March 27, 2022 Lectionary Texts — Year C
Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
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My first wool sweater which I purchased as an adult was a fun bright pink number. Not having grown up with wool, I had no idea how to care for or store it. I was quite disappointed to pull the sweater from my closet one day only to find a series of tiny holes had been chewed in the shoulder. Moths.

As I have been reflecting on the moth as metaphor, I found myself asking: How do moths chew?

The answer is: They don’t. It is only in the caterpillar stage that these creatures consume. Once they transform into winged beings, they are only able to suck things like nectar or some species don’t eat or drink anything. There is a marked change in consumption – a fact that ties this week to the passage in Joshua as well as the story of the prodigal son.

Once the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, they stopped consuming manna. They were now able to feast on honey and the sweet nectar of the land’s abundant fruit and produce. In the case of the prodigal son, he went from being hungry and contemplating the food thrown to the pigs to dining on the fattened calf.

In the passage from 2 Corinthians, we also have imagery of transformation and change. Through Christ, we are new creations — a new life has begun. This allows the image of the moth to be a symbol for us also. We too have and/or will experience profound change in our faith walk.

As you reflect on the image this week and read the texts, think back on your own journey and experience…
Where have you experienced a change in who you are or who you understand yourself to be?
Can you think of a time when you felt a definite shift?
Have your consumption habits changed in any way? (this could be anything related to your eating, drinking, what you read or watch, the people you spend time with, the ways you practice self-care and soul-care)

I will teach you and tell you the way to go and how to get there; I will give you good counsel, and I will watch over you. — Psalm 32:8