‘Keep the love light shining…’
March 23, 2025
Scriptures: Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, Luke 13:6-9
Today is the third Sunday in Lent, and though it may seem like we have not spent much time talking about it, we have in fact been sharing of the need to prepare, to be clear eyed and aware of all that is going on around us as both needs and concerns are rising. In reading through the scriptures for this week I was at first dismayed in that there seemed to be no clear thru thread that stood out for me, no obvious door into understanding what the Spirit might be seeking to teach us this day.
But upon closer reflection, I found that what both Freddie and I have sought to share recently, is still a concern of the Spirit…that the call to be ‘vigilant and ready’, is still a word meant to challenge…and to comfort us as we navigate these times. Lent is often first described as a time of ‘preparation’, a time of self-denial and reflection as we approach the most difficult time in the ministry of Jesus…traveling the road into Jerusalem that would ultimately lead him to a cross on a hillside. And I would assert that this understanding of Lent is still important in our life together as people of faith, and perhaps even more so within the clamor of the present moment.
But it is also clear to me that Lent is a time to redouble our efforts to stand tall and ready, to shine brightly as beacons of hope, to walk, talk, and act as sharers of a peace-filled spirit that defies explanation. Let me explain. While indeed Lent is in many ways a time of testing, the truth is that it should not just be a seasonal remembrance, but in fact should be our faith pathway forward every day. Lenten reflection and practice should characterize our life of faith each moment, and each hour of every day.
Lent is also a time to remember and to strengthen our reserve for the truth that our life together is one in which we will constantly be tested…a time in which we will frequently be tempted to lose sight of the message of hope and promise found within the words and teachings which our Lord left for us. A time when that which would leave us discouraged, exhausted, or fearful, must be brushed aside, washed clean through the regular sharing of the love we have been given for each other. A sharing which in turn empowers us to offer that love to those around who may not know of the hope that fills our hearts…who may not know the joy which illumines our pathway.
Yes, during the season of Lent, as well as every day we are called to kindle joy and hope for one another, in order to be strong and enthusiastic in our outreach to those who are still seeking…a time in which we are called to be ’enthused’…from the Greek word ‘en-theos’, which literally means, ‘being possessed by God’, or, ‘having God within us’. We are to be the joyful bearers of the word of our God…that word which the Psalmist in Psalm 119 and verse 105 says, ‘is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path’.
There is a delightful story which illustrates what the Psalmist may well have been alluding to in this verse that tells of a practice in ancient Jerusalem whereby young children would hire themselves out to guide late night guests home from a party at someone’s house, by holding a lantern before them in the darkness. But not just holding that lamp, but in fact doing so while artfully dancing, alternatively swinging the lantern at first low towards the ground, so as to illuminate the ground right in front of the guest’s feet, and then high up in the air to show the pathway that lay ahead…a dance repeated over and over until the guest was safely at home, and one in which the children competed to have the best style and grace so as to attract to most customers. A practice we would do well to try and imitate, if we are to truthfully reveal the goodness and promise of our God regardless of any darkness we may encounter!
But our scriptures also made it clear, at least to me, that this time of Lent, this practice of being hopeful and joyful in spite of distraction or noise, this way we are in fact supposed to ‘live, move, and have our being’…is one that may not always be easy, and in fact at times may take our every ounce of strength for us to hold on to the ‘hem of our Lord’s robe’ as he walks confidently before us.
Paul has obviously experienced the truth of this as he shares in his letter to the Corinthians that regardless of the difficulty of a particular path on a particular day, if we remain vigilant, if we seek constantly to abide in the Spirit, then we will not be tested beyond our ability to prevail. He writes that, ‘the Lord will never ask more of us than we are able to handle, and will in time of need give us the strength to endure’. A word meant to comfort it seems, but one which always makes me feel as though God often has far more faith in me than I have in myself! However, that is the promise offered to us as we walk forward in faith.
Our reading from Isaiah also echoes some of these themes as well as reiterates the promises of the Lord’s careful shepherding of his flock. It has always been a favorite passage of mine as it offers so much hope, and at so little cost. Echoing the voice of God, the Prophet assures, ‘I will provide for you absolutely everything you may need if you will just listen to me, if you do as I ask of you! Listen to me, draw near to me, and you will have life! Turn to me now that I am close by.’ And in the closing words of this same passage God says, ‘My thoughts, my ways, are different from those of the world, in fact as far different as the heavens are from the earth below. ‘My ways’, says the Lord, ‘those ways I am asking you to walk through each day as emissaries of my love and grace, will be as difficult as they are rewarding, and as joyful as they are loving…for you will be by my side’.
And lastly, in both the assurances of the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness, and in the parable of the unfruitful fig tree in our gospel reading, I hear other echoes of how we are to honor the season of Lent. There indeed may be times when we become discouraged, times when the goodness and grace we feel we have to offer is not being received, or maybe even flat out rejected. Times when we may feel as though another’s seeming ungratefulness may allow us to give up on or to turn away from them. Perhaps even tempting us to lapse into judgment, forgetting that our call is only to share and to love…to remember our Lord’s words when he taught, ‘If I be lifted up, I will draw all people to myself’.
There may be times in which we will come across a ‘fig tree’ that has never born any fruit, and doesn’t seem like it ever will…but it is not ours to cut that tree down, but rather to continue to nourish and cherish it nonetheless, in the hope and belief that the Holy Spirit of love and grace resident within us will soften the heart and kindle hope in another.
So, as we work our way through Lent…as we walk out of this safe space and into a world in which so often the ways and words we see and hear as so very different than the ways and words of our God, let us not lose heart, let us not grow faint, but rather redouble our every effort to extend the precious gift of love which we all have so freely been given.
In the words of that old, old love song, ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’, let us ‘keep the love light shining’!
…amen
