Links for today’s readings:
Jun 9 Read: Isaiah 5 Listen: (4:48) Read: Psalms 99-101 Listen: (2:42)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 5.7, 20-23
7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
20 Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine
and champions at mixing drinks,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
but deny justice to the innocent.
Reflection: Calling Darkness Light
By John Tillman
God compared his people to flocks of sheep and vineyards. Leaders were compared to shepherds over flocks and servants in charge of vineyards.
We are less familiar with agricultural metaphors than Isaiah’s readers. Have you harvested a vineyard or overseen a flock? Can you tell which grapes are good or bad for wine or which sheep are healthy or unhealthy? Can you prune vines or shear sheep? Most of us can’t.
We don’t have to understand agriculture to know what God is saying. When God looked at the vines, he didn’t see subtle hints that the juice was bitter, he saw injustice and bloodshed. When God looked at the sheep, he didn’t notice telltale signs on hoofs or teeth that indicated a bad diet, he saw abuse and neglect.
We should be able to tell justice from bloodshed, sweetness from bitterness, good from evil, and light from dark. But do we?
Failing to notice wicked things that anger God is bad. A greater danger is seeing what God calls wicked and calling it good. We might look at bloodshed and call it justified. We might look at abuse and call it “tough love” or “strong leadership.” We might look at neglect and call it a matter of “personal responsibility.”
In a famous Star Trek episode, the Cardassians capture Captain Picard and repeatedly show him four lights, asking how many there were. When he answered, “four,” they tortured him and insisted there were five. When finally released, Picard turned defiantly and yelled one final time, “There are four lights!” Later, he told Counselor Troi that the torture had caused his mind to actually think he saw five.
Sinful forces push us to hallucinate and justify violence, abuse, and sin. Those “wise in their own eyes” encourage bitterness toward enemies. They say cruelty shows strength and kindness is weak and dark means are justified by noble ends. They say bloodshed is the only way to deal with those labeled “dangerous.”
Don’t give in. For us, there is one light—Jesus. Don’t let selfishness and fear define good and bad. Let Jesus define it. He is both the true vine and the vinedresser. He is both the lamb of God and the good shepherd. It is good to answer the distressed, help the weak, and oppose the proud. The example of Jesus leads to light. Every other path leads to darkness.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
May God be merciful to us and bless us, show us the light of his countenance and come to us. — Psalm 67.1
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Bad Crop
Isaiah explains the parable. The vineyard is the nation, the people are the vines, and the bad fruit is injustice.
Read more: Christ, the True Hero
“With great power comes great responsibility”…
The deeper truth of Spider-man’s proverb is that the powerful are seldom responsible.
