The Better Bread: Isaiah 55:1-13 - Third Sunday of Advent

During our trip to Colorado in October, I was shocked by how many times we were charged fees for things I assumed were free. Fees for checked baggage on flights are nothing new. But in Denver, the stores charge you for bags: ten cents, plus a six-cent tax. At the hotel, we were charged $20 per night for parking, and this hotel was not in the city. Though the manager did point out that the parking fee would be waived if we signed up for the platinum club credit card, which had a $100 annual fee if you didn’t book enough stays.

The most perplexing fee was at a restaurant which charged a $3.95 “table fee” for dining in. I was tempted to ask if they’d waive the fee if we ate on the floor. 

It's no wonder, then, that when something of cost is offered for free, the public response is usually overwhelming—that is, if it’s something people need or want.

Our little free pantry has over 100 pounds of donated canned and dried beans. Beans are extremely nutritious, but most people don’t eat them. So, they give them to us. And we can’t get rid of them.

There’s another food surplus we experience on a regular basis: Communion bread and wine. No one’s calling for reservations, and no one’s lining up at the door to secure their place at the table. Why is that?

Photo by Hector Farahani on Unsplash

The prophet Isaiah puts it this way: people spend money for what is not bread and their earnings for what does not satisfy. 

People don’t see the value of what our Lord gives us for free. 

One reason for that is that there are costs to receiving the gifts of God. A morsel of bread and small cup of wine pales in comparison with what is spread on the world’s tables. Singing hymns, reading Scriptures, and listening to sermons is a bore compared with the thrill and excitement of professional sports or shopping. Every hour spent here is an hour that could be spent resting, working, or having fun. 

Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon, God’s people experienced some very prosperous times, politically and economically. Military victories brought peace and security; good weather allowed for bountiful harvests and economic prosperity. Unfortunately, many spent their prosperity on worldly delights and pleasures. Greed and overconsumption widened the gap between the haves and have-nots. The lack of justice and charity weakened social cohesion. Corruption and oppression fueled animosity and mistrust. As for the things of God, the Sabbath became another day for profit and pleasure. Divine worship was a waste of time. God’s Word was irrelevant because everyone made their own truth.

Then came the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile, just as the prophets had warned. Some continued to feed themselves on the same worldly foods as they had done before. But for many, there was only despair.

As I said last week, despair comes easily, because it demands nothing from you. When you expect only bad things, you will not be disappointed.

It was a leap of faith to believe the good news Isaiah spoke. 

But even in good times, it takes faith to understand that you need these gifts of God more than anything, even life itself.

This is why Isaiah speaks with such urgency. Stop despairing. Quit looking for life and all the wrong places.

Instead, Come! Buy! Eat! Listen! Behold! Call upon the Lord! Repent! Reject the security of despair and embrace hope. Think differently. Live differently. 

For God’s promises to mean anything it all, you must act on them. The moment you do, God’s salvation takes hold of you. The gifts of God change how you live and what you value. Suddenly, you see that the wine, the milk, and the rich food God sets before you for free is more valuable than all the riches of the world. Suddenly, you see that God’s thoughts are higher than your thoughts; God’s ways higher than your ways. No longer are you a prisoner to fear. No longer are you dead in despair. You are a new creation, living a life of faith, hope and love.

The world will still be chaotic and broken. But Isaiah’s words assure you that your acts of faith are not in vain when troubles remain. Your ministries are not wasted, even when people don’t come or they don’t appreciate what you’ve done. The sign of God’s faithfulness is not the results that you get, but in the seeds that you sow, which will bear fruit. How they will bear fruit remains to be seen. But they will. 

There is a hunger in you that the world’s best breads and finest wines cannot satisfy. If those worldly delights aren’t accessible to you, you enjoyed it before and lost it, or you still enjoy it but know how empty it is, this is your moment. It’s not too late. Eat the better bread. Drink the greater wine. Delight in the richest foods that only God can provide. And live the gift of new life.

Isaiah 55:1-13 (NRSVue) 

Hear, everyone who thirsts;

    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread
    and your earnings for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
    a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Now you shall call nations that you do not know,
    and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has glorified you.

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
⁷ let the wicked forsake their way
    and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose
    and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² For you shall go out in joy
    and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall burst into song,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle,
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
    for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.