Disappointment

Isaiah 5:1-4

The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard

Let me sing for my beloved

my love-song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

He dug it and cleared it of stones,

and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

and hewed out a wine vat in it;

he expected it to yield grapes,

but it yielded wild grapes.

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem

and people of Judah,

judge between me

and my vineyard.

What more was there to do for my vineyard

that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes,

why did it yield wild grapes?

A picture of disappointment

Of energy expended

 with no return

Of investment

that yielded no fruit

Of hard work and effort

that brought no gain.

A picture that evokes empathy

for the one who has worked so hard

and tried every which way

to bring about fruitfulness 

An empathy that brings

not resolution

but companionship

in the sorrow

of hopes dashed

and promise

snuffed out

in loss.

No light

simply accompaniment

through sorrow.

Prayer

O God, may we who are fixers lay down our tools and acknowledge when death must come to make way for resurrection.