All of you who are thirsty, come to the water!
Whoever has no money, come, buy food and eat!
Without money, at no cost, buy wine and milk!
Why spend money for what isn’t food,
and your earnings for what doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me and eat what is good;
enjoy the richest of feasts.
Listen and come to me;
listen, and you will live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful loyalty to David.
Look, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a prince and commander of peoples.
Look, you will call a nation you don’t know,
a nation you don’t know will run to you
because of the Lord your God,
the holy one of Israel, who has glorified you.
Seek the Lord when he can still be found;
call him while he is yet near.
Let the wicked abandon their ways
and the sinful their schemes.
Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,
to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.
Reflection
Who doesn’t enjoy a delicious meal shared with good friends? It’s no wonder that throughout the scriptures, for example, in Isaiah and many of Jesus’ parables, the beginning of the new age is painted as a feast. Specifically, it’s described as a wedding banquet, symbolizing the union of God and humanity in a brand-new reality that is nothing but blessing.
We know the simple pleasure of this kind of party. A celebratory meal is an opportunity to take a few hours “off” – to connect with family and friends, eat something you didn’t have to cook and get up to dance knowing you don’t have to clear the table.
For us, the biggest problem with these events is that we tend to stuff ourselves! It’s no fun to attend a wedding on a diet. But consider how this image came across to people who were chronically hungry, as most were in ancient times. Here was a promise not just of enough, but far too much, and far better fare than the vast majority ever saw on their tables. It’s hard for most of us to understand what a radical, life-giving promise this was.
When you are hungry, the promise of good food is not something to be taken lightly. It’s everything.
For Pondering & Prayer
Did you ever consider whether having all we have actually numbs us to some of God’s promises?
If you were to paint a picture of the coming of God’s reign and rule over the earth, what image would you use? A wedding? Something else? Who would be in the picture?
Comments are closed.