Journeying to Easter, Week 3: “Opportunity and Respons-ability”
Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Preached by Rev. Jane Moschenrose
Sermon opened with the song: "Great Is The Lord"
Today’s Hebrew Scripture lesson is from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah writes to a people who are going through a hard time – they have lost what is most important to them, that is, their land and their freedom. They have been conquered and exiled and are struggling financially, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.
Keeping that context in mind, the opening verses of chapter 55 must have at least initially sounded like a bad joke; as if Isaiah were teasing them about that which they could not have. The chapter opens with a word that means, “Behold!” Isaiah wants his listeners’ attention. Once he has their attention he invites them to abundant life. He says, “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Now that they are listening, wondering what he’s talking about, he lets them know that the cause of their troubles is their misplaced priorities and inappropriate concerns. He urges them to focus on that which is available to them in abundance – that is, God, and not on what they lack – such as money and food. Trust God, not material things, Isaiah is urging. He continues as the mouthpiece of God in verse 2: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” He’s referring to God as the bread of life that satisfies. He continues to speak metaphorically: “Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.” In other words, “People, God has great plans for you, plans that include abundant living and restoring you as a nation. But you’ve got to recognize where your sustenance and power comes from. Yes, power is available to you, power that will gain the attention of other nations, but this power is from God, not from you. And your desire for the best and the most, your desire for abundant living is met only in God. Turn to me and I will renew the covenant I had with David and extend it to the whole nation. But you’ve got to realize that your sustenance comes from me, and not from any other place.”
Isaiah speaks as prophet in verse 6: “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” In other words, “people, you need to get your act together before it is too late. Those of you who have fallen into sin and wickedness must repent from your sins and pray for forgiveness. Turn to God, change your life and thoughts, and God may have mercy on you and accept you back as one belonging to Him.”
To stray away from God is to leave the source of everything good and fulfilling. The source of what you really need and want is God, not anything or anyone else. Do you question or doubt that? Does that claim sound untrue? Well, Isaiah explains in verse 8 and 9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God had plans to redeem Israel, but that concept was far beyond Israel’s dreams or imagination. They couldn’t imagine what a wonderful life God planned for them – they couldn’t get outside their own small self-centered, temporally limited mindset. They couldn’t envision anything better than their current life situation. But God thinks in terms of abundance, not scarcity. As far as God is concerned there is no shortage of anything – so when you catch yourself thinking about limitations or scarcity, realize that that thought is not from God. What God has for us is so much greater than what we can imagine. We limit ourselves by our lack of trust in God, our lack of trust in God’s thoughts, ways, and plans. We frame our world around our limits and lack of love, not around God’s ability, plans, nature, and love.
Isaiah tried to tell them. Jeremiah tried to tell them. Many other prophets tried to tell them. Six hundred years later God sent Jesus to try to convince His people that abundant life is found only in God. The only way to experience truly abundant life is to turn fully to God and focus your energy and trust on His word, not on the claims of the world or your current emotional experience. Still the people didn’t get it, or at least they didn’t maintain the refocused perspective he was teaching. Twenty years after Jesus’ death Paul tried again to tell the people what their focus and lifestyle needs to be. In a letter to the Christians in Corinth, he writes about the dysfunctional religious family into which they had been adopted. Paul reinterprets the history to be relevant for the listeners, “…arguing that Christ has always been present to the Israelites, even in the Exodus – by means of a baptism through Moses, a communion through heavenly bread, and a rock that followed them in their journey and provided for their thirst” (Barlett 2009, 88). Follow along as I read part of this letter, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 10, beginning with verse 1 (READ)
Paul is saying that our religious ancestors were shielded by God; they were protected from the waters as they crossed the Red Sea and the Promised Land, they were all fed spiritual food and drank spiritual drink. And despite these blessings of protection and provision, most of them failed to please God. Meaning that although God did His part by providing everything the people needed, the people did not respond accordingly. They failed and displeased God by turning away from Him and complaining about imagined scarcity and seeking fulfillment from non-Godly sources.
Aren’t you glad that such behavior is in our long-distant past? Aren’t you grateful that as God’s people, we’ve come so far in our behavior in the last 2,000 years?
But wait. Paul warns against that kind of self-righteous thinking doesn’t he? In verse 12 he says in essence, “you think that you aren’t susceptible to these mistakes? Think again! If you are successfully resisting temptation right now, watch out that you do not fall! Everyone is tested – your struggles with temptation are not new or unique. God is faithful, and has given you the strength you need to resist whatever is pulling you away from Him.”
So the question for us today is this: Where is your focus and attention? Are you focused on what you lack, or on what the world is urging you to desire and seek? Or are you focused on what is available to you through God and His abundance? Where are your priorities and concerns? Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Are you in need? Do you not have enough? Have you fallen into wicked, sinful behavior? Whatever emotional and physical situation you are in, the Scripture is very clear, and repeatedly says, “Turn to God with your longings and needs. Only He will give you rest from the burden, release from the pain, and forgiveness for the sin. He is the only source of truly abundant life. Is that what you want? Do you want abundant life? Let’s pray about these things.
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references: Barlett, David L and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Feasting on the Word Year C, Vol 2. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. |
