The Third Sunday in Lent ----- 24 March 2019

Isaiah 55:1-9

1 Ho, 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. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 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. 4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5 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.

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7 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. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Luke 13:1-9

1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, "See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' 8 He replied, "Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.' "

,,, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?

·       Humans, whether or not they have scientific bent, want to see cause-and-effect. If I apply heat to water, then it boils and I can can make coffee or tea or soup. If I have gas in my car, then I can drive to London if I so desire. If I clear my sidewalk, then I won’t slip on the ice. (We all hope that will be the last time we hear about THAT for any number of months!)

·       We’d like to apply that same principle to our life with God. What sin caused me to have a pain in my hip? What failing of mine led to this guilt and embarrassment? Our concept of justice requires an offence for every punishment and punishment for every offence.

·       those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? Jesus ask this when confronted by the news of a falling tower and of a Roman atrocity. He says that the deaths were not directly related to the sinfulness of any of the people.

·       However he adds but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.

·       Is Jesus having trouble making up his mind? Let’s say this was a ‘teachable moment’ for Jesus. People were concerned about the people who died at the hands of the Roman occupation or because of the falling tower. They came to the conclusion that the sins of those people caused their deaths. Jesus tells them that this was not the case. They died because a tower fell or they died because of the cruelty of the Roman forces.

·       Jesus goes on to say that everyone’s sins will lead to death… unless you repent… The call to repentance and change remains and is renewed. He also reminds them that they do no one any good by comparing sins and saying “I’m better because I wasn’t caught in the tower disaster or in the slaughter done by the Romans.”

·       Years ago, in my seminary days, the seminary librarian, Fr. Demetrius once told us in a sermon that every time you point a finger, three others point back at you. Try it sometime, just to see that it works. Any comparison will only turn on us a bite us.

·       Note that Jesus calls his listeners to repentance. This is not done as some exercise in words, but it is real. No call to repentance is made unless real forgiveness is available.

·       Here‘s where the prophetic words of Isaiah come to us: 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.

·       Why would God do this? Why would God wish his people to repent and be forgiven? That’s not how we’d do it, is it? Humans would require a period of probation and humiliation before granting forgiveness.

·       However, the prophet assures us and Jesus’ sacrifice and words promise us: …my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. In fact the parable of the fig tree that ends our Gospel reading today tells us that time is given to us for repentance and care is taken to see to our growth toward bearing the fruit of repentance (if we use the fig tree as a representative of our lives.) So it is with the God of grace, who’s desire is repentance and life and who tells us so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Notice how Isaiah gives the Word of God as an invitation: come to the waters… come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.… Incline your ear, and come to me.

·       Maybe we’d best not second guess God, but accept grace, rejoice in grace, and be thankful for grace, for …my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.