5. God's way of mercy

Restoring justice to a damaged world

7 March 2010

Isaiah 55:1-9

Isaiah 55 is a ‘high watermark’ passage of the Old Testament. It has beauty and power that sets it apart and gives insight into the nature of God. It can be said that these words have their counterpart in the New Testament in the Parable of the Great Supper (Luke 14:15-24).

Isaiah has chosen to adopt the language of the market trader – or, more precisely, the near-eastern water vendor, as he calls to the people:

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost. (Isaiah 55:1)

We hear these words in the wider context of thinking about restoring justice to a damaged world and we hear that God offers to feed and sustain his people – without cost. These words don’t sit too easily in our market-driven world. Words of invitation are scattered throughout the chapter and they are embodied in the following imperative verbs:-

‘Come’ – v.1
‘Listen’ – v.2
‘See’ – v.4
‘Seek’ – v.6
‘Return’ – v.11

The word ‘come’ conveys God’s hospitality in an especially moving way. God calls people to come to him for forgiveness and nurture; he is the source of life itself. Its ease of entry into thoughts about justice is clarified when the prophet calls into question what the people are doing. ‘Why do you spend money on what is not bread and your labour on what does not satisfy?’ (v.2)

The water vendor was a normal part of the commercial scene in this region of the world. In many ways, such a role is on the increase today. But God offers much more than water, for we read about the offer of wine and milk. The largesse of God goes beyond the basic necessities of life – of water and bread – and includes the luxuries symbolised in wine and milk.

A people who have been in exile are invited to share in the unmerited blessings of a coming restoration, through which a mission to the world will be accomplished.

The summons to this people is not only invitational, but also urgent. What we learn of the Children of Israel in exile is that God teaches people much in that place … and it is also a place where God’s grace is made known.

How often is it true that nations and people learn more through difficult times than at any other time? The call is to see that God is with his people, despite their being in exile. Mildred Struven is often quoted, but her simple words have a direct application here: ‘A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.’

Isaiah’s words speak into the present world in which we live and remind us of a way of mercy:

The offer of God to a thirsting world – v.1

Thirst is an experience that is common to many in the world and it represents a deep longing. The mistake would be to see this as merely the satisfaction of personal needs. How often do we hear the words of scripture and only interpret them in terms of an individual’s response, rather than that of a community? … when, in fact, it was written about a community. There is a deep longing in the midst of our cities and nations.

The offer defines the nature of human existence

In the way that the prophet calls for a people to respond to an invitation, we see that God meets people at their point of need. Some folks have considered Isaiah to be the Gospel of the Old Testament in its similarity to the New Testament theme of grace … the suggestion being that the love of God is an offer to a people!

People and communities who are naively persuaded to believe that living is about self-sufficiency mistake a vital aspect of life itself. Isaiah anticipates the fact that people offer excuses rather than acceptances.

In recent years in the developed world, we have made the error of believing that our securities are built around finance and property and that this will be enough! When I observed the events that surrounded the Global Financial Crisis, I was quite clear in my own mind that we were being called back to examine our priorities afresh and to say what matters most is that we have our fundamental values in place.

Human nature is not complete without a willingness to receive the grace that:-

Creates a real identity of belonging.
Communicates itself to the heart of community.
Confirms that life is only complete in God.

Wesley Mission owns and runs a substantial orchard in South Australia and we use the proceeds to fund some of our children’s work. At our Cottee Orchard Board meetings, we are invariably exercised in thinking about the price of water for our citrus and almonds. In lands where water is precious, access to a source of water may have to be purchased. The term ‘without price’ is not to suggest ‘priceless’ but ‘without cost’.

Is there something in human identity which needs to pay our way? This may make us somewhat resistant to the heart-cry of God, which is that love cannot be purchased and can only be received with empty hands.

Money is not the defining factor of human existence. If you are thirsty, you can come. If you are hungry, you can come. If you are sorrowful, you can come. Social standing bears no part in the value of life that God gives to us. Of course poverty and fractured attitudes can have a great impact on others, but an individual’s value to God is not dependent upon any of these passing considerations.

Once we have begun from this perspective, we begin to see that the offer of God’s grace cuts across our preoccupation with lifestyles and selfish concerns. The drama and pulse of daily living very often anaesthetises our senses, so we do not hear the call to God’s just and dynamic way.

The offer helps to direct our response

In restoring a sense of justice to our world, we do well to capture a vision of how God will create a new purpose for us … in our deserts and amidst the barren communities in which we live.

God’s message will satisfy the deep inner-need of the human spirit. His word is to all, because each of us thirsts! This word is for all and does not demand anything in return.

In fact, I am certain that we are nearest to an experience of grace when we realise that we not only need not, but cannot offer anything in return to God for his love. Of course we want to give ourselves, serve the world and reach out to people in need, but there is nothing we can do to earn a response!

Far from this devaluing the contribution of people, it actually opens up possibilities for everyone. This is especially important when we are reaching out to help the hurt and the damaged in our community.

One aspect which emerges in much of the work we do at Wesley Mission relates to the importance of self-worth and dignity. We seek to communicate this in word and deed. Phillip Massinger, the seventeenth century dramatist, strikes a chord when he writes, ‘True dignity is never gained by place, and never lost when honours are withdrawn.’

In this chapter, we are pointed to the unproductive nature of much living, particularly in relation to how folks spend their money. The writer asks the question, ‘Why do you …?’ (v.2) The question has a timeless ring to it. One writer suggested this obsession with materialism could be a misguided attempt at self-affirmation or self-indulgence.

The challenge of God to the thinking mind – v.v. 2-6

Isaiah falls into at least three sections and the second section runs from Chapter 40 to Chapter 55. It is the most dynamic and far-reaching message in the book. Chapter 40 serves as a prologue … and in Chapter 55 we are given a call to respond.

To a people who had been in Babylon for many years comes a word of real intellectual challenge. They are forced to think carefully about their satisfaction in a place of security, despite their captivity. They must make a choice between living with insecurity and freedom or security and captivity.

It is amazing how we can accept a level of existence which defies all sense of real fulfilment. Or put another way, we allow the bar of satisfaction to be fixed rather low!

The danger of futility

Many in captivity were well satisfied with their situation. They had put down roots, acquired property and commercial interests. Prosperity and security had come their way. But these things are not enough of themselves. In fact Victor Hugo makes us wary when he warns us, ‘Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.’

There are some Christians who suggest living close to God is going to bring its economic benefits. The prophet does not argue with the people … he simply throws into the quiet pool of complacency a disturbance which asks, ‘Does all this really satisfy you?’ The futile building of lives around financial security is being sold to people every day. Yet what it does not guarantee is:-

A meaningful family life … just read your newspaper!
The certainty of good health … simply observe life!
Personal satisfaction … the despair of the wealthy!

The Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament opens up with the cry ‘Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ (Ecc. 1:2)

The writer considers that there are two boundaries to human existence … namely birth and death … and that meaninglessness lies in between. This is demonstrated by the exploration later in the chapter of the fact that bad things happen to good people and the reverse – good things happen to bad people!

Christian mission is charged with the task of breathing meaning into life and bringing hope and order to a world of suffering and disorder. When you conclude that a situation is hopeless, you slam the door in the face of God’s possibilities.

Personal and community internal disorder abounds. Some writers call this the ‘I’ struggling against ‘myself’. Is this at least partly what the Apostle Paul was writing about when he said, ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.’ (Romans 7:15)

The demands of sufficiency

How do we deal with the battle for a real perspective on sufficiency? The false take on sufficiency is that people never have enough and we see huge industries built around the need for more and more things! The person who is able to get a realistic handle on what is enough will be much nearer the kingdom than those who never seem to be satisfied.

In recent days, we have heard about plans to expand lotteries and so on. Everyday we see the victims of such futility and, through our counselling services, invest time and resources in helping victims escape from their desire to gain more, which becomes a disease! The greed is best illustrated when a lottery-card winner reinvests all their winnings in pursuit of an even bigger win!

The prophets of the eighth century cautioned the authorities who exercised powerful models of oppressive authority which ignored the needs of the poor. Perhaps the most challenging biblical picture is of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. The parable is tightly structured and is built on the platform of a request that Jesus will adjudicate between two brothers who had inherited a piece of land.

The parable is wrapped inside two remarkable statements: ‘… life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ (v.15) and ‘This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ (v.21) We must decide what is sufficient for our lives!

John Ruskin told the story of the sinking of a Californian ship. As it went down, one of the passengers fastened to his belt two hundred pounds of gold, which was later found around him at the bottom of the sea. Ruskin asked, ‘Now, as he was sinking – had he the gold … or had the gold him?’

The warning of God regarding a shallow lifestyle – v.v. 7-9

Our view of the world is reflected in the lifestyle we live. The idea of God’s ways being higher than ours is not established in more than a minority of minds.

The otherness of God’s nature is defined not so much in terms of mystery, but in the tangible specifics of forgiveness. Human beings do not readily forgive one another. The ‘Christmas card list’ attitude of life so often displays our shallowness. I mean by this, we decide who we are sending a Christmas card to on the basis of whether they sent us one last year!

The ways of living which are to be avoided

I have made much of the poor in this context, but I feel there is a broader perspective than material poverty destroying our community life today.

In a city like Sydney, we can identify:-

The lack of concern for the isolated – a poverty which is selfishness!
The growing fear of those becoming older without support – a poverty which is fear!
The increasing sense of vulnerability which is created by our markers of success and achievement – a poverty which is apparent failure!

Prosperity and luxury can, but not always, extinguish our concern for those in need. We are wise not to jump on the train which is bound for public status and recognition. It is far better to be decidedly intent on compassion and understanding.

The welcome which mercy makes possible

I don’t know what picture you have of the prophet as he speaks to the people in exile. I suspect that the truth is nearer to an ill-clad messenger standing on a rickety platform in the town square than a well-gowned priest in a splendid cathedral. His very demeanour would have communicated the nature of God’s love.

If the Christian community is to embody the message of hope to a damaged world, it will be out of the very weakness of our life together that we will speak most clearly! The welcome is to people who have:-

Lost confidence in the structures of our society.
Lost purpose amidst many competing claims.
Lost stability in the shifting sands of contemporary living.

Peter Cotterell, in his book Mission and Meaninglessness, flags for us the fact that bereavement, loneliness and frustration of hopes compound our difficulty in seeking to find purpose today. He does, however, draw his conclusion in a positive way:

‘The good news is that there is justice. That somehow, at the end, the God of all the earth will himself be justified, our clamouring tongues will be silenced, our limited understanding will be amplified, and we will see what we cannot see now, that life, after all, was just. Death does not close the account; it merely invites the Auditor to prepare the Statement of Accounts.’

God’s ‘way of mercy’ is not a strap line for personal forgiveness and satisfaction alone … it makes possible the way in which we can offer a new way of understanding life other than the circular existence of reward and recognition.

When Johann Sebastian Bach sought to give some expression to the Christian faith, he turned to the liturgy of the Lord’s Table. In B Minor, the piece he wrote opens with the poignant cry of the whole chorus and orchestra, Kyrie Eleison – Lord, have mercy … and, in the fugue which follows, the voices and instruments independently take up the theme; there are no other words, simply Kyrie Eleison.

No-one who has ever heard it doubts that this is the unusual cry for mercy which is the threshold of our coming to God. This is far more impressive than a catalogue of virtues, or actions, or great intellectual achievements.

Isaiah cries out to our broken world in the words of the water seller, ‘Come, all you who are thirsty.’

Christian Life