Come, listen, seek, call...

We’re now at the third Sunday in Lent and it seems a pretty good time to think about what we’ve done, what we’re doing and what we’re planning to do in this season as we lead up to Holy Week and to Easter. Many people will do something special for Lent – perhaps give something up, perhaps take something new up. Ultimately whatever we do should be designed to help us in some way to get closer to God. It should be a time of renewal and refreshment. 

In a conversation between her and the Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland asked, "Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat. "I don't much care where," said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat.

Many of us as Christians have times when we lack direction I think, when we’re not quite sure where we’re going with our faith. It doesn’t mean that our faith isn’t there – it just means that we’re drifting a bit and I think that’s one of the really good reasons for observing Lent – to take time to reassess where we are with God, with other people and with the church. 

Like Alice in wonderland, if we don’t know where we’re going then it doesn’t really matter which direction we go, but as Christians we are given much more of a pointer in our lives as to how we live because God invites us into a personal relationship with him, a relationship which changes us, not just on a Sunday or a special occasion but every moment of every day. 

And so we need some sort of direction in our spiritual lives, yet many of us are reluctant for whatever reason to engage more closely with the bible and with prayer, yet those things are an integral part of our lives as Christians. 

I think it was Archbishop Justin Welby a little while ago who said that being a Christian isn’t just about being a nice person – it is about a relationship with Jesus… Now that has been misinterpreted by some people who have suggested that we don’t need to be nice as Christians then, but actually being nice, being good, doing good, are all products of our faith as we seek to live as Jesus wants us to live, as we seek to live Christ-like lives. 

Yet still we get confused about good works being the evidence for our Christianity but while good works will hopefully be a product of our Christianity, again I emphasise that it is our relationship with Jesus that is central to our faith…. 

One of golf's immortal moments came when a man demonstrated what was then the new game to President Ulysses Grant. Carefully placing the ball on the tee, the man took a mighty swing. The club hit the turf and scattered dirt all over the President's beard and surrounding vicinity, while the ball placidly waited on the tee. Again the man swung his golf club, and again he missed. The President waited patiently through six tries and then quietly said, "There seems to be a fair amount of exercise in the game, but I fail to see the purpose of the ball.”

What are we doing that lacks purpose in our lives ? in our churches ? What are we doing that’s taking up an enormous amount of energy but getting us nowhere ? And what can we change in this Lenten period that will make a difference not for the days leading up to Easter but forever ? 

Our readings this morning I think offer us some direction in this. The gospel reading from Luke (13:1-9) begins with Jesus being asked about the fact that Pilate had killed some Galileans – and then Jesus goes on to talk about some people being killed by a tower falling in Siloam. It's all quite strange but what Jesus is talking about is an issue which troubles many of us from time to time today – why do bad things happen to good people ?

And Jesus doesn’t answer the question here – instead he reminds them that bad things do happen but then goes into another rather strange story about the fig tree. The story is connected though as it is one of the clearest indications Jesus gives of his open arms welcome of those who turn to him and of his continued desire to welcome people back into his family, but also of his constant presence with everyone in good times and difficult times. 

The owner of the fig tree is fed up. The tree has produced nothing and so the owner asks that it be cut down. He’s waited three years and no good fruit has grown – and that owner can often represent us, ready to give in, ready just to move on if our expectations are not met in our time… 

But that isn’t God’s way at all. God is full of grace and mercy, longing to offer a way back for us all to him and so it’s God who offers this plea to let it grow for one more year, let it have another chance – and one year in God’s timing is so often timeless… God is always more ready to forgive and show grace and mercy than we are to receive… 

And that is a great message to celebrate, but there is of course a warning in there as well and that is that whilst the time is undetermined and God doesn’t work to our timing, that undetermined time will come to an end and God will call us to account for what we’ve done or failed to do. 

And that’s why this reading is so important in Lent. It calls us to focus on God, it calls us to reflect on his purpose for the world and for us, whilst reminding us that however times we may mess things up, he is there waiting for us with open arms. 

But to know this, to be sure of what God is saying to us, we need to know our direction of travel and how we are journeying closer to God. So we’re back to Lent and what we’re doing to grow closer to him, not just for lent but forever. 

And that direction isn’t something that we’re left clueless about. In our Old Testament reading from Isaiah (55:1-9) we’re given a verbal map of what we can do. And he offers four crucial words. The first word appears twice early on – it is the word ‘come’. ‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…’ ‘…come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ 

Being here today is an indication of our desire to come but it isn’t enough by itself. When God says ‘come’ he is inviting us to live with him, to connect with him, to dedicate our lives to being with him – not to be perfect, however wonderful that may be, but to come and trust him, to know that he walks with us wherever we are and in whatever we’re doing. 

And then we’re told to ‘listen.’ ‘Listen carefully to me…’ ‘…listen so you may live’. What time are we making to listen to God ? Coming to church is good. It is important (and I’m not just saying that because I’m biased), but so is time alone with God and we need to make that time… 

So ‘come’ and ‘listen’ and following on from these words we are told to ‘Seek the Lord while he is near.’ When Isaiah wrote these prophetic words he wrote them to a different time and a different place and yet even now they remain as relevant. 

For some in the world today these words are not easy – living in fear of persecution, with risks attached to meeting with other Christians, God might not always seem so near and yet time and time again, the view seems to be that it is at those times that God seems especially close… but let’s not waste the comfortable chances we have to worship, to read our bibles, to pray, to enjoy fellowship... Let’s not wait until we’re desperate to look out for a closer relationship with God…

Come, listen, seek ! And the final word from Isaiah for us is call… Many of us have got to the point of coming, of listening and of seeking but have forgotten our need for an ongoing relationship that is active and alive with God… Our journey with God doesn’t reach a destination point at baptism or confirmation, which we top up when we come to church – it is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week journey… The most incredible journey… 

And so, as we reassess our lives in this period of Lent – let’s think about the direction we are heading in our spiritual lives, and let’s clear away the busyness and mess that so often clouds our relationship with God, and let’s constantly seek to come to God, listen to him, seek him in everything we’re doing and call upon him as we recognise his constant presence with us. AMEN