Lenten Meditation Week One: God Calls Us To Him

“Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard”   Isaiah 5:1 (New Revised Standard Version)

Let’s start with the very first thing: God wants us to know Him better.  He therefore reaches out to invite us into more fruitful relationship with Him. 

He did so here through the prophet Isaiah. And He did it through two particularly powerful media: song and imagery that those in an agricultural society could all understand.  God really wanted the folks He was addressing to "get it."

We’ll see in this week’s readings that this was not an isolated incident.  God  repeatedly invites us to know Him better.  He does that—and does it so many times—because He wants to share his goodness with and through us.

So how do we respond?  In two ways.

First, listen for Him.  Turn off  the TV, the radio, the computer, the tablet, the MP3 player so you can focus on Him.  Read scripture and then think about what you’ve read, not just then, but throughout the day as you do mindless tasks or have otherwise dead time.  That gives you the chance to hear God. I guarantee what you hear from Him will be far better than whatever would have come from your device. More on this can be found at Filling in the Spaces and this video on lectio divina.

Second, keep the device turned off and talk to God. Ask Him to help you focus on Him; it isn’t always easy, so you’ll need His help. It may take a few minutes, but He will respond if you keep after Him. Ask Him to show you things from the scripture you read that day that you didn’t “get” before. Again, do that throughout the day as you have empty time (while you are driving is a great time for this). It will be worth the effort.

OK, enough commentary.  Here are some of the many passages where God reaches out to draw us to Him:

Proverbs 1:20-23;   8:1-11, 17, 32-36    9:1-6

Matthew 7:7-11

Mark 4:7, 18-19  (by negative example)

Luke 18:1-8

John 7:37-39

James 1:5-6  and Proverbs 2:1-6