Title: A FEAST OF RICH FOOD

Focus: The Lord’s Supper points to a glorious, eternal future on the restored creation for all God’s people

Function: To move the people to participate already today in this feast of rich food through faith in Christ, anticipating the reality of that future when Christ comes again.

Texts: Isaiah 25:6-9; John 1:32-44

They had been married for almost 40 years when her husband died. His death was sudden; her grief was great, and the pain of her loss lingered on.

Although their mother seemed to manage life fairly well as a widow, her adult children worried about her, because she continued to set the table for two—breakfast, lunch, and supper time, every day—one plate for her, one plate for her deceased husband.

A psychologist explained to the adult children that this strange practice is a coping mechanism. Their mother was working through her grief. “What she needs is time and the love of her family to deal with the death of her husband,” said the psychologist. I suspect, however, that this widow’s extra plate on the table was more than just a coping mechanism to work through grief. It was also a sign of longing, of yearning for fellowship, companionship and friendship. A sign of grief and loss? Yes. But also a sign of longing and hope for wholeness and shalom.

The Lord’s Table is the place where the church on earth gathers for spiritual food and fellowship. The Lord’s Supper is a celebration where we look back on Christ’s accomplished work on the cross and in the tomb. But it is also a celebration where we look forward to Christ’s completion of his saving work. The Lord’s Supper points to the feast of rich food—the wedding banquet of the Lamb of God.

And guess who are present whenever the church on earth celebrates the Lord’s Supper? There is Christ, who communicates his presence to us by means of the Holy Spirit. And there are the angels of God—the heavenly hosts, who do God’s bidding; and yes, there is the church triumphant—those who have gone before us through the veil of death and who are today in the very presence of Christ. I’m thinking, for example, of those whose names you forwarded to me earlier this week: (read first set of names)

They, too, are present at the Lord’s Table. And with us here on earth, the saints in heaven look forward to the feast of rich food—to the future when all things shall be made new and when death shall be no more.

The Scripture reading for today directs our faith toward the new heavens and earth. For Isaiah’s prophecy foreshadows that glorious future. Lazarus’ return to life exemplifies this good news; and Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection open up that future for all God’s people, already today through faith in Jesus.

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Isaiah spoke the Word of God in very tumultuous times in Israel. The threat of invasion of the Promised Land was real: the Assyrians were arising from the East. Israel faced defeat and exile in the very near future. Isaiah warned God’s people and called them to faith and repentance. Isaiah also comforted God’s people with some good news: even though exile is imminent, there would come a day of restoration for the Israelites. That day will be like a feast of rich food. Such is the setting of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Now listen to the good news declared by the prophet Isaiah: “On this mountain” (which is Zion, where the Temple of God is located in the City of Jerusalem), the Lord Almighty” will do a number of things:

· He will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples.

· He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples.

· He will swallow up death forever by wiping away the tears from all faces, by removing the disgrace (of sin and evil, misery and death) from all the earth.

This good news points to Israel’s future return from Assyrian and Babylonian exile. But it is also a shadow pointing toward the comings of Christ—his first coming in the flesh and his final coming in glory.

Peter Leithart, in his book Blessed are the Hungry, explains that “this setting of exile and return…helps us to understand the promises of Isaiah 25.” The threat of invasion, death, and exile are like a shroud covering God’s people. In fact, “Judah had been under a sentence of death because of her sins—scattered among the nations. But the Lord promised that the ‘covering’ of death that had hovered over (the nation) would be swallowed up, their reproach would be removed, and the tears of (God’s people) would be turned to rejoicing…The feast on the Lord’s mountain, then, celebrated both the return from exile and the Lord’s victory over death. Or rather, it celebrates the return from exile as the Lord’s victory over death.”

There is a feast of rich food coming! Such is the setting and good news of Isaiah’s prophecy.

In the Bible a feast of rich food is a metaphor for God restoring and saving his people. Food places a huge role in the story of God and his dealings with all of us. For one thing, food reminds us of God’s provisions and our dependence upon God’s care.

No food—no life! Thank God for food and life! When Moses and the Israelites, for example, roamed around in the wilderness for 40 years, they learned a huge lesson: God sustains us with his manna. How dependent we are upon God! That was not only the case in the days of Isaiah, but also later in the days of Jesus and in our days as well.

For example, when Jesus came to earth to save the lost and to reconcile the world to God, he spoke of the kingdom of God. And that kingdom of God is all about the renewal of creation, the restoration of all things. And that kingdom of God takes the specific form of a feast. One pastor/theologian (Leithart, p. 167) asserts that Jesus used the image of the feast more than any other to describe the reality of (God’s) kingdom.

For example, Jesus promised the disciples they would sit on thrones and have table fellowship in the kingdom (Luke 22:28-30); Jesus told the believing centurion that many would come from the east and west to recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom (Matthew 8:5-13). Also, Jesus told the parable of a king inviting reluctant guests to a banquet (Matthew 22:1-14). And when John the Baptizer wanted to distinguish his ministry from that of Jesus, he called Jesus the Bridegroom whose coming marked the beginning of the joyful wedding celebration (John 3:29; cf. 2:1-11).

In short, the kingdom of God, when fully established, is like a banquet, a feast of rich food. I like the way Leithart puts it: (p.167) “The omega point toward which history is moving is the wedding feast of the Lamb…this is the way the world ends: with neither bang nor whimper but with the laughter of a wedding feast.” You and I who put our trust in Jesus’ work on the cross and in the tomb look forward to that feast—to that glorious, eternal future, when Christ will restore all things and make everything right.

We are not chasing a pipe dream. This beautiful future prophesied in the Scriptures is the gospel that motivates us in our journey of life and that strengthens us when we face the losses of death and the pain of loneliness. That gospel is set before us today and sustains us when we participate in the Lord’s Supper this morning.

Our daily lives are moving toward a wedding banquet—the feast of the Lamb of God. God’s people in heaven, along with the angels, remind us of that future, when we hear them shouting in anticipation (Rev. 19:6,7): “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” A feast of rich food is being prepared!

Earlier this morning, I read the story of Lazarus’ return to life. It’s a moving, powerful story that shocks Jesus’ contemporaries. In fact, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he wrote his own death sentence, for Jesus’ act of raising Lazarus triggered the Jewish leaders into action—to arrest and kill Jesus. Lazarus’ return to life broke the “camel’s back of resistance” against Jesus.

Two things we should observe from the text: First of all, the story of Lazarus’ death and return to life took place with Jesus’ complete foreknowledge or awareness that Lazarus’ illness and death would lead to God revealing his glory through Jesus.

In other words, this powerful story and dramatic climax in Lazarus’ life took place so that the people in Jesus’ days (and also today) would see that the feast of rich food had come, so that you and I would see that Jesus is the Key to the kingdom of God. That’s why Jesus could pray at the tomb of Lazarus: “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Secondly, the story of Lazarus’ return to life powerfully foreshadows Jesus’ sacrificial death and astonishing resurrection. Isaiah’s prophesy about a feast of rich food foreshadowed a glorious future; Lazarus’ return to life exemplifies this good news.

Now all eyes are on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection open up this glorious future for all God’s people. That’s why Jesus could say in the Upper Room, just before his arrest and crucifixion: (Lk. 22:15-18) “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God…I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

On this All Saints’ Sunday, we welcome the good news: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. And together with all God’s people in heaven and on earth we feast today. In the sacrament of baptism, we enter the story of Christ, washing away our sins, granting us his Holy Spirit, assuring us of his abiding presence and love.

In the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we enter the story of Christ’s death and resurrection and we participate already today in signs that the rule of Christ has come: we break the bread, we drink the cup, we fellowship together in unity, and we anticipate the great day of the wedding banquet. We do so together with the church on earth and God’s people in heaven. I’m thinking, for example, of (read second set of names).

Those of you who struggle with losses and death and who mourn and weep (and who does not at one time or another?), I invite you to embrace the Lord Jesus by faith, to draw strength and comfort and hope from his victory over sin and death. And I declare with confidence: “Come, eat, drink, and celebrate—for the feast of rich food is prepared for you—and the wedding banquet of the Lamb of God is soon to come.”

Then shall be fulfilled that awesome vision found in Revelation 21 “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.