Isaiah 55.1-9
“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Is 55.1
The pulsing heart of every Middle Eastern city or village, is the marketplace. With its geographical location on the sea, between the great cities of the ancient world, this strip of land that is now Israel has long been a commercial center—a stop on the way between Rome and Egypt and Mesopotamia, a marketplace for Egyptian cotton, spices from India, bronze from Rome, and silk from China. In Jesus’ day, food and other goods passing through Palestine fed and clothed the widely scattered cities of the Roman Empire.
On a walk today through the market in Bethlehem or Jerusalem, the pilgrim traveler encounters the descendants of the first-century merchants, still calling out, “Come into my shop!” “Come inside and let me show you my beautiful…..Hebron pottery, Druze weavings, Bedouin rugs.” “Come taste my spices, sample my honey and pistachio pastries.” “Come see my photographs; let me get you something cold to drink!” Palestinians today stand in a long heritage of commerce and hospitality that we hear in Isaiah’s call to the people, “Ho, everyone who thirsts….”
In today’s text, Isaiah stands in the marketplace, hawking his merchandise: “come, buy and eat!” But he shocks his listeners when he adds a new twist to the familiar sales pitch: “….Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Isaiah is calling out to his people—the exiles, the Israelites who were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and had been marched hundreds of miles across the desert to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet is speaking to a homeless people, refugees longing for the land they had been forced to leave by the soldiers, many years ago.
What Isaiah offers, however, is more than food and water. When he tells these suffering people that water and delicious food is available to them “without price,” he offers hope, hope for a future unlike the captivity of Babylon.
All they need to do is listen…. “Incline your ear…listen so you may live.”
This is a message that Palestinian Christians hear very clearly today. This message speaks to their exile as well. The message speaks to 60 years of living without a homeland. Sixty years since they were routed out of their homes by conquering soldiers—many forced to march long distances, to end up in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Sixty years of living in a foreign land, governed by other people; sixty years of living under occupation—first by Jordan and, since 1967, by Israel.
Isaiah calls out to them, hawking his wares—refreshing water, tasty wine, nourishing milk—promising new life and abundance, calling on them to “listen…..so that you may live,” offering a covenantal promise, “my steadfast, sure love….” “For as the heavens are hig
her than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thought than your thoughts.”
This is where these Palestinian Christians place their trust—not in missiles and M16s, not in peace proposals and elected leaders—but in God’s ways. And so, they build schools, train leaders for a future Palestinian state, teach their children traditional Palestinian dances and songs, and continue to worship each Sunday and, as Holy Week begins, walk the Palm Sunday road into Jerusalem…..whenever they can get permits to travel, that is. They listen to God’s covenantal promise…..it is the only thing that gives them life. Photo: Bright Stars of Bethlehem after-school program for children
God of promise, you come to us in every age, offering again your covenant, if only we will listen. We pray today for open ears to hear your good news of hope and plenty. Help us to call upon you and follow in your ways of justice and peace. Amen.
And you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Is 55.1
The pulsing heart of every Middle Eastern city or village, is the marketplace. With its geographical location on the sea, between the great cities of the ancient world, this strip of land that is now Israel has long been a commercial center—a stop on the way between Rome and Egypt and Mesopotamia, a marketplace for Egyptian cotton, spices from India, bronze from Rome, and silk from China. In Jesus’ day, food and other goods passing through Palestine fed and clothed the widely scattered cities of the Roman Empire.
On a walk today through the market in Bethlehem or Jerusalem, the pilgrim traveler encounters the descendants of the first-century merchants, still calling out, “Come into my shop!” “Come inside and let me show you my beautiful…..Hebron pottery, Druze weavings, Bedouin rugs.” “Come taste my spices, sample my honey and pistachio pastries.” “Come see my photographs; let me get you something cold to drink!” Palestinians today stand in a long heritage of commerce and hospitality that we hear in Isaiah’s call to the people, “Ho, everyone who thirsts….”
In today’s text, Isaiah stands in the marketplace, hawking his merchandise: “come, buy and eat!” But he shocks his listeners when he adds a new twist to the familiar sales pitch: “….Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Isaiah is calling out to his people—the exiles, the Israelites who were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and had been marched hundreds of miles across the desert to Babylon after the destruction of Jerusalem. The prophet is speaking to a homeless people, refugees longing for the land they had been forced to leave by the soldiers, many years ago.
What Isaiah offers, however, is more than food and water. When he tells these suffering people that water and delicious food is available to them “without price,” he offers hope, hope for a future unlike the captivity of Babylon.
All they need to do is listen…. “Incline your ear…listen so you may live.”
This is a message that Palestinian Christians hear very clearly today. This message speaks to their exile as well. The message speaks to 60 years of living without a homeland. Sixty years since they were routed out of their homes by conquering soldiers—many forced to march long distances, to end up in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Sixty years of living in a foreign land, governed by other people; sixty years of living under occupation—first by Jordan and, since 1967, by Israel.
Isaiah calls out to them, hawking his wares—refreshing water, tasty wine, nourishing milk—promising new life and abundance, calling on them to “listen…..so that you may live,” offering a covenantal promise, “my steadfast, sure love….” “For as the heavens are hig
her than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thought than your thoughts.”This is where these Palestinian Christians place their trust—not in missiles and M16s, not in peace proposals and elected leaders—but in God’s ways. And so, they build schools, train leaders for a future Palestinian state, teach their children traditional Palestinian dances and songs, and continue to worship each Sunday and, as Holy Week begins, walk the Palm Sunday road into Jerusalem…..whenever they can get permits to travel, that is. They listen to God’s covenantal promise…..it is the only thing that gives them life. Photo: Bright Stars of Bethlehem after-school program for children
God of promise, you come to us in every age, offering again your covenant, if only we will listen. We pray today for open ears to hear your good news of hope and plenty. Help us to call upon you and follow in your ways of justice and peace. Amen.
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