Choose well

The title is from the study An Acceptable Fast from The Thoughtful Christian http://www.thethoughtfulchristian.com/

We live in a world of advertising, where we are told what it is that will satisfy us, what will make is likable, lovable, what will give our life meaning – it may be a new car, a house in a particular area or even the brand of bread that you eat.

These things don’t satisfy us, they don’t fill that God shaped void inside us.

A paraphrase of the psalm begins[1]:

“You are my God and I crave you;
........all that I am thirsts for you;
every fibre of my being aches for you,
........like a parched and weary land longing for rain.”

Does that sound like you? thirsting, aching for God?

“Let me stay here in this sacred place
........and drink in the vision of your strength and glory.”

Here the psalmist is speaking about the presence of God in the sanctuary; that is sensing God’s presence, of the holy, God’s glory and power as  we worship together in community.

“With every breath I sing your praises,
........because your rock-solid love
................is worth more to me than life itself.

I will worship you till my dying day,
........with my hands reaching out to you
................and my voice calling your name.

You are like a rich banquet to my soul;
........like a meal I can’t praise enough!”

Our response to God is praise and worship, because we know that God is needed in our lives, God provides food for our soul.

“Even in the dead of night
........I lie awake thinking of you,
................and savouring each treasured thought.

I snuggle under your wings and sing for joy,
........for you have been my help and support.

With all that I am I cling to you,
........and your strong loving arms hold me safe.”

And it isn’t only when we are in church singing our favourite hymns, but when we lie awake at night, that we can trust in God.

some thoughts from the psalm:

When we gather for worship, is this a safe place for people who are yearning for God, who are broken and thirsty to come and be filled by God? There are people in our community who yearn for God, but are not sure they would be welcome in our midst? How would you feel if aboriginal people were in this congregation, or single parents and their children?

Which brings us to Isaiah, and his invitation to Come:

Come and eat and drink without money

“Hey you! Are you thirsty?
........Come, then; drink from these fresh waters!
Are you hungry and penniless?
........Never mind! Come; help yourselves; eat your fill!
Come and stock up with food, wine and milk.
........What will it cost you? Not a red cent!”[2]

 God’s generous invitation to life.

This section of Isaiah was written when the people of Israel were in exile, this hymn is an invitation to leave the place of exile and go to the land of their ancestors, a land that their generation do not know.  Make a choice, stay in the land of exile, or return to the land of your ancestors, a place you have never seen. In the Bible we see people making choices about leaving the familiar behind and going to a new place.   Going from what was familiar, following God’s call to travel to a new place, leaving Egypt, Abraham and Sarah, exiles returning home.

This is both physical and spiritual; this passage beckons us to choose from all that is available to us.  In Isaiah we are asked :

“Why sink all your money into things that leave you hungry?
........Why bust a gut working for things that can never satisfy?”

 We make choices every day, some are big choices, what to name a child, what will you study at school or university, who will you spend your time with, where will you live;  but there are other choices we make every day: what will we eat, who will we talk with, what will we wear. Those choices effect other people.

The writer of Isaiah asks: why spend money on that which does not satisfy?

This is one of the issues in western communities – we crave experiences, clothes, shoes, food – not because we need it to stay alive, but because we are searching for something to fill our lives, to bring a sense of purpose into our lives.  

We hunger for God, and God calls us to come, to eat, to drink – to choose.  How often are we aware of our hunger for God; in what ways do we bury that feeling, or cover it up.

 For our community are hungry, hungry for food, hungry for a future. Because in our society, you must have money to buy food. In some places it is cheaper to buy fried food then fresh fruit and vegetables, and when money is tight, people buy the cheapest filling food they can find.

 During Lent, when we slow down a little and we can look again at our relationship with God and God’s creation.  Maybe during Lent we can become more aware of our hunger for God, our yearning for God. Maybe during Lent we can become aware of the choices we make each day. In the same way that we talk about spending money we talk about spending time, and my guess is that time is in much shorter supply for many of you here today than money. For some of us at least, the reading from Isaiah would be why do you spend time on that which does not satisfy; why spend time doing things which do not promote life, which kill off your spirit?

“Maybe the point of Lent is for us to adjust our sights so that we at least understand what it is we should hunger for, or in fact what we do hunger and thirst for, in our deepest being: justice, mercy, peace, healing, acceptance, love. And not just for ourselves, but for all of God's children”[3]

The hymn following is from here: http://www.newhymn.com/160ChooseLife.htm

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[1] ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net.” Year C Third Sunday in Lent 3 March 2013

[2] Ibid.

[3] Reflection: by Kathryn Matthews Huey UCC SAMUEL