Things Are Not As They Seem

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sometimes things are not as they seem. Every so often, you probably run into a situation where something seems off, seems different than what you see. Maybe it is the look in a person's eye that tells you there is more to the story. Perhaps it is the vague wording of a press release. Something just is not what it seems.

Oftentimes that happens in our spiritual lives as well, both for good and for bad. Today's readings give two examples of this.

The prophet Isaiah records the “Song of the Vinedresser”, where the Lord describes the great care He expended in establishing His vineyard, and the hope He had that it would produce abundant, rich fruit. The Vinedresser took great cares to select the perfect piece of land so that conditions would be just right. He picked rock and tilled the soil. He cleared the weeds and built walls and fences. He even built a watchtower and a winepress. When the land was ready, He planted choice vines and tended them lovingly. He gave them all the care and nutrients they needed. What more could He have done that He failed to do? All that was left was to wait to enjoy the fruits of His labor.

What should have come from these vines so lovingly planted and tended? Good fruit should have come from them. But what did they produce? Stink-fruit. Terrible fruit, not good for anything. Bitter fruit not fit for vinegar, much less choice wine. Now, what is the difference between good fruit and stink-fruit?

There is not much outward difference between good and bad grapes, at least on the vine. Both look fine, seem alright, grow from what looks like healthy vines. Generally, what makes the difference is the care given to the vines. If you nurture the vines, they will give good fruit; if you neglect them, they produce stink-fruit. You get out what you put in.

Except that did not happen. The Lord lavished His grace upon His people without reservation. He created them in His own image. He called them out of the bondage of idolatry. He led them into a land flowing with milk and honey. He brought them out of the house of bondage, out of the land of slavery. He preserved them through their years of pilgrimage. He defended them against attacks foreign and domestic. He dwelt among them to give them His grace and favor by the forgiveness of their sins.

And what happened? They grumbled against Him in the wilderness. They doubted His power to bring them into the Promised Land. They demanded a king, so that they could be like the pagan nations. They forsook the worship of the Lord for the false gods of the nations. They turned to foreign powers rather than trusting in the God of their fathers. They were planted in rich soil, and failed to produce the fruits of faith.

Instead of justice, there was bloodshed. Instead of righteousness, there was screaming and wailing. The good vines produced not just bad, but poisonous fruit. The fruits of their own actions, despite the richest blessings, would be their downfall. For the Lord decreed that they would be destroyed, torn down, and deserted. The walls and fortress would be ruined. The weeds and thorns would overtake the vines. The wild animals would come and devour the fruit. The people of Israel would be destroyed by the powers they thought could save them. They would be plundered by their protectors and taken captive by their oppressors. Their rejection would lead to their destruction.

Similarly, things are not as they ought to be in the Gospel lesson. Again, we hear of a master who takes great care to plant a rich vineyard. This time, he rents it out to tenants and goes away to a far land. When it comes time to collect the rent, he sends servants to the tenants, and they beat and abuse the servants, finally killing some of them. In desperation, the master decides to send his son, thinking that they will respect his right to collect the rent. But they decide to kill him and attempt to usurp the inheritance that would have been his. For this, finally, the master comes, kills the wicked tenants, and gives the vineyard to someone else.

The chief priests and teachers of the Law maintained the appearances of godliness in the sight of the nation. They followed the letter of the Law and the traditions of the rabbis. They were more holy than any others. But yet they cared nothing for the people. The needs of the poor and widowed were ignored. Justice depended on might and money. What was expedient was more important that what was right. Those in charge of the Lord's House had turned it into a marketplace and a den of robbers. When the Lord sent His servants to settle accounts, His people stoned the prophets, shut their ears, and hardened their hearts. Finally, He sent His Son, and they treated Him shamefully, mocked His preaching, and delivered Him over to be crucified.

Therefore, the Lord devoted to destruction those who opposed Him. As the Scripture foretold, these things must happen, but woe to those by whom they came to pass. The Lord took from the chief priests and the elders and gave the keys of His kingdom to others. “Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?” (Mt. 21:42)

That rejected stone is the cornerstone of our faith. The stumbling block is our foundation. The Law has been preached into your ears and into your hearts. You have known the Law from the beginning, because it is written upon your hearts. And yet you reject those who preach it. You would rather reap all the benefits of the fruit produced around you, but not pay the rent due for it. You reject the cornerstone in favor of setting your own lines, and then throw up your hands when the crooked walls of your house come crashing down into the sand foundation. But that cornerstone will not just go away.

For “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” The stone the builders rejected, the son the tenants killed, the soil the vines divorced – He is none other than Christ our Lord. But rather than come in judgment, Jesus came to do exactly what happened. He came to die. The Son of God came to sinful man to be put to death for our sins and transgressions. The tenants of the Father's land designed to kill the Son and steal the inheritance that is His, but you cannot steal what is freely given.

For the Son of Man came not to serve, but to be served and to give His life as the ransom for many. He came to earth to die. He came to give Himself for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. Though He was rejected, despised, and crucified, He delights in giving His inheritance to you anyway. He died that you might have life, and He rose again that you might believe and know. Things are not as they seem, because death cannot comprehend life and darkness cannot cover light. Yet, out of death comes life, and the light shines in the darkness.

This indeed is a stumbling block to sinful minds and hearts. God is not always as He seems. He is not some divine Santa Claus, anxious to give you whatever your little heart desires. But neither is He some vengeful, wrathful tyrant, eager to devour you and strike you down to hell. When all seems lost and despair reigns, in He breaks with His grace and mercy, and He binds you up and heals you in body and soul. When the night is dark and the light is gone, the still small voice whispers, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.” The God who said, “Let there be light” has shone the light of His grace into the darkest of hearts.

The one who falls on this stumbling block will be broken. You have been broken. You have been broken of your sinful pride and self-confidence. You have been thrown down from your fortress of self-reliance and conceit. You have been shattered in the imaginations of your heart. But you are not lost. You are broken and contrite, and you believe in the forgiveness of sins. You have been broken, but you have been bound up and made whole again by the grace of God in the blood of Jesus Christ. You have been broken, but you are alive in Christ.

Things are not as they seem. The vineyard that appears wild and abandoned produces beautiful fruit. The son who is killed by the tenants offers His life for them. The stumbling block becomes the source of life. The God who judges decrees the guilty to be innocent. You who are broken are yet whole. You who were dead are now alive. The lowly bread and wine are the very Body and Lifeblood of Jesus, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins. Things are not what they seem, and yet, “this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our sight!”

For why? The Lord our God is good:
His mercy is forever sure.

His truth at all times firmly stood

And shall from age to age endure (LSB 791:4).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.