Friday 04 April 2008
- Bible Book:
- Isaiah
"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 for ever. 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'". (v.6-9)
Background
Isaiah gives us a vision of God's kingdom - a prefiguring of thesalvation offered in the long-awaited Messiah (who Christiansbelieve is Jesus Christ). It is a picture which can be looked at interms of an unburdening - a relief.
Relief from need
The feast is a common biblical image. In days when food wasregularly scarce and people lived with the possibility of hungerand starvation, a feast was a time of joy and plenty. It was a timeof relief from the threat of poverty and hunger. In Isaiah's time(and still in many cultures today) a feast was a more intimatecommunal activity than we might imagine. People would share fromlarge central dishes, passing food on to others, rather than havetheir own separate plates of food. God's feast is one in which allpeople are invited to share.
This feast symbolises the fulfilment of all our aching needs anddesires. Those who live without love or acceptance, those who livelives of physical and emotional suffering and poverty - all are tobe filled to overflowing with healing, joyous love.
Relief from the fear of death
"The shroud" that will be lifted from the earth is the shroud ofdeath. There will be nothing to separate us from God. We will findourselves at home with God in eternity. We will be relieved of thenagging awareness of our human mortality and the ominous ticking oftime that tends to settle somewhere in the back of our minds.
Relief from disgrace
This will bring us relief from our feelings of unworthiness andrelief from guilt. Our sins will be wiped clean and we will have noneed to hide any part of ourselves from others or from God.
For Isaiah these things will only happen in the future, but withthe life, death and resurrection of Jesus, Christians believe thatthese can happen today and everyday.
To Ponder
What in your life do you feel you need relieffrom?
What can we do to make our earthly lives morelike the Lord's feast?