Love Song

August 18^th, 2013          “Love Song”            Rev. Heather Jepsen

Isaiah 5:1-7 with Luke 12:49-56

Gather all from near and far
To hear the song I bring
I sing a song of love today
‘Tween a people and their King

My King who loved so deeply
Was a gardener at heart
So when my lord created
A great vineyard he did start

He chose the best land yet
A plot on a fertile hill
A place to work and toil
A good piece of earth to till

He dug it deep and clear
Removing stone by stone
This vineyard was his prize
This vineyard was his home

When the earth was dug and clean
He planted vines in rows
From chardonnay to cabernet
These were the grapes he chose

Every day he weeded
And he pruned the vines with care
He picked the plants clean of all bugs
All his attention it was there

As time passed on the vineyard grew
And grapes soon did appear
O how great my King’s anticipation
Of wine so sweet and clear

The growing season moved quickly past
From summer sun to rain
The grapes they grew so strong and true
And the time of harvest came

My King, so great, picked of the fruit
And yearned for that first bite
What could be better or more sweet
Than a harvest of delight

Alas the grape was sour
A rotten, strange, old stink
The King was shocked and saddened
He didn’t know what to think

How could the grapes be bad? he asked
I tilled and cleaned and cared
These grapes and vines are beautiful
No expenses have I spared

And so he tried another grape
And alas it was sour too
Could the whole field have spoiled so?
What was a king to do?

As time wore on the situation
Became painfully so clear
Despite all his work and toil
No sweet grapes would be found here

The whole vineyard was a loss and waste
A rotten patch no doubt
Though they looked so pretty and sweet
There was no good grape on the mount

It was a most unnatural sight
Strange and downright wrong
How could such work go all to waste
Rejecting love so strong

Judge between us! the King, he cries
How can this possibly be?
What is wrong in the picture here?
Is it the grapes or me?

Of course it’s the grapes we cry so fast
They are wrong and bad
Just give up on the vineyard, King
This story is too sad

And now here comes the twist in the tale
The King is our Lord and God
The vineyard planted so lovingly
All people that on earth have trod

We are the grapes so sour and bitter
We are the grapes that are rotten
We are the grapes that have turned out bad
And disappointment we have gotten

In the poem that dear Isaiah tells
The vineyard will come down
God will open up the flood gates
And destruction will abound

What good is a vineyard of sour grapes
One of rejected love?
It’s nothing but a waste you see
Even if crafted from above

The Lord planted truth and mercy here
He planted love and care
Instead of a harvest of hope for all
It was a harvest of despair

God wanted justice and righteousness
A fair shake for all
But God got greed and selfishness
The poor’s back against the wall

The time has come to tear it down
To rip out vine and root
The time has come to clear the field
Give these sour grapes the boot

Jesus too speaks of this clearing
A time when the world’s on fire
I’d set the blaze myself he cries
So deep is his desire

The time has come to clear the field
Break family root and tree
Where once there was some unity
Now two will be against three

Jesus claims to come divide
Mother cut from daughter
Father cut from son and more
Such will be the slaughter

The time is coming, our Lord cries
People don’t you see?
The vineyard will be uprooted
Is the warning to you and me

Stop, stop, stop, you cry
No more this tale of woe
When you claimed to sing a love song
I didn’t think this was the way it would go

Tell me more of love divine
Of the vineyard and its master
Give me one more chance you plead
To avoid a certain disaster

Ok, calm down, I say so sweet
A love song you will get
Let’s return to the prophet Isaiah
The story’s not over yet

Isaiah preaches of our sins
Of greed and hate and woe
But then the story takes a turn
Another way begins to show

After the story of tearing down
Cutting down vine and tree
Isaiah predicts a fresh new start
A shoot from the stump of Jesse

A time is coming, Isaiah says
When peace will be on the land
The leopard and calf will go together
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb

Once the disaster has come and gone
A new order will come about
We can’t begin a time of peace
Until we get the rotten grapes out

And is this not the true story of love
That continues through the pain
That moves from beginning to end at once
And then beyond to begin again

For such is the love I sing about
A love so strong and clear
That rejection and rottenness cannot break down
This love which is so dear

The king will tear down vine and plant
And then he’ll start anew
Begin again a love affair
Between our God and you

For those of us who have loved, we know
That nothing can tear us apart
When our love is deep and true
We are people of one heart

And so our God is full of love
And will start over and over and over
The world it turns, the story twists
But God is a faithful lover

The ending is the beginning here
New life it comes from death
God is with us in everythingDown to our very breath

And so we come to grow and change
A vineyard on a hill
Until the sweetest wine we are
Ready for the still 

We are the fruit, planted and nurtured
We are God’s love and care
And one day this vineyard will be perfect
And I will see you there