Scripture: Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain, the Lord of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples a rich feast, a feast of choice wines, of select foods rich in flavor, of choice wines well refined.
He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples, the shroud enshrouding all nations.
He will swallow up death forever.The Lord God will wipe tears from every face; he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken.
They will say on that day,“Look! This is our God, for whom we have waited— and he has saved us!This is the Lord, for whom we have waited; let’s be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
Consider:
There are few things we are more afraid of than death. Things like public speaking and heights usually top the list of most common fear and phobias, but I think that’s because answering “death” to a survey question about your greatest fear feels too vulnerable and honest to tell an anonymous text message at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
Most of what makes us afraid of death is not knowing what happens on the other side of it. Many cultures have constructed myths and stories around the details of the after-life, but the Bible doesn’t construct a clear picture or lay out a precise road map. So often in God’s story, the next step of life is spoken of in metaphors and inferences and we are left with questions too deep for words. We know what we are supposed to believe, but so often it’s hard to believe what we’ve been taught. Wouldn’t it be nice if God would have told the writers exactly what we could expect?
When the Bible does talk about death, it always sounds like this text from Isaiah. “God will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe tears from every face, for the Lord has spoken.”
The passage doesn’t tell us what to expect at the beginning of death, but it does tell us what will happen at the end. Death will be no more, grief will end, pain will be gone, the bodily corruptions which taint our earthly existence - all of it will be gone. It will be swallowed because the Lord has spoken.
Even in death there is hope. Even when all seems lost, we can look forward to the day it will be found. Even when it appears all has ended, it hasn’t, because the Lord God has not had the final word.
When it seems so hard to believe in something good coming out of something so hard and painful, we pause to remember the one - one day, on God’s holy mountain, there is a feast waiting for us to eat. And at that table there are no tears, but there are abundant desserts.
Death doesn’t win. Possibilities, hope, the future words of God do.
Respond:
Take a few minutes to consider some of the worries you hold in your heart today. What are the moments of loss, fear, or pain which are wrapped up into those worries? Name two or three out loud, or write them down on a piece of paper. Return to your list later in the day and make a second column next to them, this time listing all the possibilities which are still to be found in the worry, fear, or hurt. What can you see brewing underneath the surface? What word has God yet to speak?
Pray:
God, we are afraid of the unknown and would much rather have a road map then a jigsaw puzzle. Help us to look past the appearance of finality and hold onto the future hope you promise us. Amen.
