Third
Sunday in Lent – Cycle C
Isaiah 55:1-9
Pastor
Gayle M. Pope
Come! Drink! Eat!
There’s an ad that runs on the radio a lot lately
where this woman keeps telling us we ought to go to Vegas for this free weekend
getaway. “Come on,” she says. “Vegas is calling. You know you want it. You know you deserve it.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want it
and I don’t really think I deserve it and I sure don’t believe it’s all
free. I’m sure there’s a catch like
having to listen to a three-hour, high pressure presentation for a time
share.
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,”
we’re told. And we know the truth of
that word by our own experience. Anything that’s free usually costs SOMEONE
something.
So, what’s all this talk about free beverages
and free food in the reading from Isaiah we heard this morning?
“Ho! Everyone who
thirsts,” says the Lord, speaking through the prophet. “Come
to the waters! And you that have no
money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price.”
What is the prophet talking about? Well, of
course, he’s not talking about literal
water and wine and milk. He’s talking about food to satisfy the hungering soul
and drink to quench the thirsting spirit – food and drink we couldn’t buy even if
we wanted to, but that God offers freely and abundantly to those who seek the
Lord.
The prophet was speaking to a people who
had been in exile for many years, but would soon be granted freedom to return
to their homeland. The Lord is giving them a Word of hope and anticipation of
promises fulfilled.
Perhaps after living in
Maybe they
had forgotten God and didn’t even realize they WERE hungry and thirsty. Maybe the words of the prophet had to first
awaken in them the hunger and thirst they had learned to ignore as they toiled
away at their everyday lives.
“Why do you spend
your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not
satisfy,” said the Lord, before pointing them toward the real feast.
“Listen carefully
to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” And what is that food? God’s
Word. “Incline your ear, and come
to me,” says the Lord. “Listen, so
that you may live.”
God was about to do a new thing. The nation of
“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.”
The God of
Today, hundreds and hundreds of years
later, God’s offer still stands. God’s promises to Israel HAVE been fulfilled
in Jesus Christ and extended to all the world. The Lord’s invitation to come, eat and drink
without cost is, for us today, an invitation to be fed and nourished by the
living Word of God – Jesus Christ – and through that Word, to receive life.
“The Table” – the worship service Trinity
Lutheran in
And this congregation – Christ Lutheran of Nauvoo –
has joined in that ministry by sharing your pastor’s time to preside at The
Table. In that way, we are connected.
The idea of The Table is to be a welcoming place
for people outside the congregation – people we don’t know and who don’t know
us – people who may not be comfortable in a traditional church service. The Table
is for anyone.
It doesn’t cost the people who come
anything, but it does cost the congregation of Trinity something in terms of a
financial commitment, and it does cost this congregation something in terms of
access to your pastor, which both congregations have been willing to make
without yet seeing the fruits.
And people ARE being fed at the Table –
just as the Lord intends. It’s a place
of nourishment for the soul. I feel
strengthened and encouraged every time I take part. It has been a joy to prepare for each week
and a joy to participate.
The only thing that’s missing is that we
would like to serve MORE people and, for that to happen, people need to hear
the invitation.
In our reading from Isaiah, God put his
word of invitation in the mouth of the prophet: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters!”
Someone needs to speak God’s invitation. So
that’s what I’m doing this morning. I’m
inviting anyone here who is thirsting and hungering for a closer relationship
with God to come to The Table if the Spirit is drawing you there.
Although The Table was designed with the 20
and 30-somethings in mind, it truly is for anyone. In fact, it may be that God
intends it as a place for those who are younger and older to meet together and
learn from and encourage one another. That is what I have seen happening.
But I’m not only here to speak the
invitation to you, I’m here to encourage YOU to speak God’s invitation as
well. Listen to the Spirit. Perhaps
there’s someone you know who God wants you to invite to The Table. Or, better yet, to BRING to The Table with
you.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are
they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear
without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they
are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good
news!’ ”
God needs your beautiful feet and beautiful
voices to proclaim his Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. This you can do in many ways – through your
job, in your families, to the people you meet on the street. You have many opportunities to share your
faith in Jesus.
But one way is to invite people to come and
hear that Word proclaimed in church – whether that be Sunday morning or
Wednesday night or at The Table Thursday nights.
As God’s Word strengthens and nourishes you
here this morning, may you be inspired by the Spirit to reach out and share
that good news with others when you go out from here into the world. Amen.