In Jeremiah 31:29, the prophet says, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge."  Last Friday I returned from a Pastoral Conference where I learned some very good things.  Despite our current dry climate, there still is a vineyard and there still are grapes, although there is a drought of joy among the workers, so some of the grapes have turned sour.  Yet there still is a harvest!  And I found that most of the workers are hard at work, doing the best they can, caring for their vines and despite what we hear, most still care for each other.

          A lot of what is happening in the vineyard depends on your perspective.  If you believe all the grapes out there are sour, you will only get a sour taste in your mouth.  But if look for sweetness and joy, you will find it.  It all depends on what you are looking for.

          After a long job search a man took a position with a small company that had a reputation of having a tough boss.  Coming to work that first day, he met his boss for the first time and introduced himself as John.  His boss said, "I don't know what kind of a namby-pamby company you've worked for in the past, but around here we all go by our last names, not our first.  It toughens us to work harder and keeps us from getting too personal with each other.  Now I'm Smith, they're Johnson and Jones, and over there is Anderson.  Now what's you're name?"  "Darling," he said, "My name is John Darling."  His boss hesitated a moment and then said, "Okay, John, let me show you where your desk is."

          Sounds like Mr. Bossman had feasted on too many sour grapes!  This parable of Jesus in the Gospel is all about pride and self-righteousness.  It's about people who have their minds made up and are grinding their teeth against all others but themselves.  It's tempting as we consider this parable to point a finger at others.  But let's remember that if we ever point a finger at someone, we usually have three fingers pointing back at ourselves.

          Jesus said it was the landowner who put everything in place.  He planted the vineyard, did all the work, spent all the money, and took all the risk.  When all was ready, he hired workers to make their living there in return for a fair rental price.  Then the owner left the place to them and went away.  There was nothing unusual about this arrangement - it's all what an owner has a right to do.

          It's only when you see what kind of tenants he's hired that the story gets ugly.  These guys are cruel and vicious.  They might know a little about growing grapes, but they know nothing about being tenants.  When the owner's servants come to collect the rent, they beat and kill them.  The landowner sends others, thinking something must have confused them, but he only loses more servants.  Finally he sends his son, believing they will surely respect him.  But these tenants respect only themselves.  They kill the son thinking that somehow they can lay claim to the vineyard.  You can't blame the landowner for what he did next.  He sends in the troops, kills the worthless tenants, and gives the land to workers who respect him.

          It's easy to see the point Jesus was making.  Even the Chief Priests and Pharisees knew what he was saying and they hated Him for it.  God had given the world to His chosen people.  He had done all the work and given them all the opportunities.  All they needed to do was keep the covenant.  But they knew better than God and killed His prophets and put their own twisted covenant in place.  "Therefore," Jesus told them, "God will take away your vineyard and give it to others who will produce fruit." (Matthew 21:43)

          To the Jewish leaders, this was unthinkable!  God was their god;  He belonged to them, and they would always be His Chosen People.  But they could not see that they had seized control of the vineyard and were now running the place, in place of God who had given it to them.

          Those listening set their teeth on edge against Jesus.  Shortly after this parable, they arrested Jesus, brought Him to trial and had Him executed.  As Jesus predicted, the tenants killed the Son and tossed Him out of the Kingdom - it's all so clear to us now.  But before we point fingers at the Jews, remember it is the sins of all people that put Christ on the cross, not the sins of a few.  The Bible says, "There is no one who is righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10).   And again it says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)   We're all tenants who killed the Son.  We all need to be rescued by the sweetness of God's grace.

          Fifty years ago an East African village had an outbreak of smallpox.  This terrible disease was especially deadly in that it attacked young mothers, usually killing them and their small children.  One expectant young woman came to the local hospital ready to deliver, but also severely infected and in her final days.  Since some nurses had already gotten sick, they couldn't decide who would help deliver her child.  Who would be willing to step into certain death?  And wouldn't both mother and child die anyway?

          As she went into labor, Mathilda the midwife stepped forward and said she'd do it.  With her skill and care, a healthy baby was born, but within a day its mother died.  Everyone praised God for the baby was not sick, and all felt sure that since Mathilda had done so great a thing, God would surely spare her from disease.  But soon the spots appeared and Mathilda became gravely ill.  Prayers were offered night and day for this brave servant but she grew weaker and weaker.  Finally her fever broke and Mathilda lived, though she had nearly died helping to save the life of another.

          In the fullness of time, God looked at this world covered with the deadly disease of sin and sent His only Son to save it.  Jesus of Nazareth came into a vineyard filled with sour, withered grapes and worked to rescue the workers from the hell of separation from God.  But unlike Mathilda the midwife, Christ died.  He died for a pock-marked world, for people fatally diseased by sin, that we might not perish but live with God eternally.  The Good news is that all who believe He is the Son of God are forever cured from the curse of sin.

          Someone once said the reason Lutherans observe the season of Lent is to contemplate their unworthiness - you contemplate my unworthiness, and I contemplate yours!  But we are all unworthy before God.  Christ also rose again, and because He did, we can share the joy, love and forgiveness, that was robbed us by sin.  Because of His resurrection, we need not live like sour grapes, but in the sweetness of Christ's love.  We continue to live like sour grapes only if we choose to.  It's up to us!

          Mrs. Jones sat in the lobby of the nursing home, 92 years old, poised and handsomely dressed, even though legally blind, waiting to be moved to a room.  Her husband of 70 years had passed away, making the move necessary.  After many hours of waiting patiently, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.  As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, a worker gave a visual description of her tiny room, including the window curtains.  "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of a child who just got a new puppy."  But Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room," she said.  "That doesn't have anything to do with it," Mrs. Jones replied.  "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.  Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how I arrange the furniture;  it's how I arrange my mind.  I've already decided to love it.  It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.  I have a choice - I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.  Each day is a gift from God, and as long as I live, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away just for this time of my life."

          Today is LWML Sunday, when we thank God for the work of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League.  The LWML pledge says, "We consecrate to our Savior our hands to work for Him, our feet to go on His errands, our voices to sing His praise, our lips to proclaim His redeeming love."  God has redeemed us in His Son.  He has called us all to be humble and joyful servants.  Because of the sacrifice and love of His Son Jesus, we are called to be workers in the vineyard, not sour grapes.  We are all grafted into the Living Vine, Jesus, and there we produce the good fruit of righteousness.  And in order do that, you and I all need to be on our knees before the Lord, all pastors or members, and remember how much we all need the Savior.

          Pastor Schmidt decided to visit Mrs. Johnson to try to settle their differences.  Ever since his coming to St. Martin's Lutheran Church they had been in each other's hair.  He wanted things one way, she another.  He wanted to try new things, she wanted to preserve the old.  So he went to her home and rang her doorbell.  He rang it again and knocked on the door.  The sound awoke Mrs. Johnson from her nap and she was unsure if she should open her door.  Meanwhile, Pastor Schmidt really wanted to know if she was home, so he knelt down and peeked in her keyhole, just as Mrs. Johnson was doing the same.  As she opened the door, Pastor said, "I believe, Mary, this is the first time we've ever seen eye to eye."  "Yes," she said, "but it took both of us getting down on our knees for it to happen."

          I am quite optimistic about the Lutheran Church after this Conference.  God has given us more sweet grapes than sour.  He's called us to a harvest of souls that keeps growing larger, especially in Douglas County.  And God can always sweeten us.

          In 1966 I brought my Dad two fine bottles of fine Christian Brothers wine from Napa Valley.  Later I called and asked how he liked them, and I'll never forget what he said.  "It were kind of sour but a little sugar helped."  Mom said yes, he'd put sugar in the wine to make it sweeter.

          God does that to us every day.  He sweetens us by His grace and makes us more palatable.  He shows us tenderness and compassion and we can share them with each other.  May we, His tenants, value all those who work beside us in the vineyard.  Amen

Copyright © 2002 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.