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Engaging with Scripture and God this Week Readings (Lent 1 )

Isaiah 55:1-9 invites exiles living outside of Judah in the sixth century B.C.E., at the dawn of Persian rule, to uproot themselves, move to a land their generation never knew, and reclaim their ancestral home. The image of Judah’s land as one “flowing with milk and honey” (see Deuteronomy 26:9) is implicit in this invitation. In the book of Proverbs, Woman Wisdom speaks very similarly, preparing her food, setting her table, and sending her servant girls to fetch the ignorant, saying, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight” (Proverbs 9:5-6).

Psalm 63:1-8.  The psalmist seeks the Lord in whose presence there is sufficiency and contentment.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13.  In this reading, Paul looks back to the great events of the Exodus story and sees lessons for contemporary Christians. Some disciples apparently believed that participation in baptism and the Eucharist would automatically prevent sin and excuse them from judgment. Paul suggests that the passing of the Israelites through the sea and the food and water they received in the wilderness can be understood as types of the Christian sacraments. Yet the Israelites still committed sin and fell into condemnation.

Luke 13:1-9.  In our gospel, Jesus uses two contemporary disasters and a parable of his own to stress the need for repentance.

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