sermon excerpts: Season of Lending

... In Deuteronomy, we catch up with the Israelites on the road, coming to the blessed end of that decades long migration. While they were still in the desert, Moses is preparing the people for the good life that is coming ahead. When they get to the Promised Land, not if, they were to do these things: give thanks to God, offer the first fruits of their labour, remember their story and celebrate.

First things first, offering thanks and demonstrating that fact by giving the first of what we receive from our labours as sacrifice to God. Moses details the how and where to do this, go so far as to offer the words that need to be said.

These words summarized the journey so far: Jacob, a wandering Aramean, was their ancestor who found success for himself in Egypt. After a period of prosperity, things turned sour for the Israelites and they were living in tortuous slave conditions. God saw the trouble of the people and delivered to a new land of their own.

Which brought them to their near future, newly established in the Promised Land and enjoying the bounty of its rich fields and generous climate. This ritual of thank offering serves as a reminder of how volatile our own situation can be, how quickly a time of plenty can turn to a time of great need.

We are all descendants of that wandering Aramaean, Jacob. Aren’t we all relatives of immigrants to this place, if we go back far enough in our personal history? We don’t remember often enough all that our ancestors have done, facing and overcoming difficulty, trial and tribulation.

Paying tribute to God first as well as remembering our past, are reminders that the successes and blessings in life we have, are not our own. We couldn’t have done it ourselves, that we cannot get through life ourselves. We rely on the work of those before us, whether we acknowledge this or not.

It is healthier to remember this, to be humble about our place in life. So that we don’t forget who we are, what has shaped us. And then, following Moses’ instructions, we can celebrate and rejoice with the priests, the foreigners among us, because it is an open invitation and calling. God’s blessing is available for everyone.

So we must keep remembering to give thanks first. We offer thanks for our particular situation, for the imperfectness of who we are and the temptations we face. In doing so, we remember the bigger story, feel connected to a larger part of history, and of community. Such a sentiment runs counter to the temptations of Christ where he was urged to selfish and self-indulgent acts.

In the season of Lent, the Christian story prepares for betrayal and loss, anguish and upheaval. It’s forty days long, not including Sundays, to mirror Jesus in the wilderness and a reminder of Moses and the people of God working their way to the Promised Land. The season of Lent is not related to the past tense of the verb “to lend”. It’s actually connected to the idea of length: the days are getting longer in this time of year.

But I’m going to set aside the grammar and suggest that aspect of lending and borrowing is still there. We are living on borrowed time. The blessings we enjoy are not of our own doing. That which we cling most tightly to, aren’t ours to begin with. Our strengths and assets are borrowed from the efforts of others.

For the journey that is about to be taken, we see that all the obstacles and shortcuts are brought forward to Jesus in the desert and he is able to move beyond the selfish and self-interested desires of the human heart. As he gave himself to his mission and ministry, let us in turn give of ourselves in service to others with thankfulness in this season of Lent and lending.