Longing

Rhona Cathcart March 20, 2022 0 2

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Isaiah 55: 1-3 (NRSVA)

1 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.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
    listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
    my steadfast, sure love for David.

Imagine a world in which there was no such thing as longing — because everyone had everything they needed. It’s a disconcerting, and not entirely pleasant picture. It’s disconcerting because longing comes naturally to us. From the moment we are born, we are creatures of needs and desires. Who would we be without those needs and desires and the longing to fulfil them? At the same time we know that our desires, at least, cannot and should not always be met. If I ate all the chocolate I longed for, it would not be good for me! Still, persistently unmet longings can lead to persistent dissatisfaction. Modern consumer culture has elevated this into a way of life in which we are constantly encouraged to long for something new. Some worldviews encourage detachment as a way of breaking through this dissatisfaction. If you don’t want anything badly enough, you will find life more balanced and peaceful. That may be so. But I’m not entirely sure we’re supposed to quell our restless longings. I prefer what feels like the more authentically human approach of the Bible. Isaiah doesn’t deny our longings, or tell us to do so. Instead he uses the language of the marketplace to call us to direct our longings to fulfilment in God. The Bible’s answer to unfulfilled needs and desires is not detachment, but the invitation to ‘come and buy’.

PRAYER:

Lord we long for peace.

On sale today, my child, the peace that passes all understanding. Come and buy.

Lord we long for justice.

Special offer, precious one, righteousness like a never-ending stream. Come and buy.

Lord we long for love

Two for the price of one, love and forgiveness. No time limit. Come and buy.

But what if I can’t pay?

That’s taken care of, dear one. Come and buy.