We’ve all seen them, the offers that look too good to be true.
- Earn $3,750 per week from your sofa!!!
- Brand new top-of-the-range phone for only $5 per month!!!
- Free cheese!!!
Yeah, right. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
But while our hyper-connected world of WhatsApp and Insta-everything gives scammers longer arms these days, the human desire to ‘get rich quick’ is nothing new. In Acts 8 we read about Simon of Samaria who was impressed when he saw the Holy Spirit coming upon new believers when Peter and John laid hands on them.
The perfect addition to my divination business, he thought and pulled the apostles to one side. “How much to buy into the franchise?” he asked. “I’ve got the readies right here.” He lifted a suspiciously lumpy holdall. “And have you considered BitDenarius? I can get you 140% growth on your investment, guaranteed!”
Peter was having none of it. “May your money perish with you!” he yelled. “You think you can buy the gift of God with money?” and he hit the ‘Delete and Report Spam’ button on his phone.
If it looks too good to be true …
But what if the offer is from God? Isaiah speaks God’s words in chapter 55. “Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Really? A free lunch? Pull the other one, God. We’ve all watched the Martin Lewis Money Show. You don’t get something for nothing.
That’s true, if it’s a one-time, special offer, you’ve won a car, just enter your bank details to release the prize. But …
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26)
So, yes. A free lunch.
“What’s the catch?” we say.
We are conditioned by our fallen nature, our broken world, our hurts and disappointments to look for a catch. And if we can’t find one, we often invent one. That’s where religion comes in. Yep, some form of organisation is useful, and the importance of oversight and accountability has been highlighted recently, but a lot of what we think God wants is stuff we’ve invented as payment for this free lunch. And we dress it in robes and say it’s from God when really, it was us.
Jesus had a bit of a go at the religious folks of his day for doing this, inventing stuff to pay for lunch. Not bad stuff, you understand. Good stuff. (Jesus did the religious stuff like tithing and fasting, too.) But as always, it’s the why, not the what.
Reading our Bibles, going to church, being on the PCC (Lord, have mercy!). All good things, but do we think God will loves us less if we don’t do them, or more if we do? Putting food in the food bank, fasting during Lent, volunteering to run the youth group – again, all great stuff, but are we trying to pay for lunch? It’s wise to check our whys occasionally.
God simply invites us to sit and eat with him. It’s not a tit-for-tat arrangement. It’s not like getting enough stamps on your loyalty card to earn a free burger and chips. It’s an invitation into relationship. “Just come,” says God. “Doesn’t matter that you can’t pay.”
In fact, not being able to pay is the whole point.
Hear, everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
The truth is, God loves you whether you read your Bible or not (‘though it’s good to read it). God loves you if you pray six hours a day or only remember when something bad happens (somewhere in the middle is prob best).
God loves you because God loves you and that’s it. Full stop. He’s just nice like that.
So put your wallet away and tuck in to the free lunch. No trap. No catch.
Liturgy Resources for Lent 3
Isaiah 55:1-9
Confession and Absolution
Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Lord, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Call upon him while he is near.
Christ, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy.
let the wicked forsake their way
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Lord, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
let us return to the Lord,
that he may have mercy on us,
and to our God
for he will abundantly pardon.
May the Lord of all mercy
wash us clean from our sin
and restore us in his likeness
to live with him and with each other
in peace and joy for ever.
Amen.
Blessing and Dismissal
May you seek the Lord and find him.
May you call upon the Lord and be heard.
May you come to the Lord hungry and be filled.
May you come thirsty and find living water.
And the blessing …
Go now to live for the one
whose thoughts are higher than your thoughts
whose way are higher than your ways,
to be blessed and to be a blessing.
Amen.
The Reflectionary 