For many years I have longed to preach on the text for today (“You shall be like a watered garden” Isaiah 58:11) and now I have! Below is the audio of the sermon, and below that is the text – they are not identical but similar; things just happen once in the pulpit.

“You shall be like a watered garden” – Isaiah 58:11
When in Philadelphia we lived in a three story row home in Center City; the third floor gave access to a tiny deck and on this deck, year after year, we (well really Wendy) decided to grow tomato plants. The pots, the soil, the plants were laboriously hauled upstairs. With tender and expert care Wendy prepared the soil and planted the tomatoes; so far all was good. But then… came the watering. Not so easy… unless we had guests we rarely used the third floor, there was no water supply on the deck and so annually the product was withered, dry, sun-seared plants.
Ah, but not so now. The plants now sit on our deck, we cannot overlook them and, thank God, the water supply is close at hand. So, guess what… at last we eat the fruit of our labors.

“You shall be like a watered garden” – Isaiah 58:11

In these recent weeks we have all known what it is to look for shade, to enjoy cool breezes and to be thankful for rain (so much so that a loving parishioner, with a twinkle in his eye, presented me with this contraption to help keep me “watered”).
But this experience we know will pass; more profound are those experiences of arid dryness when our souls seem bereft of the awareness of God, our hearts seem incapable of love and our minds struggle to be creative and imaginary. In these psychic situations we ache to be “like a watered garden”, and in such predicaments God promises “to forgive sins, heal infirmities, satisfy with good things and… renew our strength” (Psalm 103:3-5).

1-2 O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

“You shall be like a watered garden” – Isaiah 58:11

Transformation, Attention, Production

Transformation – Isaiah 58:10-11

“Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones”

Professor C.S. Lewis was once told he was not much of an advertisement for Christianity; his reply? “You should have seen me before I was a Christian”. It is all about transformation, process, journey. Even our classic concept “Salvation” has three tenses in Scripture – I have been, I am being, and I will be… saved!

Attention – Isaiah 58:11

“You will be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry”

From bitter experience, Wendy and I learned that plants need constant attention – protection, pruning and watering. Hebrews 12:11 “You have come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. You have come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God”.
During World War II and the London Blitz, an ARP Air-Raid Warden was surprised to discover an elderly woman asleep on a park bench during an air-raid. When he woke her, he expressed his surprise at her calmness. “Well” she said “the Psalm 121 tells us the Lord neither slumber nor sleeps… and I don’t see why both of us need stay awake”. Divine constant attention.

Production – Isaiah 58:12

“You will use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again”

In the economy of God nothing is wasted – no ruins of stone and, more especially, no ruins of the experiences (though sad, wretched and poignant) of our lives. Yes, this is true… Luke 9:17 “and the fragments were taken up, twelve baskets in all”.
In the economy of God, no breach is irreparable, no fracture need remain broken, no animosity reign forever.
This is the gorgeous production, harvest of the “watered garden” that God promises will describe our lives… in process.

John 7:37 “On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says”.

Here is the miracle… if you thirst, says Jesus, come and drink… come and sit, come and pray, come and feast, come and serve. AMEN