Hunger and Thirst – Isaiah 55:1-3

In the gospel of Matthew we find the parable of the Marriage Feast where a great king is hosting a grand celebration, all centered on the union of his son to a chosen bride. I believe Isaiah helped pen the invitations. They read:

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; 

And he who has no money, 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 diligently to me, and eat what is good, 

And delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

Hear, that your soul may live; 

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, 

My steadfast, sure love for David.”

             Where were you when you first received your invitation? Has it arrived at your heart yet? How did you respond? Rather, how are you responding? It seems many I know were sitting as children or teens in a meeting when the evangelist handed out some invitations he had printed up that read:

Dear Monsters of iniquity,

            You’re hearts are wicked beyond knowing. I am mad as hell about it and am prepared to send you there without even blinking if you don’t agree with this right now. Today is the day of salvation!

            Affectionately, 

            The Great King

I will get back to the evangelist in time. But permit me to shift gears here.

I recently was encouraged by my daughter to watch Brené Brown’s TED talk on YouTube (it may be titled “Transparency”). Mrs. Brown is a PhD researcher in the area of human interaction. She is a nuts and bolts, fact driven, social scientist whose research is closer to revelation than science. Is that really surprising if we are beings created in God’s image living in a world He created for us?  Here are a few of her bullet points:

1) We are neurologically hardwired for connection.

2) It turns out our stories are data with souls.

3) Shame undermines connection because it undermines transparency.

4) The whole-hearted have overcome shame and live with the assumption they are worthy of love and belonging. Their healed and whole hearts allow them to treat themselves with compassion and kindness. They live out of the conviction that “they are enough.”

5) To have courage means to tell the story of who you are with all your heart (especially with the imperfections).

6) Love, belonging, creativity and joy are birthed in the vulnerable hearts of the whole-hearted.

7) Vulnerability can be blunted. We can squelch it when we shut down our emotions and blame others.

8) Blame is a way to discharge shame and discomfort.

In addition, she makes an interesting reference to religion. She says that instead of becoming a celebration of mystery, religion has become a mere set of declarations of certainty. I mentioned that we spoke the same language. The book I have reread most often in the last ten years is The Myth of Certainty by Daniel Taylor. My blog site address is middlewithmystery.com.  That site was constructed as a platform to transparently and wholeheartedly tell my story; it has much to do with an escape from religion, which I think of as any system of thought or practice whereby the doing of it causes me to think that I have gained the favor of God.

Mrs. Brown and I also share something else in common: we both had breakdowns of sorts. Since both of us arose from the ashes of those experiences with new and whole hearts, we can think of them as spiritual breakthroughs. I think, in our souls, we both received God’s invitation…

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; 

And he who has no money, 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 diligently to me, and eat what is good, 

And delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

Hear, that your soul may live; 

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, 

My steadfast, sure love for David.”

The condemning spirit of our evangelist is pervasive within Christianity and all religions where men are working out their salvation with fear and shame. I can testify, there is no living water in this well. But, that will not keep the spirit of religion from encouraging us to regularly dip into it to reinforce how utterly deformed and alienated from God we are, how angry and ready He is to punish us.

While there are elements of truth in this twisted gospel, it contains the poison that explains how we have become so smug and certain about God whose vastness and mystery dwarf human perception.

Since my heart has been delivered (to a greater extent) from the burden and deception of religion, where I was striving for the approval of God and man, it has been in a continual state of celebration, declaring,  “I am enough because God created me in His image, and that image, though marred, has been restored in Christ. I am not just a wretched sinner saved by grace. I am a new creation, beloved of God. This is my identity. Christ is the unchanging rock from which I gratefully and continually make this declaration. So, I would love to rewrite the shame-driven counterfeit invitations that our evangelist tries to hand out. I would write:

Dear Beloved,

            I created your hearts in my image. In Adam’s fall they have become misshapen.  I have sent Jesus to explain all that is confusing. Look to Him. In Him, My image can be restored in you and you will discover the way back into the safety of my heart.  Hell is real, but it was not created for you. Today (and every moment, for that matter) is the day of salvation! And for the record, I am not mad at you. On the contrary, thoughts about you make my heart beat faster.

            Affectionately, 

            The Great King

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (essentially, the theme of the Bible) is about the Kingdom of God, not the religion of Christianity. This kingdom has come in Jesus Christ, and it enjoys its inevitable expansion in the earth as its laws of Love and Truth overthrow the shame and guilt of performance-driven religion. Millions of the kingdom’s sons and daughters are beginning to glow more brightly than they even imagined possible as this kingdom, which is also within them, finds expression. Their stories frequently have common themes…

Life’s circumstances have created some kind of hunger or thirst. They have often bottomed out, realizing they have been spending their money on that which is not bread and laboring for that which does not satisfy. They are listening more diligently. They are inclining their ear that their souls may live. In a new and radically beautiful covenant with God in Christ, they are coming and buying wine, milk and bread without money and without price.

So, how shall we get from religion to Life? Perhaps we begin by being radically honest and vulnerable with ourselves and with God. We could take Jesus council…

When you come before God, don’t turn it into a theatrical production. Don’t make a show out of your prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are.

 Set the world right; Do what’s best— 

As above, so below. 

Keep us alive with three square meals. 

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. 

You’re in charge! You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

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