Meditation on Isaiah 25:1-9
***
O Lord, you are my
God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name;for you have done wonderful
things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the
city a heap, the fortified city a ruin the palace of aliens is a city
no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will
glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have
been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter
from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was
like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you
subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless
was stilled.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
***
I kept the Isaiah
reading close to my heart this week as I visited and spoke with people who were
suffering with illness or struggling with pain after surgery.
Isaiah speaks of the Lord we can always count on—the one who has done
wonderful things in the past—and has plans for us for our future, plans “formed of old, faithful and sure.” Listen
to what Isaiah says. Our God is a “refuge
to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress.” He is a “shelter” from the storm. This God does
not desire us to be in pain—or to be frightened by an illness or disease. In the coming age, when we are with
God on His Holy Mountain, God will destroy “the shroud”—the garment of the dead.
He will destroy the shroud that is “cast
over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations.” Because there will be no more death. Isaiah
tells us our “(God) will swallow up death
forever.”
He assures us that all of the sorrow and
suffering we experience in this world will come to an end! This Lord who hears
every person when we cry will “wipe away
the tears from all faces.”
On the Holy Mountain, God is preparing for
our eternal life with Him in the world to come. Just as Jesus in the Gospel of
John tells us that He is going to prepare a place for his disciples in His
Father’s house of many rooms, the God who speaks through the prophet Isaiah is
preparing a place for us—but on the Holy Mountain, where all people will be invited to a great feast. Isn’t that wonderful!
No one will be excluded! No one will go hungry in the Kingdom of God!
And the Lord will feed us even more
sumptuously than the “daily bread” he faithfully provides in this world. We will be feasting with God! And
if we wait on the Lord—if we wait and hope and pray—one day we will see our God
face to face on the Holy Mountain, and we will say, “This is the Lord for
whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
***
While our reading in Isaiah provides comfort
and hope for the discouraged—balm for the wounds of the afflicted—the Matthew reading
is a bit disturbing. At first, one might wonder why the two passages are even
linked as lectionary readings. On the surface, they seem to have only one thing
in common—they are both about the Kingdom of God; both speak of the feast that
will be prepared and waiting for God’s people.
The passage in Matthew 22 is a warning for unbelievers to accept and
respond to God’s invitation to life in His Kingdom. There is no other way to be
saved! This invitation comes to us through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This
passage is also a wake up call for believers who may have become spiritually
lazy and have begun to take God’s gracious and merciful salvation for granted.
This message is for the person who doesn’t wish to change and certainly doesn’t
want to be changed by the Spirit. It
is for the Christian who is no longer living by faith, no longer living in
obedience and submission to the Lord.
In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the Pharisees and the chief priests the
parable of the wedding feast—how the king sends out his slaves to invite them
to His Son’s wedding banquet. The king tells the slaves to say to “the guests,”
“Look! I’ve got my dinner ready; my bulls and fatted calves have been killed;
everything is prepared. Come to the wedding!”
But the people don’t come. They take no notice of the slaves; they go
off to their farms and see about their businesses. Some actually attack and kill the king’s slaves!
The king responds by sending his soldiers to kill those who murdered his slaves
and burn down their city.
Then the king sends out his slaves once more to invite people to his
son’s wedding feast. This time, he sends them to the roads leading out of town—bringing
in both the “good and the bad.” Finally, the wedding banquet is filled. But not
everyone belongs there. One man, for example, is not wearing a wedding suit. When
the king questions him about it, he is speechless. The king has the man thrown
out into the darkness, “where people weep and grind their teeth.” And the
disturbing parable ends with Jesus saying, “Many are called, but few are
chosen.”
***
Friends, how should we interpret this confusing and complicated story? What
can we learn from this to apply to our lives today?
Who are the ones who haven’t accepted the king’s invitation—or have
actually killed the slaves sent by the king? Is it upsetting to you that the king
rejects a man who does come, but is improperly clothed? And what does Jesus mean
when he says, “Many are called, but few are chosen”?
Some of you may be thinking right now, “How do I know if I am called AND
chosen? Will I be welcomed at the heavenly banquet table—to the feast with
God?”
Let us remember that this is a parable—an allegory—a symbolic story with
a moral lesson, not to be taken literally. The wedding feast—the heavenly
banquet with the Lord—is the Kingdom of God, the same as God’s feast on the
Holy Mountain in Isaiah. And we can be assured that Isaiah’s God is the same
loving God in the Gospel of Matthew. He is the same God who sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to show us the way back to Him—and ultimately to die for our sins.
And the question of the garment?
Is there a garment we need for the wedding feast—for our lives in God’s
Kingdom? The answer is, “Yes, there is a garment, but we already have it if we
have our faith in Jesus Christ.”
Our garment is the righteousness of God—a gift to us through the work of
Christ on the cross for our sakes—because we have no righteousness on our own. This
garment of righteousness is something we must remember to wear every day! As
the apostle Paul teaches, we must clothe
ourselves with Christ.
Finally, the parable of the wedding feast reminds us that life in God’s
Kingdom requires more than just belief; it requires a faith that is lived
out—in obedience to the King—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have to
listen for God’s voice and respond in faith—and not be distracted by the things
of this world—our jobs, school, families and leisure time activities. Even the
suffering and pain of illness and loss can distract us from hearing God’s
voice—and keep us from remembering God’s wonderful deeds in the past. Don’t let
your sorrow and pain stop you from believing in His promises for the future—his
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Don’t let anything in this world steal your joy. Trust in the God who is our “refuge”
in our distress. Our “shelter” in the storm.
Let go of your fears for your
salvation and let God wrap His loving arms around you. Hear Him whisper that you are His own.
Hold onto your faith in the God on the Holy Mountain—the One who is
preparing for all people a sumptuous
feast. Hold onto the picture of the God who will wipe away the tears of all faces.
Wait on the Lord! Wait and hope and
pray! For one day we will see God, face to face. And on that day, we will say,
“This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and
rejoice in his salvation.”
Let us pray.
Dear God of the Holy Mountain,
thank you for your love! Thank you for preparing a sumptuous feast for us—and
for all your promises for the future, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Thank you for making a way for us to be reconciled with you through your Son,
Jesus Christ—for forgiving us when we might be tempted to take our salvation
for granted and not appreciate what you have done. Take away the suffering and
pain of our loved ones. Help us to persevere through the trials that might
threaten to steal our joy and faith. Help us listen for your voice, respond to
your invitation, and rejoice in our salvation. Help us to be patient and wait
on you, Lord, so that we will see you someday, face to face. In Christ we pray.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment