6 On this mountain,
the Lord of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples
a rich feast, a feast of choice wines,
of select foods rich in flavor,
of choice wines well refined.
7 He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples,
the shroud enshrouding all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever.
The Lord God will wipe tears from every face;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 They will say on that day,
“Look! This is our God,
for whom we have waited—
and he has saved us!
This is the Lord, for whom we have waited;
let’s be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
Reflection
Imagine waiting to get an invitation to the most amazing celebration ever to be held. It has mountain top vistas, the most delicious and satisfying food you’ve ever eaten all while sitting among people from every nation on earth. Sounds pretty exclusive. But this is just the beginning, wait until your host arrives. This will be the long awaited moment to celebrate God, with love, praise and joy for our salvation through Jesus Christ. With God, we will live in a new world of peace and love.
This is the vision the prophet Isaiah spoke of with hope to God’s people who had fallen away from following God’s laws, and were suffering and enslaved far from home. Isaiah promised a future time where all people who turned to God would be saved. Isaiah speaks of a new world where God offers the invitation of salvation to all people. Not just to Jews, but Gentiles also will be given the opportunity to be at God’s heavenly banquet.
In this new world God has destroyed death and raised us to new life. And together we rejoice, “This is our God!, let’s be glad and rejoice in God’s salvation.” Our God who loves us so deeply he has forgiven our sins, wiped away our tears and filled us with every good thing.
As disciples of Jesus we live in the Kin(g)-dom of God, in a time where we are both becoming, but not yet. We are redeemed by Christ, but human and we often fall short. But as John Wesley said, “we’re going on to perfection.” We’re being perfected in love by God’s sanctifying grace, as we follow Jesus’ example to proclaim the good news and serve God’s Kin(g)-dom with love.
By Jeneene Reduker
For Pondering & Prayer
Does the phrase “heavenly banquet” sound familiar? We speak of the “heavenly banquet” during communion, where our table is open to everyone.
The Pastor says: By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Despite everything we’ve been going through, are you able to celebrate the gift of salvation that you have received through Jesus? Have you praised God lately for God’s divine invitation to sit at the heavenly banquet? Today find some time to give thanks and praise God for all God has done. Ask God, “Lord, what do you want to do through me today?”
Prayer: Holy God, you are our God! You have saved us from sin and death through the sacrifice of your son Jesus. We rejoice in our salvation, and are embraced by your love as you wipe away our tears. Lord, help us to become perfect in your love to bring you glory. Amen.
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