come to the waters;
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.
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.
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. --Isaiah 55:1-13 (NRSV)
I don’t know if you’re like me, but in the middle of last year’s lockdown I watched - Clarification! - I binge-watched a lot of TV. And I mean a lot. It’s kind of dangerous, I think. Having this access to TV shows and movies and all the other stuff we can now stream whenever we want.
As we’ve come out of hibernation, the quantity of stuff I’ve been watching has diminished a lot. But, one thing that has kept my attention is YouTube. I continue to follow several YouTube channels. A few on the topic of minimalism. (Yes, it’s true!) A few on tiny houses - making plans for my retirement home whenever and wherever that might be. And, then there are the three channels about van life.
One of these three is a channel documenting the exploits of a young Canadian couple from Toronto named Eamon and Bec. They live out of a converted Sprinter van. (I feel a beatnik vibe coming on!) And they travel all over the world in this van, meeting new people, eating great food, having the most amazing experiences. Their videos are just one adventure after the other. To be honest, I probably live a little vicariously through them.
Right now, they are in Morocco. The last video they posted was of a local Moroccan street food market in Marrakesh. Every day at around 4p, as people are leaving work, this food market pops up out of nowhere. Within an hour there are over 100 stalls of every kind of food you can imagine. It’s a crazy and joyful and abundant scene, made even more entertaining by the barking of the food vendors. As they’re trying to capture people’s attention, trying to get them to come to their stall. Trying to convince them that the food they have is better than any other stall in the market. Can’t you hear the merchant cries in your imagination? “Come!! Come! Buy! Eat here!” The merchant invites us in.
But the merchant crying out in our Isaiah text isn’t selling anything. Shockingly, he’s giving it away. Charging nothing for the person who really wants a drink. Or for the person who’s hungry. “Come, buy without money!” he cries. Surely not something we would ever hear on the streets of Marrakesh. Or on the streets of Louisville.
But it’s an invitation in. An invitation by God into something new. And different. An extension of covenant with David. When we think covenant, we probably remember that covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai. Remember? If you will be faithful to me I will be faithful to you. But, this is something different. Something new. A reinterpretation of the covenant God made with David - that David’s dynasty would last forever. It’s an unconditional covenant. No more “if you do this,” “I’ll do this” kind of covenant. But a promise that is entirely one-sided. Made by God.
And, even more powerfully, this covenant is not only for God’s chosen people. But, as we read in verse 5, it is a broadening of the covenant that will include all people. That will invite all people in.
God’s speech is interrupted briefly in verse 6 with a call from the prophet. “Seek the Lord,” he cries. Not by offering sacrifice. Instead, this is a more internal turning to God. A gift of the heart. Of the self. God, who is all merciful, looks for true seekers. For people who hunger and thirst for God. “Seek the Lord!” the prophet interrupts.
Then God returns in verse 8 with a statement that God’s thoughts and ways are radically different from those of human beings. And that, when God speaks, God’s word is creative and effective. Just as the rain, that falls to the earth and brings life.
This entire chapter is an invitation to the exiles. It’s an invitation to us. To come home. To come home to a God who promises abundance and deep forgiveness. To come home to a God who promises to be there. Waiting. And faithful. With a plan to make everything whole again.
Are you hurting? Are you in pain? Are you grieving? Are you thirsty? Or hungry? Or lost? This is God’s message and invitation:
I have a place for you.
Come to the waters of baptism.
Come to the feast of the Eucharist.
Eat and drink only the best.
Fill yourself with only the finest.
Come closer now.
Listen carefully to my life-giving, life nourishing words.
I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
The same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.
I have a plan.
I’m about to do a new thing.
Because when my Word goes out
--when my life-giving, life-nourishing Word goes out--
He will not come back empty-handed.
He will do the work I sent him to do.
He will complete the assignment I gave him.
This Word made flesh. For you.
Amen.
Advent 3
Readings: Isaiah 55:1-13; John 4:13-14
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