NOTES for Isa 5:1-30

The words about the gardener ceasing to care for the vineyard after it produced wild grapes may seem strange, for a gardener usually gives weak plants more care so that they may yield a good harvest. But in this parable the Lord partly reveals to us the mystery of human freedom, which He not only takes into account but also treats with respect. If you want to bear wild fruit and distance yourselves from the will of the Vinedresser, that is your right; but then you have only yourselves to blame and must deal with the consequences of what you have done.

Some may find such reasoning unacceptably harsh. Yet this very approach, for all its severity, bears witness to a serious view of people as capable of being mature and responsible. You were warned many times; did you really think none of it was serious? If so, do not be surprised that you must suffer calamity for everything you have done.

All this is true. Yet His logic still surpasses human logic. While treating us as adults, He continues at the same time to treat us as His foolish but beloved children. Having allowed us to experience the consequences of our own deeds, He remains beside us and does not abandon us in His love.