Readings:
Isaiah 55:1-9;
Psalm 63:1-9;
1 Corinthians 10:1-13;
Luke 13:1-9

Collect:
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went up not to joy
but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we,
walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reflection

Facile and frivolous. That’s how one commentator suspects the hearers of that passage from Isaiah might have responded to the prophet’s words (R. A. Puckett in Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, p75). As far as we can make out, the prophet was speaking to those still in exile. They had been deported from their homes after a brutal and cruel war, and they all knew death and destruction at first hand. So when the prophet proclaims loudly and proudly that they do not need to use their hard-earned and meagre cash to buy food and water – even milk and good wine – they may well be suspicious and think, “What’s the catch?”

People in exile or seeking refuge are very vulnerable to being taken advantage of. They learn this quickly and painfully. Others offering to help have to be trusted at first, but there is an underbelly of traffickers, abusers, who demand cash to set people off on a perilous trip just as dangerous as that from which they are fleeing. How are those seeking refuge to know the difference? And even if they do know the difference, many still take the risk, hoping for a better life. Anything to get away  from imminent death.

Those who are now fleeing the violence in Ukraine are finding the generosity of people who are willing to give to others, as the prophet says, without any question of payment. If you have already given, or plan to give, you’re participating in exactly what the prophet describes – unconditional and extraordinary generosity. It is amazing to see just how willing some people are to give so that those fleeing war and terror are given free assistance. And how grateful those are who receive. Out of despair, they know the joy of being given that which they do not have and cannot afford.

The reading from Isaiah this week reminds us of the violence and destruction of war, people’s lives and livelihoods obliterated. The reading also reminds us of the generosity and care that some people offer when they see the plight of others. The prophet sees this as none other than God’s own doing. Those who listen carefully, that is who make sure those who need receive, they are described as themselves eating good food and of seeking God. And in this context, good food is food shared and, in this act, God’s everlasting loving kindness is expressed.

There are also those who are wicked and unrighteous. They are those who forsake God’s ways, take advantage and even abuse others. They are called most urgently to return, to repent of their ways and learn and practise God’s generosity.

These same images of hunger and thirst being satisfied fill the psalm today too. The psalmist knows what it is to be parched and starving, and then to be sated with a rich feast, “marrow and fatness”, as the King James version puts it. The psalmist rejoices in the provisions shared. These images are also used metaphorically in the psalm – feeding and drinking as meditating of God’s presence and giving expression to God’s provision to all.

We’re now entering the third week of Lent. You may have taken up a discipline by giving up something, or you have taken on an activity or act of charity this year. Whatever you’re doing, Lent is not about self-improvement. It is about deciding to act and then live in such a way that this reflects God’s ways and God’s life. This may be one of the lessons of the fig tree that gives no fruit in season. We expect fruit from the tree. It needs to be nurtured and fed, and then it needs to deliver. In God’s love we are all nurtured and cared for. Now our fruit includes making sure food and water, shelter and safety are available to anyone in need. Not only in this season of spring, a way of life, indeed. One in which all are cared for, and everyone provided for.

Barry Lotz