Sunday 7 August 2016

To the vineyard

Isaiah 5:1–7




Drink, o vineyard, of poisoned water,
and your grapes will grow wild.

Hide, o vineyard, from the warming sun,
and your grapes will freeze and shrivel.

Resist, o vineyard, the pruning sheers,
and your branches will twist and rot.

Kick, o vineyard, your roots from the earth,
and you will fall, then scatter on the wind.

Your beloved, o vineyard, planted seeds in good
earth, dug and cleared of stones;

your beloved waited and watched for your good
fruit to grow, but you did not live the promise.

What more was there to do, than what
your beloved has done with care?

So drink, o vineyard, of the water provided,
bask in the light of the sun; yield
to pruning and stretch deep your roots,
stand tall and straight and grow.

Live, o vineyard, into the promise,
love as you have been loved.

2 comments:

  1. Tough stuff, to go with the tough words of the Luke 12 reading. This poetic rendition of the Isaiah text makes sense of the connections between the 2 Lectionary readings which point to the dire consequences of ignoring the vision and commandments that God has for God's people. To say I love it may diminish the seriousness of the words, but it speaks to me deeply. I appreciate the way the imagery from the original Isaiah text has been turned into words of warning that fit with the message of the Luke passage. And the poetic rendering of the message makes it all the more powerful. Thank you.

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  2. Thank you. I am delighted to hear of the way my words are stirring your reflections and connections x

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