"Describing the Indescribable"       2011

Isaiah 25:6-9        Revelation 19:1, 3-9

 

Isaiah 25:6-9

6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.  9It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

 

Revelation 19:1, 3-9

19After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God, 3Once more they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.” 4And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great.” 6Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; 8to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

 

Even before two years old,   Helen Keller was both blind and deaf.

            As an adult, she told a story about   when her teacher,

                        Anne Sullivan, held her hand under some flowing water

                                    and kept spelling out the letters, W-A-T-E-R

                                                on the palm of her hand…

                                                            … and then in a sudden flash, she got it.

 

That day, Helen Keller, for the first time understood;

            and she learned the names of another 30 objects that day

                        as Anne Sullivan spelled them out on the palm of her hand…

*                    … describing what had always been to her, indescribable.

 

How do you describe

            something that is way beyond  your friend’s understanding?           

What words would you use

            to describe  a blue sky   to a person who has always been blind,

                  or the sound of a child singing   to someone born deaf?

How would you describe it,          in what way   could they understand it?

 

That is like

          the challenge and difficulty faced by the prophet Isaiah

                   and other inspired writers of Scripture. 

 

Try to imagine, that you received a vision about heaven from God.

                            Suppose the Lord revealed that future hope to you,

                                    and you were supposed to share it with others.

But how would you explain something so wonderful and so incredible,

    when human words and ideas aren’t nearly enough to describe it?

 

That was the problem,  and why the prophet Isaiah used

          familiar and ordinary things to describe the extraordinary,

                        saying his vision from God   was like   some familiar thing.

 

When the Isaiah passage that we read today was first written,

            life was very harsh and difficult in the nation of Israel.

                        They were surrounded by powerful and threatening enemies.

It was a time of severe famine, suffering, hunger and shortages,

      and with all that difficulty, the people were discouraged.

 

Then Isaiah received a vision, a message from God ----

            - a picture of God’s promises concerning the future.

                        It was an image of what God was up to,

                                    and that came as a hopeful promise and assurance

                                                of God’s love, grace, compassion, presence,

                                                            God’s ultimate purpose and plans for them…

            … plans and promises too wonderful for mere words,

                        yet the prophet had been called to describe and explain it

                                    so that understanding    would encourage God’s people.

 

One of the most ancient   names and descriptions of God

            is in Hebrew, the word-phrase, “el-shaddai”;

                        which means,  the one who feeds, protects and nourishes us

                                    like a loving mother

                                        who feeds, protects and nourishes her baby,

                                          and who comforts hurts  and dries her baby’s tears.

 

Building on that maternal image, the prophet Isaiah writes   vs. 6~8

            On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.  And he will … swallow up death forever.  Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

 

The hope of God’s promise is described here  as a mountaintop feast-

            a wonderful meal provided by God for all of His people.

In every culture of every place and nation,

            when we have something to celebrate in life,

                        weddings, birthdays, holidays, homecoming, victory, etc.

                                    it’s usually done with an abundant feast of fine food.

 

The prophet describes that future   that God has promised us …

            using the familiar image and life-experience of a shared meal,

              that by grace, God will gather all His beloved people together

               on a mountaintop to share the most wonderful meal imaginable;

 

-- there at the end, the fulfillment of God’s promise and purpose,

            like a mother caring for her beloved and precious child,

                    the Lord our God will heal and cure all ills,

 

                                    as by grace, our Lord fulfills every human longing,

                                                and wipes away all grief and weeping forever,

                                                            every sadness and tear of all humankind…

                                      … in ways too wonderful for mere human words.

 

Isaiah describes this mountaintop feast of the very finest food,

            as a symbol of God’s compassion and abundant provision,

                        a picture that tries to describe

                                    God’s indescribable gracious love and mercy,

                             and God’s blessings

                                    far beyond anything that we might ever imagine.

 

Now if I were trying to describe and explain

            the wonderful promise and vision that God showed Isaiah,

                                    I might describe it as being something like

                                                our Salt and Light dinners on Wednesday nights…

 

… when our fellowship hall is delightfully packed with volunteers,

           with children and youth,   speaking more than one language,

                        with lots of great food, joyful laughter and friendship.

 

Beyond the great food, the hugs, conversation and fellowship,

            some   important theological truths about our Christian faith

                        get regularly  demonstrated and authentically lived out.

 

For example,  no one goes away hungry –

            - but like the abundance of God, there is always plenty of food.

You will also notice that there is wonderful diversity in the room,

           that we are not all the same,  and yet we come together as one,

   … for when you sit down to share a meal,   it is not with your enemy.

 

It is through this sharing of that meal and our fellowship together

            that we are building deeper and more authentic relationships,

                        trying to grow in faith and become more Christ-like

                                    in our welcoming treatment and relating to others ---

- there is a lot more to dinner at Salt and Light than just the food.

 

So too, when we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion,

            the meal is far more than a morsel of bread and grape juice;

                        but they become symbols that point and remind us

                                    to remember the incredible truth

                                                about our hope in God’s promises and grace

                                                            that truly binds us all together as one ----

            the elements are only a foretaste and glimpse, a sign & symbol

                        of God’s infinitely indescribable   loving compassion.

 

God’s mercy, love and blessings are given in abundance,

            because of His promises   to be our God and we His people,

                   God’s purpose for justice & peace throughout all Creation;

                                    that is our true hope in the grace of God’s promises…

*                                                       … which is the whole point of Communion.

 

One time, on the way to an early morning sales meeting,

            my friend and I stopped off for an Egg-McMuffin along the way.

                        But when we arrived at the meeting, rather than

                                    the stale donuts and bad coffee we were expecting,

                                                    chefs from local restaurants had been hired

                                                            to prepare a gourmet breakfast for us …

                        … the most amazing breakfast I have ever seen.

 

My boss had warned us to come hungry to the sales meeting,

            but we didn’t believe or understand his instructions,

                        and so we had foolishly filled-up on junk food.

 

So too, sometimes we get so caught up in the things of this world,

            as if    this short mortal life were all that there is,

                                       and our struggles, hurts, losses and mistakes

                                                were the total summation and how the story ends…

… and so we try to satisfy ourselves with the junk food of this world

          which is to settle for  far too little and meaningless.

 

      Just as I filled up on a nasty, tasteless, soggy  Egg McMuffin,

          rather than the omelet and eggs benedict prepared for me ---

                        so too, we don’t always believe or understand how much

                                    God loves us, enjoys us,  and intends to bless us ----

                            or appreciate God’s incredible promise and grace,

                             “you shall be my people and I shall be your God.”

 

Today is World Communion Sunday,

            when we celebrate communion with Christians around the world;

                        as reminder of God’s promises,  and our unity and hope.

            And because through God's grace we are all loved and invited…

                        there at the Lord's Table   I will meet other sinners

                                    who are also loved, much cherished and invited by God.

 

As we gather for World Communion,

            we are getting just a glimpse of our future joy and hope,

                        a tiny taste of what God’s Kingdom fulfilled will be like…

… a reminder that even the best that life in this world has to offer,

            if but a cold and stale    soggy Egg McMuffin from the trash

                        compared to the glory and wonder ahead for which we await.

 

Today as we come to the Lord’s Table by grace,

            let us consider God’s promise,

                        our hope as described by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:18, 38

                                    I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.