Wellspring UMC; First
Sunday in Lent: February 25, 3007: “Listen”:
-Isaiah
1: 1-4, 16-20; 2:1-5
What changes in life must be made in order
for us to receive the invitation?
Listen.
There
is a story told of a young disciple in
The
teacher rose, then suddenly grabbed the young man and dragged him under the
water. Seconds passed, then a minute,
the young man flailing and kicking under the water trying to break free, but
the master held him down until at last he pulled him up, coughing and gasping
for air.
The
teacher asked, “While you were under the water, what was it that you wanted?”
“Air,”
said the young man, still trying to catch his breath.
“And
how badly did you want it?,” asked the master.
“It
was all I wanted in the world. With my
whole soul I longed only for air.”
“Good,”
said the teacher. “When you long for God
in the same way, come back to me, and you will become my disciple.”
Listen.
I know a man who from the time of
adolescence got caught up in drugs. At
first it was just recreational, a way to spend time with friends, a way to make
and keep friends, and a time to entertain himself, but what started as an
intrigue, became an obsession. It went
from being that which he mentally desired to that which he physically
needed. It became a source of life, and
that for which he lived. After decades
of use, it almost killed him.
One day on a binge, he found himself
in a bad neighborhood, though for him the badness wore off after the first ten
visits. Now it was just the place where
he went to score a hit. Heading toward
one of the many street-corner ‘vendors,’ a gang of young men and women, barely
in high school, took it upon themselves to relieve him of his cash.
They beat him. Kicked him. Even sliced his face with a
razor. Once he was beaten down they
stole his goods, running away, laughing.
Shame arose from years of anguish,
disappointment, and lack of control.
Pain was evident but it was more than just from the beating. It was pain from the inside. Pain of the death that permeated his
soul. Pain from the struggle to deal
with himself honestly. Pain from letting
himself and others down. Pain from
realizing that his life had come to this...laying in a trash- infested alley in
his own blood.
And in the midst of the pain, he
heard a voice inside. “Are you through
yet? Are you ready to be changed into who
I need you to be?”
Listen.
She
was one of the most active people in the church. One of the ones who was there a much as the
preacher. She taught Sunday School,
served as liturgist, sang in the choir, folded the bulletins on Fridays. She was always there doing something for
someone else, and from an outsiders perspective, she seemed to have it all
together. Nothing could be further from
the truth.
The
truth of the matter is that she kept busy in order to keep her mind off what
she was really feeling, and she kept busy in the church because, well if you
are busy in the church then at least your doing something useful. Besides, church folks loved for her to do
stuff, and she liked doing stuff for the church. But deep down, forty-three years of festering
wounds began to surface.
She’d
spent her whole life turning the other way from or stuffing the images of the
abuse she’d suffered at the hands of her stepfather. She’d looked to God and others for strength
when her self-esteem was in the gutter and depression kicked in. She’d created ways of coping which for more
than four decades had served her well.
But it was as if a switch was flipped and everything changed. It was as if the bucket of slop which held
all the pain, resentment, sorrow, grief, confusion, frustration, abuse, and
disappointment was full, and there was nowhere for it to go. It could only ooze out into her life.
Her
marriage was suffering. Her children
were feeling the affects. She found
herself on edge and thinking vicious thoughts, which was so not like here. At times she felt like she was trapped in a
box, and at other times she was headed into darkness with no light at the end
of the tunnel. Her life was suffering,
and so were those around her.
She
recognized that she needed help and set up a time to meet with her pastor. For an hour she poured out her heart as her
eyes poured forth tears. Anger arose at
times, grief overwhelmed, question after question after question flowed from
her lips, and there was a cathartic release.
Exhausted, she stopped.
There
was a long silence, then the pastor said, “That is overwhelming to me. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be
you. Does your husband know any of
this?”
She responded, “Oh no. I couldn’t share this with him.”
“Do
you ever take any of this to God?”
“Well,
when things are too bad, I’ll ask for God to give me strength.”
“What
do you usually do to cope with all of this?,” the pastor said.
“Well,
I do the best I can and move on. After
all, that’s all in the past.”
The
pastor said, “One last question. Have
you ever seen Dr. Phil?”
“Yes,”
she replied.”
“Well,
he has a question that he asks often, which can be very helpful in dealing with
times when change is in order. He asks,
‘How’s that working for you?’.”
Listen.
Listen. Listen.
Listen...
We’re now entering the season of
Lent. A time of sharing, no opening
ourselves up to God. It is a time when
we reflect upon what it means that Christ died on the cross...a brutal,
horrible death...for us. It’s a time when
we take time away from the busyness of life and think about our addictions, our
selfishness, our dysfunctional ways, our obsessions, our mistakes, our
lives... It is a forty day journey
inviting us to open our hearts, even if just a little, and let God change us
and shape us. It is a time to listen.
On
the front of your bulletin there is a heart with a question. Each week of this Lenten journey there will
be heart and a question there, and that question will focus on change. During Lent we have an opportunity to change
and be changed, and specifically for us this year, we are being invited to have
a change of heart. To open our hearts to
God, and let God transform us through this journey.
Those
who were here on Ash Wednesday have already received theirs, but in the back of
the sanctuary there is a small table, upon which there are hearts. If you have not yet picked one up, please do
so. We ask that you put this heart somewhere
where it will be visible to you daily – in your pocket, on the dashboard, on
the windowsill, on your desk – so that you will have a constant reminder to be
asking some heart questions.
When
you see this heart, I invite you to simply pause and reflect upon where your
heart is, how God is changing your heart, whether others can see God changing
your heart, and most importantly, what in your life needs to change in order
for you to fully receive God’s invitation of grace.
That is one component of Lent. The other part of Lent this year is that the
scriptures for the season are all from the book of Isaiah. I am reading through this entire book as part
of my journey this year, and I invite you to do the same if you feel so moved.
Isaiah is known as one of the
greater prophets of Israel, and this book reflects forty years of faithful
living as an Israelite. Isaiah was alive
when the Assyrians overran the Northern Kingdom of Israel and deported most of
the ten tribes of Israel to other countries in the Assyrian empire. This book
centers around the exile of God’s people.
The first thirty-nine chapters focus
on God’s prophecies to Jerusalem, including beginning with words specifically
to King Ahaz, the king at the time.
Isaiah warns Ahaz not to do what other nations are doing, forming alliances,
instead, he tells Ahaz to put his complete trust in God. Ahaz does not listen, and the people are sent
to Babylon in exile.
The tone changes in chapters 40-55
to a tone less of warning and prophecy to a word of comfort to God’s people in
a foreign land. This is the section best
known, for it focuses on God’s presence found in the midst of suffering.
The book ends with a word to the
post-exilic community. They are
returned, but not without being reminded of the pain of their past. They are reminded of the need for faithfulness
as they sort out who they are and how they got to where they were. They are returned a changed people.
Our
scriptures today begin at the beginning of Isaiah, warning all of what happens
when people do their own thing and neglect God.
These words call God’s people to do a heart check. “Hear, O heavens and earth, I reared my
children and they rebelled...they do evil and walk away from me. They have ceased to care for those in need, and
lived for self.” God says to them, and
us, “Here is the reality of your life.” But then God says, “Let me help
you. Let me change you. Let me turn your hearts.”
Then
just as God lays out their reality, God lays out their redemption, “But in days
to come I will establish You for glory.
All will come to you, and I will teach my ways through you and bring
peace and life... so house of Jacob...my children...you and me...come walk in
the light of the Lord!”
This story from Isaiah, God’s story
in Christ, Christ’s story in us is told time and time again, not just within
and about the community, but it is lived out time and time again in our
lives...and dare I say it, in our hearts.
Warnings, exile, return. Warning,
exile, return. It is a cycle.
And yet, the purpose of any story is
two-fold. It is to be told, and it is to
be heard. God’s story is told again, and
God invites us to hear it. God calls us
to listen. Listen to our hearts. Ask about the needed change. Listen. Listen. Listen.
There
are times when we are drowning in life.
At those times what do we most long for? Like the seeker in our story,
is it air or is it Christ?
At
times our addictions, obsessions, and choices lead us down paths where we are
blindsided and left to pick up the pieces.
When that happens can we hear God’s voice saying, “Are you through yet?”
There
is an epidemic in the church, in the community, in life, and in our
relationships with God, that we neglect to live in the realities of the past
and present. And we play games, avoid the topics, avoid God, and refuse to just
sit in it. We rely on ourselves and do
the same old same old, rather than invite God to lead us. At those times we might ask, “So how’s that
working for me?” Even better to ask,
“What would happen if I let God lead?”
What is the change in your life which must take place in order for you to accept the invitation to walk in the light of the Lord? The invitation is given. The first step is to listen. Listen. Listen.