In the italicized text below, you can find my reactions and first impressions to these readings from Isaiah, Psalms, 1 Corinthians, and Luke. I invite you to share your reactions, questions, and comments below, especially those regarding how we understand the relationship between sin, tragic events (such as the current flooding in Nebraska and the mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand), and the Lord.
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.
- How do we define “everyone” in Isaiah 55:1? Does “everyone” include the nations we do not know that we shall call and receive because of the Lord our God (55:5)?
- Day laborers earned enough each day for the family to eat and not much more, if any more. To work for another purpose would mean sacrificing meals.
- Notice that the Lord invites us to confession so that the Lord may give us mercy and forgiveness, and not just a lesser punishment.
Psalm 63:1 - 8
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
- The imagery, especially the reference to rich foods, in Psalm 63 suggests a high level of fulfillment and satisfaction if one receives the Lord’s covenant promises.
1 Corinthians 10:1 - 13
1 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play." 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10 And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
- Paul claims that Christ was present in the manna in the wilderness and water from the rock in the same way as Christ is present within our spiritual food and drink. The connection to Holy Communion is apparent; it is less clear whether the water from the rock is meant to connect to the waters of Baptism or the wine of Holy Communion.
- Paul references several moments during the Exodus where the people fail to follow the Lord’s directions and they are punished severely for it. Why is Paul, the resident expert on the Lord’s grace, suddenly focused on the Lord’s punishment for disobedience?
- Verse 13 is likely the biblical justification for the phrase “God does not give us more than we can handle.” That’s a misunderstanding of Paul’s claim here. But the passage does suggest that the Lord does not intend to overwhelm us if/when the Lord challenges us. Of course, there are many more who can challenge us, and they will not show any restraint when it comes to finding and breaking our limits.
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.'"
- Is the claim “you will all perish just as they did” a threat to kill us or an observation that death without connection to the Lord is true death?
- How many people need to hear that their current afflictions or the death(s) of their loved one(s) are not punishments from the Lord because of their past sin(s)? How many people are struggling with their faith because someone they trust told them that their troubles are either punishments from God or signs that they do not have enough faith?
- A quick Google search reveals that it can take up to six years for a fig tree to mature and bear fruit.
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