Fourth Sunday in Lent - C

Object: Two garden plants. One plant is healthy and looks great. The second plant should be alive, but it looks weak or is in serious need of a drink.

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The charming and familiar song from “The Sound of Music” recognizes that reading begins with A-B-C and that singing begins with Do-Re-Mi. Such are the foundational elements of reading and singing. But what about being saved? Where does the gospel begin?

Isaiah 55:1-9
John Calvin powerfully noted the misery in which we find ourselves:

Those who are puffed up with vain confidence and satiated, or who, intoxicated by earthly appetites, do not feel thirst of the soul, will not receive Christ. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.VIII/2, p.156)

Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live…
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near… (vv. 3a, 6)

Assurance or re-assurance is what we long for when we are hurting, when we are afraid, when we have failed at something, or when we are grieving some painful loss. We want someone to tell us it is going to be alright. And not just anyone, someone we trust, someone we love, preferably someone who has the power to make it alright.

Call to worship:

Jesus faced plenty of trouble in his life. He didn't flinch from trouble or try to avoid it, but asked God's help in handling it. In our worship today, let us explore how Jesus handled trouble.

Invitation to confession:

Jesus, sometimes we are so afraid of trouble that we tell lies in order to avoid it.

Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, sometimes we are so afraid of trouble that we don't do anything so that we can't get anything wrong.

Christ, have mercy.

Psalm 63 is particularly well-suited for helping Christians take stock of their commitment. Oftentimes, as we take a long, inward look, we become aware that we have lost or laid aside some of our passion for God. This does not necessarily mean we have left the church. There are many who sit in the pews week after week, visibly faithful and plugged in, who are nevertheless spiritually fatigued.

"Students, it is time to get out your pencils, close your books and remove any notes from your desks. The test is about to begin."

I know that they didn't have CNN or Walkmen back in Jesus' day, but if they had, they would have been listening to the World Report in today's Gospel Lesson. The topic is current events and things surely haven't changed much in 2,000 years because the headline stories are bad news: the imperial troops senselessly murder a few peasants; a tower collapses and kills eighteen. "What do you think about that?" Jesus asks. "Do you think that those poor folks who ended up dead were worse sinners than everybody else?" There is an uneasy silence. "No," he answers his own rhetorical question.

Isaiah issues a four-part injunction to the people of Judah to return to God, to renounce their iniquities, and to reaffirm the promises of the Davidic Covenant: come (55:1), listen (55:2), seek, and call on God while he is near and can be found (55:6). This plea is pertinent to Christians during this season of Lent, a season of exile and return, renewal and restoration, affliction and comfort, and death and resurrection.