2025 Sun March 23

“To grow up in Christ takes curiosity. Moses was a felon on the run from Egypt. But now, he’s a husband, father and gainfully employed in his father-in-law’s livestock business. Life is good. That’s when everything changed. He saw a burning bush in the distance so, “he went over to see this strange sight.” And then, “God saw that Moses went over to look and called him by his name.” Moses’ curiosity was the precondition for a conversation with God that changed Moses’ life and human history. Moses’ curiosity was the delivery system for God’s disclosure of God’s self! And, that is still the pattern for spiritual growth and maturity today.

“When I say curiosity, I mean the desire to learn, know and to grow. What part of the faith life are you curious about? Curiosity is the equivalent of saying, ‘God you are interesting, I want to know you more. I want to know how you do things. I want to know if I can really trust you.’ Curiosity stretches the soul and keeps spiritual rigor mortis at bay. When you think about it, that the God of all the universes wants to meet you in your specific questions and wonderings is mind- boggling. Maybe more than ever, in our 24-hour-always-breaking-news and increasingly biblically illiterate world, more godly curiosity is exactly what we need.

“Notice this, Moses’ curiosity is rewarded with a relationship not simply information. Our curiosity has to be lived. Curiosity should cause us to live differently on the way to getting new understanding. We grow as we go. It is curiosity that frees us to live into the mystery of God and saves us from dry dogma and rigid religion. It is Godly curiosity that helps us see the majesty of God and delivers us to authentic worship. That is what happened to Moses that day at work. Wonder became worship. Years later, when Moses finally saw his people walk out of 400 years of slavery, I’ll just bet he was glad he had been curious.”

Exodus 3:1-15

Part 1 of this series
Part 2 of this series

I. Theme – We are called into faithful obedience

 “Parable of the Barren Fig Tree” -Alexander Master (1430)

“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. 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?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”

The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

Old Testament – Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm – Psalm 63:1-8 Epistle – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Gospel – Luke 13:1-9

Today’s readings call us to faithful obedience. One way to do this is to clear a space for God.

This week, try clearing space in your life for being in solitude with God. Like clearings in a forest, where suddenly the stars and moon above come into view, such solitude can rejuvenate and strengthen us for full-hearted life.

Be ambitious: remove every obstacle in your path. Turn off the TV, unplug the radio, shut down the computer, put away your phone (especially at mealtime!), light candles, revisit your favorite music, read aloud your favorite poem, or take a walk in the woods under the night sky.

Whatever clearings you choose, let your goal be to deepen your awareness of God’s companionship and serene presence all around.

In the first reading, God’s promise to rescue the faithful summons us to a new relationship. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul looks at the experiences of God’s people in the past to show his readers how to live in obedience now. In the gospel, Jesus advises us to respond to calamities with a spirit of personal repentance.

Much of the text deals with the challenges of the wilderness, the hot desert in the Old Testament and Psalm and the need for new relationships . We who are given much squander our resources.

In any season, the garden is an organic model for a spirituality that is alive and growing. Each garden comes to maturity in its own time, producing its unique crop: figs or artichokes, pansies or sunflowers. Within each person lies this secret, sacred space. One person’s inner terrain cannot be compared to another’s; most people know intuitively which ground is barren, which is fruitful. Ultimately, like the fig tree, we are spared for our potential, not for anything we have done.

And if we are fortunate, kind gardeners sometimes intervene on our behalf. Friends “hear us into speech.” Coworkers make allowances. Someone takes us seriously; someone laughs with us; someone squeezes our hand in a tight spot. Family members forgive our all-too-obvious warts. Each gesture of respect and camaraderie stays the hatchet another degree, hoes the ground and manures it. With God’s grace fragrant as rain, we can come gradually to fruition. Sometimes, we can even become the compassionate gardener for another person.

The other bit of good news contained in this reading is Jesus’ interpretation of swift, violent death. While his hearers might be quick to read it as punishment for sin, Jesus knows that death will apply to himself as well. He who is sinless will also die a brutish death at the hands of Pilate.

We who hear about a disasters the moment after they happen can learn from Jesus that these events are not punishment for sin, but impetus for reform.

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The Gospel – Luke 13:1-9

Jesus is teaching a crowd about the importance of repentance, and he uses two events as examples to drive home the message.

• The Galileans:

Jesus asks, “Did you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because Pilate killed them?”.

• The Tower in  Gilead

He then asks, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Gilead fell and killed them, did you think that they were worse sinners than all the others who lived in Gilead?”

• The Lesson:

Jesus’s point is that these events were not punishments for greater sins, but rather a reminder that everyone is in danger of destruction if they do not repent.

• The Urgency:

He concludes by saying, “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what true repentance involves. Main points are the 3 C’s -1. Conviction (what you feel) 2. Confession (what you say) 3. Conversion (what you do)

• Conviction of Sin:

Acknowledging and understanding that one’s actions or thoughts are wrong and offensive to God. 

• Sorrow and Contrition:

Feeling genuine remorse and sadness for the sin committed, not just for the consequences, but for the offense to God. 

• Turning Away from Sin:

A deliberate and conscious decision to abandon the sinful behavior or way of life. 

• Turning Towards God:

Seeking a relationship with God and aligning one’s life with His will and teachings. 

• Confession:

Openly and honestly acknowledging the sin to God, and potentially to others who have been wronged. 

• Commitment to Change:

A determination to avoid repeating the sin and to live a life that pleases God. 

• Making Amends:

Taking steps to repair any harm caused by the sin, such as apologizing, making restitution, or seeking forgiveness. 

• Accepting Consequences:

Acknowledging and accepting the consequences of one’s actions, both natural and spiritual.