Monday, March 1 Week 3 Thirsty?
LENT 2010 “40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS”
DAILY BLOG Week 3 Monday, 3/1
Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Cor 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9
“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” Isaiah 55:1a
Isaiah 55 is a central passage in a series of passages proclaiming hope and salvation to the exiles in Babylon.
“In the modern world, even on Sunday, even in Lent, people crave satisfaction. Perched alertly and anxiously on their pews, the devout seek a word from the Lord. We seek God’s face. Afterwards we will rush out to Sunday brunches or loll around poolside regrouping, re-creating, and re-composing ourselves after the helter-skelter hustle of the weekday.” (Feasting on the Word)
All week long we work and struggle to earn our sustenance and paychecks. We do what is necessary to buy what we need and produce what we can. We believe that this will give us satisfaction. Yet on Sunday, we find ourselves thirsting for more. Isaiah’s words are like a sign in a dry climate – “Stop! Drink Water. You are thirsty whether you realize it or not!”
How thirsty are you? How do you even recognize your thirst? What do you need?
To offer reflections on this day, go to www.fccorange.com/blog
What I get out this is very important to me It means no matter how busy we get in our evey day lives we better take time stop and talk with God about what is happening in our lives and for his help
Nor is being busy a substitute for having God in our life. Otherwise our thirst is ever increasing without being quenched.
I thirst for acceptance. I feel many times that I am not accepted by the people around me. I feel like they don’t like me, but they tolerate me because they feel like they have to. I just wish people would accept me for who I am and not pretend that they like me because they have to. I understand that not everyone in the world will like me, but I ask them to not pretend to like me.
Thirst is a funny thing. What I’ve re-learned recently from doing more, and more intense, gym workouts is that I get thirsty without even realizing it. So I have developed a discipline of drinking water regularly, whether or not I “feel like it” right then. It always tastes and feels so good! This is my analogy for our human thirst for the Divine — we are hard-wired to need and seek something greater than ourselves. Without a faith affiliation, that can be called a “Higher Power.” In different contexts, I think of that greatness as God, Jesus Christ, and/or Holy Spirit — and I know that if I “feed” myself regularly by reading scripture, serving in various ways in my congregation, talking about faith issues with friends, praying, and the like, I will be much healthier. Not to mention alive in ways that don’t happen otherwise!