Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday [24 March 2019] is the Third Sunday in Lent. The readings provided in the Revised Common Lectionary as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland are:
Readings: Isaiah 55: 1-9; Psalm 63: 1-9; I Corinthians 10: 1-13; Luke 13: 1-9.
There is a link to readings HERE.
Introducing the Readings:
Sunday’s readings relate to freedom of worship, deal with questions such as, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ and bring us to the mid-point of the season of Lent … all topics that may provide themes for Sunday sermons. Here is an opportunity, if you did not find it opportune the previous Sunday, Saint Patrick’s Day [17 March 2019], to speak out about the slaughter of people at worship in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, at the end of last week.
The story is told of a well-known priest in another diocese who was once asked what he had given up for Lent. He replied: ‘I have given up the slice of lemon in my gin and tonic. But do not fear, I remain as bitter and tested as ever.’
Next Sunday, we are half-way through Lent as we reach the Third Sunday in Lent. But by then, I am sure, many of us may find that our Lenten resolutions have faded and that we are probably as resolute about them as we were about our New Year’s resolutions three weeks into January.
We hunger or thirst so much for the little food or the little drink that we give up for Lent that we soon succumb. But instead of being made feel guilty, instead of being chided, what most of us need half-way through Lent is encouragement and affirmation. Both are found in our readings on Sunday morning, but those readings also urge us to hunger and thirst for the real food and drink that God offers us.
Isaiah 55: 1-9:
The Old Testament reading (Isaiah 55: 1-9) concludes the section known as Second Isaiah, which begins in Chapter 40. It was written during the Exile, after Babylon had fallen to the Persians. The key themes are: the way of the Lord, calling the people to enjoy God’s gifts, a new deliverance, the word of the Lord, the king, heaven and earth, God’s relationship with Israel, forgiveness, and the participation of other nations.
All who thirst for God, especially those who are impoverished and have no money, are invited to eat freely at the heavenly banquet, the meal that symbolises God’s loving generosity and abundance (verse 1).
We are told that God’s ‘everlasting covenant,’ first with one person, David, has been extended to his successors, then to his people, and is now offered to all nations, to all people (verses 4-5), even those who have done evil in the past but who now forsake those ways (verse 7). God is not only to be found in the Temple, but among all who seek him:
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near … (verse 6).
Psalm 63: 1-8:
In the Psalm too, we hear what it is to thirst for the Lord (verse 1). But the same mouths that thirst for God in the wilderness, also praise him with joyful lips (verse 5).
I Corinthians 10: 1-13:
That thirsting in the wilderness helps the Apostle Paul to illustrate the Epistle reading, in which he urges the Christians in Corinth to thirst for the true ‘spiritual food’ (verse 3), for the true ‘spiritual drink’ (verse 4).
I recently bought a T-shirt that I had long seen on sale in the Plaka in Athens with the slogan: ‘To do is to be, Socrates. To be is to do, Plato. Do-be-do-be-do, Sinatra.’
Of course, there are different types of people: there are the ‘do-ers’ and there are the ‘be-ers.’
But whichever you are, we need the balance of the other. Emphasising the spiritual without understanding the world we live in leads to us being irrelevant. On the other hand, actively doing good, without any deep and truly spiritual foundations, leads to burn-out and disillusion.
In a tribute to Justin Kilcullen, the former director of Trocaire, at the honorary conferrings at the Pontifical University in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, last week [12 March 2019], Bishop John Kirby said many people ask why we are relatively prosperous in Ireland, while so many people live in poverty. But, he said, we need to realise instead that we are relatively prosperous in rich countries in the northern hemisphere precisely because so many people live in poverty and hunger and thirst in the two-thirds world.
We are called to hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5: 6), but wishing is not enough. Christ reminds us in our Gospel reading this morning that we are called to bear fruit too … and he is patient in waiting for faith to produce fruit.
In the middle of the economic crisis in Greece, the Greek Prime Minister accused other European leaders of failing to put compassion into action, and warned of the danger of Greece becoming ‘a warehouse of souls.’
Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians – and so reminds us too in this reading – that we are called to be both ‘do-ers’ and ‘be-ers.’ In that way, all may know that they are invited to the heavenly banquet, where there will be eating and drinking for the hungry and the thirsty, and for all.
Luke 13: 1-9:
These thoughts are interesting preludes to our Gospel reading (Luke 13: 1-9), where we hear of the chilling and horrific deaths of two groups of people that made headline news at the time.
We all know that people often ask why God allows bad things to happen to good people.
In this reading there are two examples. In the first case, it was Galileans at prayer in the Temple who were slaughtered in their innocence, and who then, sacrilegiously, had their blood mixed with the Temple sacrifices.
In the second case, innocent building workers, working on the Tower of Siloam near the Temple, died when the work collapsed on top of them.
Part 1: verses 1-5
In those days, it was commonly believed that pain and premature death were signs of God’s adverse judgment. We think like that today: how often do people think those who are sick, suffer infirmities, have injuries, die because they cannot afford health care? They do not die because they cannot afford healthcare – they die because governments prefer to spend money on weapons and wars or in giving tax breaks to the rich, rather than spending money on health care for those who need it.
The first group in this Gospel reading, a group of Galileans, from Christ’s own home province, believed they were doing God’s will as they worshipped in the Temple. But they were killed intentionally as they sacrificed to God in the Temple. Even in death, they were degraded further when, on Pilate’s orders, their blood was mixed with the blood of the Temple sacrifices.
In a single act of capricious violence, Pilate humiliated the nation, its religion and its culture, and violated the very presence of God. In a single act, he desecrated: the altar in the Temple; the ritual practices held there; the sacred place reserved for priests; the animals made holy by prayers; and the murdered Galileans who had been standing at that altar.
Think of the horror we feel when people are murdered at worship: the 50 people murdered in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, last Friday (15 March 2019), the 11 people murdered five months ago at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh (27 October 2018), the nine people murdered in the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina (17 June 2015), the three people murdered in the Gospel Hall in Darkley (20 November 1983), or Oscar Romero saying Mass on this day 39 years ago in San Salvador (24 March 1980) – or think of the children murdered in Dunblane (1996) or in recent school shootings and drive-by shootings in the United States.
The second group in the Gospel reading, numbering 18 in all, were building workers who were killed accidentally as they were building the Tower of Siloam.
Think of our horror today at people who die accidentally, not because of their own mistakes or sinfulness; people who die daily of hunger and poverty; children born to die because they are HIV +, because their parents live in poverty, or other circumstances not of their choosing; children who die in dangerous and treacherous sea crossings in the Mediterranean …
How easy it is for us, for example, to talk about ‘innocent victims’ – of wars, of AIDS, of gangland killings – as though some people are ‘guilty victims’ who deserve to die like that anyway.
But in both cases in our Gospel reading – in all these cases – Christ says no, there is no link between an early and an unjust death and the sins of the past or the sins of past generations.
In those days, it was commonly believed that pain and premature death were signs of God’s adverse judgment. At the time, it was commonly believed that severe physical disabilities or an early death were natural and just consequences for the sins of the past, even the sins of past generations.
We think like that today: how often do people think those who are sick, suffer infirmities, have injuries die because they cannot afford health care? How often do we shift our focus so that we blame people traffickers rather than asking why people are fleeing war? How often do we forget or deny their humanity and instead listen to politicians talking of ‘hordes’ and ‘swarms’ of people threatening ‘Fortress Europe’?
In both stories, we could explain away what we might otherwise see as the inexplicable way God allows other people to suffer and die by saying they brought it on themselves by their sins, or the sins of their ancestors … or, in today’s language, by saying they cannot afford to pay for health care, or they bring it on themselves by their lifestyle, or they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or they ought to stay in their own countries.
My compassion is the victim of my hidden values, and so others become the victims.
Siloam provides an interesting place for Christ to challenge this ‘received wisdom’ when he meets the man born blind and heals him at the Pool of Siloam, one of the seven ‘signs’ in Saint John’s Gospel (see John 9: 1-7).
Now, we have another story about Siloam, as Christ links the execution of Galilean rebels with the tragedy surrounding the collapse of the Tower of Siloam.
Many may have expected him to say that their deaths were in punishment for their rebellious behaviour, in the case of the Galilean rebels, or collaborative behaviour, in the case of the workers who were building a water supply system for the Roman occupiers.
Is Christ indifferent to political and environmental disasters?
Instead of meeting those expectations, Christ teaches that death comes to everyone, regardless of how sinful I am, regardless of my birth, politics or social background, or – even more certainly – my smug sense of religious pride and righteousness. And he goes on to teach how we each need to repent – even when, in the eyes of others, we do not appear to need repentance.
Death comes to everyone. But that death need not be physical at all – spiritual death is the most deadening, for it brings with it not only loss of Communion with God, but it brings with it the loss of hope, the loss of trust, the loss of love for others and for ourselves, the loss of true compassion. And sometimes that sort of death comes suddenly and without warning.
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near …
Part 2: verses 6-9
It is so tempting to excuse or dismiss the sufferings of others. To say they brought it on themselves offers us an opt-out: we can claim to have compassion, but need not respond to it, nor need to do anything to challenge the injustice that is the underlying cause of this suffering.
Yet, in the parable of the fig tree, we are called on to wait, we are urged not to be too hasty in our judgment on those who seem in our eyes to do nothing to improve their lot.
It makes logical, economic and financial sense for the owner to want to chop down the fig tree – after all, not only is it taking up space, but it also costs in terms of time, tending, feeding, caring and nurturing. The owner knows what it is to make a quick profit, and if the quick profit is not coming soon enough he wants to cut his losses.
It takes much tender care and many years – at least three years – for a fig tree to bear fruit. And even then, in a vineyard, the figs are not a profit – they are a bonus.
Even if a fig tree bears early fruit, the Mosaic Law said it could not be harvested for three years, and the fruit gathered in the fourth year was going to offered as the first fruits. Only in the fifth year, then, could the fruit be eaten.
So, if this tree was chopped down, and another put its place, it would take longer still to get fruit that could be eaten or sold. In his quest for the quick buck, the owner of the vineyard shows little knowledge about the reality of economics.
The gardener, who has nothing at stake, turns out to be the one not only has compassion, but has deep-seated wisdom too. The gardener, who is never going to benefit from the owner’s profits, can see the tree’s potential, is willing to let be and wait, knowing what the fig tree is today and what it can do in the future.
But we can decide where we place our trust – in the values that I think serve me but serve the rich, the powerful and the oppressor, or in the God who sees our plight, who hears our cry, and who comes in Christ to deliver us.
Luke 13: 1-9 (NRSVA):
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 round it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down”.’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: Violet
The canticle Gloria is usually omitted in Lent. Traditionally in Anglicanism, the doxology or Gloria at the end of Canticles and Psalms is also omitted during Lent.
Penitential Kyries:
In the wilderness we find your grace:
you love us with an everlasting love.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
There is none but you to uphold our cause;
our sin cries out and our guilt is great.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed;
Restore us and we shall know your joy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
Merciful Lord,
Grant your people grace to withstand the temptations
of the world, the flesh and the devil
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Lenten Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Lenten Collect should be said after the Collect of the day until Easter Eve.
Introduction to the Peace:
Being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5: 1, 2)
Preface:
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was in every way tempted as we are yet did not sin;
by whose grace we are able to overcome all our temptations:
Post Communion Prayer:
Lord our God,
you feed us in this life with bread from heaven,
the pledge and foreshadowing of future glory.
Grant that the working of this sacrament within us
may bear fruit in our daily lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing:
Christ give you grace to grow in holiness,
to deny yourselves,
and to take up your cross and follow him:
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C) in Sing to the Word (2000) edited by Bishop Edward Darling include:
Isaiah 55: 1-9:
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
576, I heard the voice of Jesus say
557, Rock of ages, cleft for me
448, The trumpets sound, the angels sing
Psalm 63: 1-9:
63, All praise to thee, my God, this night
607, As pants the hart for cooling streams
606, As the deer pants for the water
357, I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath
553, Jesu, lover of my soul
95, Jesu, priceless treasure
425, Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts
I Corinthians 10: 1-13:
2, Faithful one, so unchanging
459, For all the saints who from their labours rest
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
668, God is our fortress and our rock
647, Guide me, O thou great Jehovah
92, How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
431, Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
557, Rock of ages, cleft for me
595, Safe in the arms of Jesus
Luke 13: 1-9:
311, Fruitful trees, the Spirit’s sowing
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
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