Free Food?!?

Isaiah 55:1-11 (click link to read passage)

Take a moment – close your eyes – and think of the best family meal time you can remember. Maybe it was during a holiday celebration. Maybe it was a birthday. Maybe it was at a reunion. What is the best memory you have of a meal with your family?

Now answer this question: how much did you pay for that meal? My guess is – it was free – and it was more satisfying than any meal you’ve paid good money for.

My meal memories swirl around Christmas, when uncles, aunts and cousins from far away would come. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the fresh bowl of chilled shrimp; I can still hear the loud sounds of kids playing and adults laughing. Those are some of my most treasured memories, and they surrounded a meal – not one bought at a store, or one that came in a package – but a meal that only existed because of the people who gathered around it.

The same image is present in the passage from Isaiah. This word of hope is coming to a people who are in exile in a foreign land. They are in crisis, and in times of crisis, often people return to the things that matter – to family, to friends, to relying on a community of others.

As I listened to the news on the radio this morning on my way into church, there was a report about the incredible suffering in Japan. One man who was interviewed had a very stoic and realistic approach, however – he said, “this is the time you return to the things that matter.” Japan’s economy is faltering. Money isn’t useful if the stores aren’t open. But the houses of neighbors, family, and friends are always open.

So maybe you can hear those opening words of Isaiah 55 a little differently now – “everyone who thirsts – come to the waters – and you that have no money – come buy and eat!” This is about family – God’s family – where the meals and the grace are always free.

Prayer: God of love, you invite us to step out of our consumer mindset to recognize that you don’t charge us for your gifts. Help us to humbly receive, and freely share the amazing life you have provided. Amen.