ISAIAH 55:1-9
“The Great Invitation”
By Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer,
Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church,
Newport News, VA
www.parkview-umc.org
“Get your hot dogs here! Only $5.00.”
“Ice cold Coke here, ice cold Coke! Only $4.50.”
That’s what we hear when we go to see a baseball, football, basketball or hockey game.
“Cotton Candy, get your Cotton Candy, only $6.00!”
What a deal.
Terry Collie and I went to see “The Passion Of The Christ” the night before we, as a church group, went together.
Before the movie we stood in the concession line. I ordered a large popcorn and a large Coke.
When Jeanne was going through our receipts a few days later, in order to do the bills, she asked me “What in the world did you eat at the movie theatre that cost $8.00?”
We had a good laugh when I told her just popcorn and a Coke.
Well, in a sense, the Prophet Isaiah opens our passage for this morning by mimicking the cries of the vendors in the marketplace: “Come all you who are thirsty…come, buy and eat!”
But notice what I left out.
Isaiah says: “and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
What is Isaiah talking about here?
Come, buy and eat…even if you have no money…
Come, buy and eat…it doesn’t cost anything!
Well, we get a picture of what he’s talking about when we look at verse 2: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”
What he is offering is not simply bread, wine or milk…
…or popcorn or cotton candy or hot dogs or Coca-Cola…
…what he is offering is abundant life from God the “richest of fare” which comes through God’s wisdom and salvation.
And amazingly, this richest of fare is free!!!
God has already paid for it.
God has taken care of the bill.
All we have to do is come and partake of what God has already prepared for us!
Why do we spend our money and labor for things that don’t satisfy?
Think about it…
…milk is cheaper than soda pop and yet children are drinking less milk and more soda.
Now, are we really spending our money and time on what is truly good for us or are we just filling ourselves with junk?
And it’s expensive junk at that!
We are very easily swayed by the invitation of venders to spend our hard earned money on that which “does not satisfy”.
But there is another kind of Invitation that is being extended to us…that…well…it beats all other invitations hands down…yet so many of us are not swayed by it!
For there are invitations, but there is also The Great Invitation.
The Great Invitation promises more than just a good time or a wonderful experience.
This invitation is filled with more joy, fulfillment, and hope than anything else could ever give us.
There are no hidden fees or agendas, and it costs us nothing!
The Great Invitation is what many have been waiting for their whole lives.
Sound too good to be true?
Well, it’s not, because this Invitation is not of this world.
The Great Invitation comes from God, and in this case God uses the prophet Isaiah to extend the Invitation.
And it’s timeless.
It was originally extended to the people of God as they wandered in the wilderness, trying to find the way.
Soon they got so desperate that they were grasping at anything and everything that looked like an answer.
Remember the golden calf and the invitation to follow Baal?
What kinds of invitations are being made to the desperate people of today?
Too many to count, I’m afraid.
But, since the period of the Israelites, The Great Invitation from God has been offered to anyone and everyone: from prophets to peasants—from Paul to Priscilla—from mothers to monks—from Augustine to Wesley—from Billy Sunday to Billy Graham.
Many servants of God have been the mouthpiece of The Great Invitation.
Some people have accepted The Great Invitation; others have rejected it.
But The Great Invitation always stands, for it is truly the Greatest Invitation ever given to humankind.
H.G. wells, spoke of the “God-shaped blank” in the hearts of humankind.
Do any of us have a God-shaped blank in our hearts and lives?
The Great Invitation is for everyone who has been searching for meaning and fulfillment but have never found it.
The Great Invitation is for anyone who has desired so much more out of life…
…so much more than the world has to offer.
The Great Invitation is for those who feel empty, lost, and without hope.
The Great Invitation is for those who continue to hunger and thirst for ultimate satisfaction.
The Great Invitation is for anyone who has ever cried out: “What is the point of my life? Is there more to life than carpools, meetings, paying bills, and growing old?”
God’s Invitation is to experience an abundant life—the kind of life that only God can provide.
And this Invitation is extended to every one of us today.
So the question is: What will we do with The Invitation?
Maybe our first inclination is to wait for a better invitation.
This is what the Israelites seemed to do throughout their history—much to their disappointment.
So I don’t recommend it.
But if you do insist on looking for a better invitation, you will be in good company.
Rock star Ozzy Osbourne once extended an invitaion to a sold out concert crowd: “Come to hell. I’ll be there, and we’ll have a great time!”
I heard a joke this past week…well, I wouldn’t really call it a joke.
A successful business person dies and is met by Saint Peter.
He is given the invitation to come, spend eternity in heaven, or the choice to spend eternity in hell.
“Gee”, says the man, “can I test both out before making my decision?”
“Sure,” replies Saint Peter.
First the man goes to hell, where he finds himself on a lush golf course.
He spends the day shooting 18 holes, and relaxing in the club house.
The next day, he spends in heaven.
He is surrounded by the heavenly hosts, who are singing praises to God and drinking from the River of Life.
Saint Peter asks the man if he has made up his mind.
“Well, yes”, says the man. “Although everyone in heaven is very happy and nice, I think that hell suits my tastes much better.”
“It’s your choice,” Saint Peter says rather sadly.
So the man goes to hell, where he will spend eternity.
But he finds himself in a much different place than he visited the other day.
This place is burning hot with flames, filled with the horrid cries of pain and anguish…
…it’s the most awful, scary, mean, and uncomfortable place he has ever been.
So, he speaks to Lucifer:
“There must be some mistake. This can’t be the same place where I played 18 holes of golf.”
“Oh, but it is,” replied the Snake.
“Then why is it such a horrible place now?” asked the man.
“Because you hadn’t decided whose invitation you were going to accept the other day,” was Satan’s answer.
Let’s face it. We live in a culture which is full of invitations.
And if you speak honestly to advertisers, they will tell you that their goal is to convince you that you cannot live without their product.
And we’re convinced!
In fact, advertisers are so convincing that someone has said, “No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the consumer.”
Another put it this way: “The only reason a great many American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.”
How many over-rated invitations do we need to accept before we understand that the answer to our problems and the key to our meaning and fulfillment does not come from anything the world invites us to receive but can only come from the “One Who created us for Himself.”
This is God’s plea to us through Isaiah: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”
It’s in essence: “Why do you eat out of dumpsters when I have prepared for you a free banquet of Ritz Carlton proportions? Isn’t it about time you listened to my invitation? Isn’t it about time you inclined your ear in my direction?
Isn’t it about time you allowed the wise words of life I have shared to become flesh within you?”
But many of us still don’t listen.
So in desperation, God basically says: “What must I do to convince you that I love you and want what is best for you?”
Then God put on skin and came to earth and loved us, taught us, was mocked for us, ridiculed for us, pierced for us, crucified for us, and then rose from the dead for us.
Now, with scars on His hands, God reaches out to us and pleads, “Now will you listen to Me?”
Some time ago, I was speaking to a Youth Group at another church.
At the end of my message, a young teenager approached me.
She was on the verge of tears.
She said, “I have to find out if something is true.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
She said, “You mentioned in your talk that God loves me. Do you believe that? Because I don’t believe anyone has ever loved me.
My dad left me and my mother abused me, and I have gone from one institution to another.
I’ve been hurt and neglected, and you are telling me that God loves me?”
“That’s right,” I said.
“God loves you!”
She paused for a while as tears began rolling down her cheeks. Then she said simply, “Well, if God loves me, then nothing else matters. If God loves me, that’s all that matters.”
Maybe some of us have accepted every invitation this world has to offer and it has been like salt water to our thirsty souls…making us thirstier than ever.
Perhaps some of us have attended church our whole lives yet never really have come to grips with the love of God.
Oh, you have heard all about it before but never really allowed yourself to experience it.
Perhaps some of us have accepted The Great Invitation before, but now your relationship with God is stale and you need to taste the fresh Bread of Life again.
The Good News is that God’s banquet of blessings has been prepared, and we are all invited!
There is a place at God’s table reserved for each one of us.
A special engraved invitation written by a pierced hand is yours.
Isn’t it time to accept it?
Come and receive God’s forgiving grace.
Come quench your thirst for forgiveness and acceptance.
Come and feast on God’s wisdom.
Come and find nourishment for your soul, strength for your life, and purpose for living.
Come!
We’re invited never to be the same again!
Let us pray: Almighty God, we thank You for Your Great Invitation given to us through Jesus Christ Who died the death we deserve so that we, being sinful and deserving of death and hell, might live and live to the fullest! We accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives. We accept what He has done on our behalf. We accept Your gracious invitation, Almighty God. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
