An
intersecting article I read this week, was about invitations. A church in Philadelphia
hosts what has become known as “Philadelphia's most dangerous dinner party” [i]. Members of the community go out into all
parts of the city centre, with a handwritten invitation to a dinner party where
anyone and everyone is invited. The invitations are handed to bankers and
lawyers, shop workers and people in city parks. If you accept the invitation,
you don’t know who you might be dining with.
It reminded
me of the invitation we read in Isaiah:
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
Pay
close attention! Come to me and live.
Turn to the LORD! He can
still be found.
The people
were in exile, here Isaiah is telling them that there will come a time when
things will be different. A time when they will no longer be in exile. But
until then, turn to the LORD, a reminder that the Lord is able to cross
national boundaries.
The food and
water are not only for those who can afford it.
Imagine a
meal where there is enough for everyone, where no-one goes hungry, even if they
cannot afford to pay the entry price.
I wonder what
a modern version of this might be?
What is it
you hunger and thirst for?
..
Mary speaks
of her joy, at being chosen to bear the child of God. I find this odd, here we
have a teenage girl, unmarried, who is pregnant. She could be stoned.
Yet she sang
about how blessed she is,
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.”
Just as
Isaiah wrote about the future, the time after exile, before it happened, so
Mary sings of the future God is bringing into being.
Mary and
Isaiah did not for the world to change, Isaiah spoke, and Mary sang, of the new
world that God was bringing into being.
A world
modelled on God’s plan for humanity and creation.
Advent is a
time when we remember that we live in the time between the first and second
comings of Jesus. We have read and heard about the person, Jesus, who healed
and taught and loved;
One of the
invitations of Advent for us,
as we wait for the return of Jesus,
and the fulfillment of the kingdom Jesus spoke of, and lived.
The
invitation of advent, is an invitation, to prepare for the one who comes,
offering life.
The kingdom
of God has begun to unfold, but it is not yet complete.
If
you are thirsty, come and drink water!
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
The
invitation of Advent, is an invitation to embrace a new way of living
Next week we
will look at the Moderator’s Christmas message, he finishes with this thought:
God
has declared us welcome. [ii]
[i]
https://www.splendidtable.org/story/on-the-transformative-power-of-an-invitation
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
Turn to the LORD! He can still be found.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.”
as we wait for the return of Jesus,
and the fulfillment of the kingdom Jesus spoke of, and lived.
If you don’t have any money, come, eat what you want!
[i]
https://www.splendidtable.org/story/on-the-transformative-power-of-an-invitation
[ii]
https://www.insights.uca.org.au/news/making-room-this-christmas
