The Third Sunday of Lent 2023

We began the season of Lent with the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.  This week we encounter Israel on their wilderness journey asking the question, “Is God here with us, or not?”  That is the question we really want an answer to.  In the midst of suffering, disappointment, and loss, in the midst of a broken and divided world, in the face of evil and sin, war and disaster, “Is God with us, or not?”  Israel wasn’t really concerned with the origin of evil or the problem suffering.  In the midst of their wilderness wanderings these were not philosophical questions.  They simply wanted to know, is this God we trust, this God who led us to freedom through the sea, this God who speaks through Moses, is this God still with us?  When all the evidence says something to the contrary, can we count on God, trust God, lean on God?  "Is God with us, or not?"