Sermon, Sunday, 7 March 2010 -- Drink!

Isaiah 55:1-9
Ho, everyone who thirsts, 
    
come to the waters; 
and you that have no money, 
     
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk 
     
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money 
     
for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which 
     
does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, 
     
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me; 
     
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant, 
     
my steadfast, sure love for David. 

See, I made him a witness to the peoples, 
     
a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
     
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, 
     
for he has glorified you.
Seek the Lord while he may be found, 
     
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way, 
     
and the unrighteous their thoughts; 

let them return to the Lord, 
     
that he may have mercy on them, 
and to our God, 
     
for he will abundantly pardon. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
     
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 
     
so are my ways higher than your ways 
     
and my thoughts than your thoughts.




Drink!

I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon though certainly I hope that I’ll see it someday.  I understand though that there in the humidity-free heat there are signs that remind people of the need to hydrate which evidently say “Stop! Drink water! You are thirsty, whether you realize it or not!”

And so it might be, this Lent, that we could see the same signs posted along our spiritual journeys:  “Stop! Drink water! You are thirsty, whether you realize it or not!”  And those signs could very well have been posted by the author of our passage from Isaiah this morning.

Six hundred years before Jesus, most of the citizens of Judah were in exile, living in Babylon after the Babylonian Empire came through and destroyed Jerusalem.  And those Jewish exiles were at a crux in history.  They could have stayed in Babylon and just dissolved into the population there.  Or they could hope and pray for a return to Jerusalem.  Many of them were settling in quite nicely in Babylon.  Some of the men had taken Babylonian wives.  Some were worshiping foreign gods there away from the center of their worship.  Some had never seen Jerusalem, having been born in Babylon.  In fact, those who remembered the old days were indeed old themselves.

Into this mix comes the prophet who wrote the words we heard today.  Most scholars agree that the book of Isaiah is actually the work of at least two, perhaps three, prophets.  One, whose name was indeed Isaiah, wrote the first part of the book, prior to the fall of Jerusalem.   He warned of impending doom and was, appropriately so, rather a downer.   The remainder of the book, from which our scriptures were taken this morning, was written to the exiles, after the fall of Jerusalem, encouraging hope, reminding them that they are not home, helping them to look forward to a better day.

Food without price?  Wine and milk for free?  Anyone can have their thirst quenched.  It sounds really good, doesn’t it?  It is indeed something to look forward to, something to keep you going.

God’s going to give you whatever you need.  God’s going to provide.  God’s going to hand out food and drink for all.  And it’s good food--we’re not talking about USDA surplus here.  Fine food and good wine is promised to those who are living in exile.

But did you notice the catch?  Did you hear the question in the middle of it?  It almost slips by without getting noticed, but ignoring it takes away the very core of this passage.  The author asks, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”  As I said, that sentence almost speeds by, but put on the brakes a second and let’s think about that question for a moment.

Why are you wasting your money on junk food?  Those chips aren’t really going to assuage your need for nutrition. you know.  They may fill you up, but it’s not the food you need--not that food that will full allay your hunger.  “Stop! Drink water! You’re thirsty, whether you realize it or not.” 

What exile do you find yourself in?  What empire is holding you hostage?  And how are you trying to feed your spiritual hunger?  Sometimes we’re trapped by circumstances; circumstances of racism or sexism or heterosexism or materialism.  Those empires hold mighty sway in our culture among others of course.  But empires they are and they hold many in exile from their homeland.  And we who find ourselves in exile look longingly at a better day wondering where the prophets are who will give us the hope that our author of Isaiah gave to those fellow exiles all those centuries ago.

It seems wrong to be asking exiles why they aren’t going for the good food and quenching their thirst with water that really does slake.  Don’t they have enough troubles; enough on their minds already?   Don’t we have enough troubles; enough on our minds already? 

“You’re thirsty, whether you realize it or not.”

From the confines of our exilic empires, we may not even recognize that we are yearning for food; filling, nutritious food.  Yet deep within us is that ache that craves for the food that God offers, for free.  That ache isn’t going to be filled with the offerings of our culture.  We can’t count on the world to fill that void we feel.  We can’t rely on the offerings of society to truly replenish the lack we feel down in the depths of our souls.

So we turn to God to provide, if we are smart and can pull ourselves away from the shiny offerings that are dangled before us.  And God doesn’t charge.  God gives away all this good stuff without asking for a penny.  That doesn’t sound like the capitalist system that has us in thrall at all.  That goes contrary to everything we’ve learned, doesn’t it?  You pay for what you get.  If it’s free, it’s not worth anything so don’t bother with it.

But that’s so often God’s way--contrary to what we’ve heard and known all our lives; going against the grain of our culture.  The good stuff is free!  That which you’re paying top dollar for isn’t worth a thing.

“Stop! Drink water! You’re thirsty, whether you realize it or not!”

We’re so taken sometimes by that which is offered to us, we miss that God is right there, offering the things we really, truly need.  And all we have to do is show up.  All we have to do is be there.  It’s not even a case of being at the right place at the right time.  It’s just a matter of turning away from the attractiveness of the chips and satisfying the deep, deep hunger and thirst that God can quench.

This Lent, as you journey toward the cross of Good Friday, spend some time identifying your deepest hungers and thirsts.  You’ll likely find that indeed, you are thirsty, whether you realize it or not.