Listen here.
We are working our way through the Time of the Church, that long
season of the Church year goes through the whole summer and almost up to winter.
If you are in a liturgical church, it is probably decorated in green – a color
that symbolizes life and growth. The green paraments are to remind us that
Jesus gives us life and that we are still growing through the work of the Holy
Spirit in the Word and Sacraments. This Sunday is the 9th Sunday
after Pentecost, and our Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah
55:1-5. I will read it from the English Standard Version translation.
It is not too
difficult to imagine a scene in a market place where vendors are trying to get
your attention to come and see what they have to offer. This reading has a
similar tone. It is as if God were inviting us to buy from Him. But what is He
selling and at what cost? Well, the cost is simple – it is free. God makes His
offer as a free gift. So what is the food and drink He is selling? It is His
Word and Promise. Notice that He says to listen diligently, incline your ear,
and hear.
God’s Word both gives and sustains life – and not only
physical life, but spiritual life. Just as all people are born dead in
trespasses and sins, all who receive God’s Word have new life and the
nourishment that sustains it. And it is a free gift! Well, it is free to us,
because Jesus paid the price for us when He died on the cross. Which is what
this reading points forward to, that God would make a new covenant with His
people - a covenant of grace established in Jesus’ blood which will be for all
people – even nations you do not know.
The question God asks in v. 2 are pertinent to us even
today. “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which does not satisfy?” This is similar to Jesus’ question, “What
good is it if a man gains the whole world and yet forfeits his soul?” It has
been said that if you want to see a person’s priorities look at where she
spends her money. Additionally the things we are willing to work for show what
we value as well. We would do well to look at where we spend our money and
energy. Are we investing in God’s kingdom or are we serving a different purpose?
God’s invitation remains for us to receive freely from Him all of His blessings
of faith, forgiveness, and everlasting life, and the great impact these things
have on our earthly lives. When we find that our priorities do not value God’s
gifts, we do well to repent and come back and receive the forgiveness that God
freely gives for Jesus’ sake.
We should also note the evangelistic tone of this message.
Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost, and here we find God
calling out to passersby to receive His food and drink for free. The thought
that those gifts would go to the nations would, undoubtedly, have been a
challenging idea for the Jews who first read this prophecy, yet here we see
that God desires for all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the
truth – that is that God in His loving mercy gave His Son to die to pay for the
sins of all people and saves all who believe in Jesus.
This evangelistic tone impacts us, too. We are people who
have received God’s drink and food. We have eaten from God’s Word and received
His life. This causes us to desire others to have the good gifts we enjoy, and
we are free to call out to others with God to say, “Come!” Come and receive the
refreshing salvation Jesus has won for us.
Prayer
O God, You invite all people to come to You and receive Your
Word which feeds and sustains us in the new life we have in Christ. We thank You
that You call out to all people and that Your salvation is free and available
to all who will receive it by faith. Forgive us for valuing things of this
earth more highly than we do Your gifts. Feed us again, and help us to always
hunger for the food You give in Your Word and Sacraments. We pray in Jesus’
name. Amen.
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