Lent 3C

LENT 3C

March 7, 2010

Isaiah 55:1-9. A prophetic song in which God promises mercy, pardon, and abundant provision to those who repent and trust in God.
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13. The pattern of the baptized life is to be one of continual repentance, trusting that God will not test us beyond our strength.
Luke 13:1-9. There is time for repentance and response — the fig tree and the gardener.

-Jesus teaches the people to replace their worldview that bad things only happen to bad people.

-...we are deep in Lent, the season of honesty about our sin and honesty about our need to change. Willimon

- Jesus refused to be drawn into our questions about unfairness and injustice of the world. Instead, Jesus becomes our judge and encourages us to repent. Let us confess our sin--all those things that keep us from wholeheartedly following the way of Christ -- Willimon

-Reinhold Niebuhr once said, " Christians in America would like to believe in a God without wrath that saves a world without sin through a Christ without the cross." No fruit produced there.

-Lent is a time for “following.” The narrative about Jesus’ suffering and death provides a way in which we are able, in an act of disciplined imagination, to situate (or resituate) our lives in the story of Jesus. We become aware that the story of Jesus requires and permits a new version of our own story of life and faith. Walter Brueggemann

-But for those of us who have discovered that we cannot make life safe nor God tame, it is gospel enough. What we can do is turn our faces to the light. That way, whatever befalls us, we will fall the right way. B.B. Taylor

-The question for the owner of the vineyard is how long will he allow his soil, moisture and nutrients to be used without bearing fruit. The question for God is how long does he wait until repentance comes to a nation, a church, or an individual.

-Two terrible tragedies had happened in Jerusalem. One in the temple, the other near the pool of Siloam. In the first instance, Pilate, the Roman governor, had killed some Galileans who were making sacrifices at the temple and then he mixed their blood with the sacrifices. No doubt this was a warning to other Jews to remember that Rome was in charge. In the other incident, a tower fell on people near the pool of Siloam killing 18 people who simply happened to be there. How can such things be explained? Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad

-When people came to the Jordan River to be baptized, John called them to repentance. His words were harsh and unrelenting:

"Even now," he said, "the ax is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

-Maybe the vineyard is the whole earth. Maybe it's the church. Maybe it's your life and mine. Jesus isn't giving up on any of us--you, me, the church, the whole earth. There's hope in this parable--don't cut the tree down. But there's also urgency--give me one more year. Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad

-What a grace time can be for us....to have space and time to grow, mature spiritually, reform our lives, serve the Lord and remove the obstacles, big and small, between God and us and between us and others. Look at what we humans put Jesus through and still God didn't give up on us; we are graced with time. Jude Siciliano

-The purpose of the first part of Lent is to bring us to compunction. "Compunction" is etymologically related to the verb "to puncture" and suggests the deflation of our inflated egos, a challenge to any self-deceit about the quality of our lives as disciples of Jesus.
Mark Seale, in "Assembly", vol. 8, no.3. Quoted in THE LIVING PULPIT,

-Jesus' parable moves in the direction of promise more than threat

-There is a story told of a bishop in England who was traveling by train to perform a confirmation service. He misplaced his ticket and was unable to produce it when requested by the conductor. "It's quite all right, my lord, we know who you are." But the bishop replied, "You don't see. Without the ticket, I don't know where I'm going." It is not enough for us just to be here; we need to know our purpose.

-I note that the "sin" of the fig tree is not that it is doing something bad, but that it is doing nothing! It is just taking up space in the orchard. BrianP. Stoffregen

- Why bad things happen to good people? Book by, Kushner

-The words from the Godspell song, Day by Day, were to the point. "Day by day, O dear Lord three things I pray; to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly... That's the meaning of repentance. To look at ourselves in the person of Jesus Christ and have a genuine heart's desire to have his spirit shape our lives.

-Toyohiko Kagawa I read in a book that a man called Christ went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied with just going about.

-Lent is the offer of the vinedresser to each of us of one more year

-But Jesus' parable isn't primarily a lesson about farming. We've already noted the connection between the three years of the parable and the three years of Jesus' ministry. Jesus is the gardener, isn't he? He refused to give up on those who are living in the vineyard. Maybe the vineyard is the whole earth. Maybe it's the church. Maybe it's your life and mine. Jesus isn't giving up on any of us--you, me, the church, the whole earth. There's hope in this parable--don't cut the tree down. But there's also urgency--give me one more year. Lunblade

-"What have you done?" Jesus asks, and "What have you left undone?" Such questions, like the parable of the fig tree, move us toward repentance, a word that means to turn around, to believe things can be different, to trust that the one who calls us to turn around will be there even when we fail. ibid

-Growth is not so much advancing ones self as it is becoming oneself.

--Barbara Brown Taylor, acclaimed Episcopal preacher, writes of the fig tree parable: "(Jesus wants them to turn or repent) which is why he tweaks their fear. Don’t worry about Pilate and all the other things that can come crashing down on your heads, he tells them. Terrible things happen, and you are not always to blame. But don’t let that stop you from doing what you are doing. That torn place your fear has opened up inside of you is a holy place. Look around while you are there. Pay attention to what you feel. It may hurt you to stay there and it may hurt you to see, but it is not the kind of hurt that leads to death. It is the kind that leads to life."

SERMON I'm still busy with post funeral things but here are some ideas....

BECOME WHAT YOU ALREADY ARE A merciful God made us with what we need to be loving, forgiving, etc...and God is merciful enough to wait for us to discover that.

NOT TURNING BUT RETURNING Not turning to some new way but to God which we have had all along. (this, for if you want to preach on repentance.) Remember though, the parable is more about a merciful God then about repentance.

GRAB HOLD OF THAT WHICH ALREADY HAS HOLD OF YOU. Similar to others.

-Growth is not so much advancing ones self as it is becoming oneself.

-Something DEEP INSIDE calls for something deep to answer it.

-The INDWELLING spirit Paul

-Such questions, like the parable of the fig tree, move us toward repentance, a word that means to turn around, to believe things can be different, to trust that the one who calls us to turn around will be there even when we fail. Lunblade

-I note that the "sin" of the fig tree is not that it is doing something bad, but that it is doing nothing! It is just taking up space in the orchard. BrianP. Stoffregen

-Repentance is not a fruit problem; it is a root problem. It is the root of who we are that is a problem in God's eyes. So repentance cannot be composed of "I can" statements. "I have sinned God. I am sorry God. I can do better.". Repentance, rather, must be composed of "I can't" statements. "I have sinned, God. I am sorry. God. I've tried and tried and tried but I just don't produce good fruit. I can't seem to do better. I need your

Vinedresser to work on the roots of my life. Give me a new life, God. Give me your life. I can't. You can." Richard Jensen

CHILDREN

- Bloom where you are planted. Think outside of the box. Be all you can be. Tell children about Moses and how he turned out to be much more than he thought he could be. The fig tree was given that kind of chance and God wants us to succeed.

HUMOR

-May you grow like an onion with your head in the ground.

- Many people use mighty thin thread when mending their ways

PRAYER PHRASES

-Gracious and merciful God, whose patience goes far beyond our erring, be with us this day that we might repent and turn around. Give us the power and the grace to return to you. Give us the courage to admit what we have done wrong and what we have failed to do right. In this year, come to us, dig around our hearts, open us to your wisdom, your forgiveness, and your grace. Amen. Lundblade

-God, in whom we live and move and have our being, grant us your grace that we may have the courage both to turn toward you and to do that which we thought we could not do. Remind us that we do not make this journey alone, that we are blessed with our Christ Church family and your enduring presence. In the name of the one who creates us, redeems us, and sanctifies us, Amen.

-Eternal Lord, your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. Help us to hear your Word and obey it, so that we become instruments of your redeeming love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Dan Nelson

REPENTANCE Literally the word means “Turn around!”

-Illustration Sin is like mud on a window. God's love and mercy is like the sun trying to shine through to us to light our way, cheer us and give us life. But the mud keeps the sun from shining through the window. The mud stops the rays from reaching us. It doesn't stop God from trying to shine on us but it stops us from being able to receive the light of the world. With the tears of repentance we ask forgiveness and the mud is washed away. So the reason repenting is so important is because without it we have obstacles between us and God's grace. Rev. Elizabeth Lee Sel

-It isn't our job to judge others. But it is our responsibility to call others to repent, the judgment is between them and God

-The ground for repentance must include soil for acting out the new identity.

-We shall have to repent, not so much for the evil deeds of the wicked people, but for the appalling silence of the good

people. M. L. King Jr.

-If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in.

- It is much easier to repent of sins that we have committed than to repent of those we intend to commit. Josh Billings

- Does repentance precede grace or vs.vs.?

-Not expressing or repressing but confessing.

-You’ve got to get them lost before you can get them saved.

- Wow! it's now already. Buechner

- Repentance is not about the past but about the future!!

- The best we can become is redeemed sinners

-Repent brings the past into the present.

- Repent equals opportunity.

- Christians are like manure....they tend to stink when all piled together. They fertilize when spread around properly

LENT

- If something is worth giving up, it should be for more than just the few weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

- Lent and Advent are both preparation times before a big event

- Lent = "Lencten" meaning spring time (Old English)

- If sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end. (Buechner)

- Buechner suggests that during lent we ask these questions:

a. When you look in the mirror what do you see you most like...you most want to deplore

b. What last message would you give to a handful of people most dear to you. (25 words or less)

c. Which thing you have done would you most like to undo?

d. What person, or cause would you die for?

e. If this were the last day of your life, what would you do?

Ansering these help us to see who we are and what we are becoming.

- Fill communion cups with water so we can so we can taste the “almost nothing” that is living.

- Illustration Pretzel -- an ancient bakery item. Used to be eaten only during lent. Goes back to 5th century. Shape is made in the form of two arms crossed in prayer.

- Ash Wednesday is a kind of baptismal branding.

- Lenten penance may be more effective if we fail in our resolutions than if we succeed for its purpose is not to confirm us but to bring home to us our need for salvation.

"Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking." Robert Schuller's acronym for lent. L.E.N.T.

LENT

-. If something is worth giving up, it should be for more than just the few weeks between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

- Lent and Advent are both preparation times before a big event

- Think of Lent as an Outward Bound for the soul. No one has to sign up for it, but if you do then you give up the illusion that you are in control of your life. B.B.Taylor

-. Lent = "Lencten" meaning spring time (Old English)

-. If sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end. (Buechner)

-. Buechner suggests that during lent we ask these questions: