/Alas, all who thirst walk to the water, and those who have no silver,
walk, purchase, and eat; and walk and buy without silver, and without
price, wine and milk. Why do you weigh silver on what isn't bread, and
your labor for what doesn't fill? Listen, listen to Me, and eat well!
And enjoy fatty (food) --your souls. Bend your ear and walk to Me;
listen, and your soul may live; and I will cut to you an eternal
covenant--the loving-kindnesses of David, the faithful ones. Look, a
witness to the peoples I have given, a sovereign and a command to the
peoples. Look, a nation you do not know, you will call; and a nation
that does not know you, to you will run; for the sake of Yahweh, your
God, also the Holy One of Israel, because He glorified you! Seek Yahweh
while He is found, Call Him while He is near. Forsake--the guilty
one--his way, and a man of unrighteousness--his thoughts; may he return
to Yahweh, and He will take pity on him; and to our God, for He will
greatly forgive. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways
are not My ways--declaration of Yahweh. For as high as the heavens from
the earth, so higher are My ways from your ways, and My thoughts from
your thoughts. /
One thing that separates liberal from conservative candidates is their
view of welfare. Liberals tend to believe that the government is under
obligation to provide the main safety net for the disadvantaged, while
conservatives tend to seek family, friends, church & self for help in
times of need. I suppose it is good, then, to have both liberals &
conservatives in every Christian congregation. Conservatives to keep the
church's teachings & practices pure, and liberals to freely love with
the gospel.
At first glance, it seems that God is a pure liberal, from our text. He
provides food free of charge! Better food than food-stamps could buy
too! It doesn't matter if you have not one silver coin in your pocket,
or if you've lost your EBT card. God promises to give you food that will
fill you up, fatty food that won't raise your cholesterol, eternal food
& drink that blesses your soul forever! No cost at all. No work-fare to
earn it by your labor. It is a free gift of God's loving-kindness alone!
What a real liberal!
But as we read further, it seems that God may be a conservative! As
sovereign Lord, He gives us some commands: He calls on the guilty ones
among us to change our ways. He addresses the unrighteous people even to
change their thoughts! He reminds us that the way's we've been going
aren't anything close to His ways, and our thoughts are so very far from
His way of thinking. Sounds like our God wants us to straighten up and
fly right! Indeed, God must be a real conservative.
So which is it? Is God a liberal or is He a conservative? The answer is
"Yes!". On the one hand, your God has some important expectations of
those He invites to the heavenly wedding banquet. You had better treat
His servants right, or You will pay with fiery consequences. And when
you attend you better have on the proper wedding attire. On the other
hand, your God opens up His wedding feast to you & folks from all walks
of life, from the downtrodden and homeless to the utter riff-raff of
society.
How can God seem to lay down the Law in a conservative fashion, yet
extend abundant grace in a liberal manner? Well, this only make's sense
when we pause to look at the covenant God cuts with you. He cut it with
David, promising that the young King's descendent would someday come to
save all mankind. He cut it with you the day that you were baptized in
the name of that Savior from David's line. It is the one-sided covenant
of loving-kindnesses that God cut into Jesus' Own body on the +.
"A one-sided covenant?" you wonder. It sure seems like it has both a
liberal and a conservative side. Indeed it does, one part for God, and
another part for man. But in Christ Jesus, Who was both God & man at the
same time, this covenant of your salvation was completed by your Savior
alone! Jesus was the only One to think His heavenly Father's thoughts at
all times, and the only One who walked in His Father's ways
continuously. And He is the only one to give of Himself freely to
satisfy you!
Jesus was the only "righteous" One under God's Law. He is the Holy One
of Israel, where no others could be found. He strove to accomplish your
salvation, and His work-ethic paid off at the +. He earned the eternal
life this covenant expected. But that's when Jesus does the most
unexpected thing. He invites undeserving riff-raff like you to His
heavenly banquet. You aren't righteous & you know it, but Jesus gives
you the holy white robe of His Own righteousness to clothe you for the
feast!
Yet Jesus has lost His wedding clothes. His righteousness is gone, in
exchange for the unholy garment of your sin, in the form of a scarlet
robe & crown of thorns He wore as your Savior. Jesus is driven from the
feast, forsaken by His Father, and cast out into the outer darkness of
hell in your place at the +. Yet He feeds you at that feast with the
food which satisfies--His body given & blood shed for your forgiveness.
For you, it is without cost...but for Him...well, it cost Him
everything! Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
[email protected]
.
