Lent 3

In what we would call the “olden days” — what our children would call “ancient history” — invitations to a formal event would be sent to an engraver for calligraphy treatment and engraving. Cards would be hand-delivered or sent through the U.S. Postal Service.

Today, most folks send electronic or digital invitations to graduation and wedding ceremonies, bridal and baby showers, birthday parties, or even fancy-schmancy dinner parties. Websites that cater to our need to be the inviter of invitees abound. A few of them are greenvelope.com, punchbowl.com, evite.com, paperlesspost.com, minted.com, canva.com, simplytoimpress.com, and smilebox.com.

You could do it the traditional way with paper and envelopes, but it’s expensive, labor-intensive, difficult to collect all the RSVPs, and it might take a while for the invitation to meander through the postal system.

Online invitations minimize or solve these problems.

Of course, God does not have these kinds of issues to deal with. When God wants to say something, something is said. When God wants to invite someone, someone is invited. When God extends a hand to a group of people, God is pleased when the providential hand is grasped in the grip of faith.

In today’s lesson from Isaiah, God uses a different method to send an invitation: a prophet. In verses 1-3, the prophet utters a dozen imperative verbs, a full one-third of which are the command to “come.” Come to the waters; come, buy and eat; come to me, he cries. And then in verse 9, he adds, “Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; … return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on [you] and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (vv. 6-7).

Sounds like an invitation. And if it sounded familiar to the ears of Isaiah’s readers, that’s only because it was. In those days, a recently crowned king would celebrate his ascension to the throne by announcing that his royal subjects were released from all debts. They were given a fresh start. This was only the beginning. To celebrate the king’s new rule, he often called for a banquet. In towns, villages and hamlets, food was copious, and wine flowed freely. It was all designed to signal the dawning of a new day under the beneficent reign of a new king.

Enter Isaiah, acting as a herald for the new king: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters!” (v. 1).

So Lent is an invitation! What will our RSVP or response card say? If we respond to the Lord as we might to a traditional party invitation, we might answer the invite in one of three ways: Joyfully Accepts, Regretfully Declines, or Not Sure.

The prophet Isaiah is joyful and excited. He has no doubt already sent his RSVP by choosing the “joyfully accepts” option. And why not? Look at all the benefits:

• Free food! “You that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (v. 2). If something is offered to you, and you don’t need money, and it has no price tag, it’s free, right? Why would you not want to accept this offer?
• Free booze. “Wine … without money and without price” (v. 2). Again, what’s not to like about this party?
• Guaranteed entrance. To get into this party, all you need to do is show up at the door! No bouncers are going to turn you away. “Come!” This word is used four times in the first three verses of the text. If you answer God’s call, accepting the divine invitation, you will not be turned away!

Lent is an invitation to a party, a party at which our hunger can be sated, our thirst can be quenched, and where we will not be turned away.

Of course, we might decide that we’re not interested. True, you may forever regret the decision. But, you say in your heart, right now is not convenient. It’s not the right time for me to be open about my faith; offer forgiveness; agree to make a fresh start; confess that I am unworthy; or get too religious.

You might check the box for “Regretfully Declines” because you have “other engagements.” You’re really a little too busy right now to get serious about faith and the practice of faith. You have other priorities.

You might go to bed each night with this prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise And that my analyst is wise

That all the wine I sip is white And that my hot tub’s watertight
That racquetball won’t get too tough That all my sushi’s fresh enough
I pray that my cell phone still works That my career won’t lose its perks
My microwave won’t radiate My condo won’t depreciate
I pray my health club doesn’t close And that my money market grows

If I go broke before I wake I pray my Lexus they won’t take.

“Other engagements” is a big problem, especially for those in the middle years of their lives. This is a time for sowing the seeds of future financial security; this is a time to be in the fields from dawn until dusk. We are very busy. And there’s little time left for God.

            And some of us might respond “Not Sure.”

Isaiah advises us to “seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (v. 6), to “return to the Lord … and to our God” (v. 7). This sounds like an intriguing offer. According to the Bible, if we accept, God will “have mercy” on us and will “abundantly pardon” us. In other words, this is an invitation to a fresh start, a new beginning.

Some of us like this idea — a lot. But we’re not sure. We’re saying to God, “Let me think about it for a while.” Or, we say “Maybe …” Whether or not I accept your gracious invitation sort of depends on circumstances. I’m in the middle of things right now, but I might get clarity soon, and when I do, I’ll be able to say whether I’m all in, or all out. I’m just not sure right now.

It’s normal to be cautious when making new commitments or accepting invitations. Whatever we RSVP, we want to honor it.

Choosing to RSVP to God by checking “Not Sure” is not necessarily a bad thing. It could mean simply that you’re taking stock of your life. You’re trying to decide what’s important in your life.

Cable-TV pioneer, social entrepreneur, author and venture philanthropist Bob Buford, writing in his book, Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, says that “for the second half of life to be better than the first, you must make the choice to step outside of the safety of living on autopilot. You must wrestle with who you are, why you believe what you profess to believe about your life, and what you do to provide meaning and structure to your daily activities and relationships.”

Many people struggle to define what’s important in life. They’re not sure. This is what’s so great about Lent. It’s a time to find out! Buford says we might ask ourselves the question, “What’s the one thing — not two things, not three, not four, but the one big thing — in the box?”

Jesus said, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). In other words, God is the one thing in the box; everything else will fall into place.

            “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk.” It’s a fabulous invitation. And there’s a guarantee that comes with it. When you RSVP “Joyfully Accepts,” God will not forget.

This is important, because sometimes wedding guests, for example, will forget to write their names on response cards, and the host doesn’t have a clue who has responded! Or the host may lose the card and be surprised when the guest appears.

But this doesn’t happen when we accept the invitation to God’s banquet! God knows who we are and invites us to attend the feast that’s been prepared for us “before the foundation of the world” — a feast featuring those from “every tribe and nation, language and people.”

So what will it be for you? Joyfully Accepts, Regretfully Declines, or Not Sure?