"I Can't Get no Satisfaction"Isaiah 55:1-9
In these verses from the Prophet Isaiah, he is bringing his prophetic word to a triumphant close. He is speaking his final word. This final word is for the consolation and comfort of the people of Israel. The time of FORGIVENESS has finally come! Relief! Healing! Freedom! Liberation has come to the people of Israel! The prophet addresses a people facing the transition from old to new. From the burden of bondage to the freedom of liberation! Having been forcibly removed to Babylon, the prophet calls them to abandon life in Babylon for a risky journey "back" to Judah. Very few of them have ever seen Judah, and the path is forbidding, full of mystery and the unknown. What does God have in store for those who will journey on the way? And now the Prophet says...
Edwards: Jesus would be 'appalled'
This from a man who lives in a 250,000 square foot home! Can you imagine decorating this home! The paint choices – the fixture choices! I would like to back up a bit....put our message in reverse. There are similarities with the people of Israel here in this text in connection with the story about presidential hopeful John Edwards. It is this – hypocrisy – living the lavish life – not really wanting to leave it behind for the good of the greater community! The Israelites had been in slavery in Babylon. They were strangers and exiles in Babylon. But it isn't the same kind of image that we have of living in slavery. It isn't the same image of slavery we have heard today in our contemporary reading about the freeing of the slaves on Amistad. The Israelites had bought into the consumption, the lavishness, the consumerism, the materialism of Babylon. Many of the Israelites living in and among the people of Babylon had accumulated great wealth and established lucrative businesses. The people had taken on the practices and habits of the Babylonians, of those who had conquered them. BUT these practices and habits were in contrast to what their God had wanted from them. And in their lavish consumption they had lost sight of the hope of their own land and in the hope of liberation. In their lavish consumerism they had lost sight of that which is really important – an intimate relationship with their God. But the message is clear from the prophet. The people of Israel living a lavish life in Babylon still sensed an emptiness....they were not finding fulfillment in the getting of things – material possessions. Their spirits, their hearts, their souls were still aching with hunger and thirsting pains! They remained UNSATISFIED! I think of so many of the news stories we have recently heard of people who seem to have it all, and yet, seem so unhappy, seem so hungry and thirsty for meaning and purpose and love. Who can't seem to find SATISFACTION! Brittney Spears & Anna Nichole to name a few & Michael Jackson – they have all that their millions can buy and yet seem to have so little true internal peace, joy and happiness. Our environment – global warming – bigger homes that take more energy – status cars get bigger and bigger and suck up more oil - our frantic consumerism is destroying the planet that our creator gave us to inhabit and protect! And yet, we remain UNSATISFIED! Reminds me of the Mick Jagger song, I Can't Get No Satisfaction.
Getting and spending did not satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul – the true bread and true water are invisible spiritual resources that pour out of the heart of God alone! I love this translation taken from the Interpreters Bible:
The fatness, the richness, is to be found in the heart of God alone....that is real food, which is real drink that satisfies the soul. Reminds me of my year in Siberia – in the Russian Markets – there would be dozens of large cement slabs covered with the fattiest bacon you have ever seen! This had historical meaning for Siberian Russians – they would eat the fattest bacon to make it through the winter – it was also a sign of prosperity. The Siberian's would literally delight in the fattest of bacon that would take them through the cold winter months...... Let your SOUL, the very CORE OF YOUR BEING be satisfied in God's FATNESS. Let your soul, the very core of your being be satisfied by the RICH, LAVISH, SENSUAL, BLESSINGS OF YOUR GOD! These chosen people of God were scared out of their wits to leave the comfort and lavishness of Babylon. You see, the journey from exile or bondage to freedom always runs through the WILDERNESS. And even though we always claim to absolutely love our freedom, we never want to risk the JOURNEY! We think we do, but in truth, we fear the cost, the dangers, and the loss of all that we know is comfortable, known, and certain. You know, even slavery and exile have their payoffs. Slaves don't have to make choices. The follow orders, or they suffer and die under the whip. Exiles can always blame their misery and their pain on the dominant culture that surrounds them. A slave lives with certainty, with the memory, that once upon a time, back in the old country, life was better. Liberation and freedom – well – they bring CHOICE and RESPONSIBILITY. This is what we are seeing in Iraq that is so disturbing for us. Here in our own community, with our spiritual freedom comes responsibility and choice. My sisters and brothers in the household of God, ANYTHING that holds us in some sort of bondage becomes our addiction. Alcohol, medications, relationships, work, career, unforgiveness, anger, hatred, bigotry, our savings account, our checkbook, patterned and damaging behaviors of any kind can make us slaves. These things can keep us in our own Babylon – unwilling to and unable to move forward. Oh, like the Israelites of old it is hard to leave our comfort zones – it is hard to leave behind those things that are not healthy. We have our own "gods" – our own idols – they keep us in bondage – they weaken our ties with our birth families and our families of choice and our faith family and ultimately, our tie with our God. In our day, things like the stock market, or even the entire free market system we choose to live by, may well serve as a golden calf. We trust prosperity and financial security and economic indicators as signs of God's presence and providence. All too easily, however, the market becomes our god. We know something about life and work dedicated to the purchase of worthless stuff. We live in a consumer culture devoted to buying and getting. And it's not really about amassing as many objects as we can, rather, it is about the addition of the newest, the latest, the best! Each new item is a temporary fix, a passing satisfaction that we soon set aside. So many in our society go shopping as an answer to feelings of depression. A solution that only feeds the problem. We may also spend our time and attention on the entertainment and diversions so plentifully available to us today. Jeffry of our community of faith will be going to China and has told me that 10 million Chinese youth are addicted or junkies of the internet. They are seeking to help these youth re-explore communication, creative play space outside with other youths. How do we find release from our slavery, our consumerism, our race to get the next best thing? How do we satisfy this longing, this hungering, the gnawing ache in our stomachs, our souls, the very core of our being? How do we avoid ending up like Anna Nichole or Brittney Spears? The answer my sister and brothers of Spirit – would not be so easy, I assume.
Note the action words: COME – INCLINE YOUR EAR (listen) – SEEK! This is an INCLUSIVE calling to ALL who HUNGER, to all who are THIRSTY, to all whose spiritual bellies are not satisfied! This calling is a call to all who are in bondage and enslaved to the things of this world. No one is excluded from this invitation. It is a call to simply COME, LISTEN and SEEK! And this spiritual food and drink from God – it doesn't cost anything – it is free, FREE, FREE! In fact, it is actually priceless – we couldn't pay enough for it! The answer is to keep on in the journey of faith – stay strong – stay steadfast – come to the banquet table of your God OFTEN to partake of spiritual food and spiritual drink. Continue to be SEEKERS as individuals and as a community of faith! That is the one thing I noticed about Spirit of the Lakes community – it is a community of seekers – on a journey – seeking a deeper, more fulfilling, more satisfying relationship with God and with one another. There is urgency here in Isaiah's message – "Seek the Sovereign while the Sovereign may be found" We are called NOW – right NOW! To seek the Sovereign....to seek the SOVEREIGN who has already made a covenant – a promise – with you and with me. To accept and love us and feed us UNCONDITIONALLY! We listen today – we eat today – we drink today – of God's goodness so that not only our bellies may be full – that our Souls may be full – BUT that our LIVES may be full and that we may truly LIVE! |