond rightly.
The landowner represents God, who in His love calls Himself a man. The vineyard is the people of Israel, planted by God in the Promised Land. The hedge around the vineyard is the Law that set Israel apart from other nations. The winepress is the altar, and the tower is the temple. The tenant farmers are the religious leaders of Israel - the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
When the landowner "went away to another country," it represents times when God was not visibly present with Israel, like when He no longer spoke to them from the pillar of cloud. Or it can refer to God's patience in not swiftly punishing wrongs, which makes Him seem distant.
The point is that despite all God did to establish and care for Israel, they still rejected and disobeyed Him, even killing His prophets and finally His own Son, Jesus. So God would take the kingdom away from unbelieving Israel and give it to those who accept Christ and bear fruit for the Kingdom.
