COME, EAT

March 7, 2010
Lent 3
Isaiah 55:1-9
1st Corinthians10:1-13

Isaiah 55
1Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy?Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you,because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
6Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts;let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.


1st Corthinthians10
1I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
6Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. 7Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 13No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

(prayer)
Ad lib reflections on ....
· The harshness of 1st Corinthians and the inclusiveness of Isaiah;
· Yet harshness is speaking of living well in community – warnings against selfish and self-serving behaviour;
· Making faith fit into current context is important;
· Isaiah’s Context; Moses’ context; Paul’s context;
· 2010 Context!
· Faith involves choice;
· God perhaps more open than we sometimes gave God credit for;
· Church confused institution of faith with the movement of faith;
· Church has excluded – mis-read Corinthians and Isaiah deciding who was in or out.
· Play “Beyond Belief” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f514o3GuxzA)
· Do we really believe in an open table and a welcoming Christ?
· If so, be the mercy; come and eat.
· Accept each other here.
· And live that as we leave this table. Each person is a glimpse of God for us. Each person is holy and valued.

Sing: #8 from Songs for a Gospel People (v1,2)
Help us accept each other
As Christ accepted us
Teach us as sister, brother
Each person to embrace
Be present Lord among us
And bring us to believe
We are ourselves accepted
And meant to love and live.

Teach us O Lord your lessons
As in our daily life
We struggle to be human
And search for hope and faith
Teach us to care for people
For all not just for some
To love them as we find them
Or as they may become.
(Fred Kaan/Doreen Potter)