Lent
Holy Week
March 30, 2015
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And 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 for ever.
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.
It 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.
“That day”, the Day of the Lord or the Great Day all refer to a time when God’s way is our way. It is used by the prophets and by people who are writing about end times. It is used by Jesus at his Last Supper in Matthew 26.29: I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’
The waiting described by Isaiah is expectant waiting like a couple preparing for the birth of a child. It is the waiting that the Israelites did on the night the angel of death passed over Egypt and the Israelites prepared to leave slavery. It is the waiting Jesus foretells when he assures the disciples they will drink again with him.
In this post-resurrection time we recognize that Jesus’ coming was the coming of God’s Kingdom into the world and we now wait with expectation for its full fruition. Our work has really just begun.
Prayer: God of Love and Justice, enable our work toward the fruition of your Kingdom. Amen.