Isaiah 25 describes salvation in terms of the great feast of God. It says that the Lord of Hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces and of wine well-refined. But this is possible because God has already eaten, and his dish was very different. He ate death. Verse 8 says, “He will swallow up death forever.” Christ in the garden asks that the cup would pass from him, but it did not. Hebrews 2:9 says that he tasted death for every man. So Christ tasted death and drank wrath that we might come into the feasting hall and be seated with joy at the banquet he has spread for us.

That’s the glorious, end-of-the-world reality, but never forget that our Lord’s Day worship is rehearsal for that final feast. This meal has the same shape and substance as that one: we gather in the presence of the Lord, having been cleansed of our sins, and we partake with joy and gladness of our Lord’s victory over death by his own death.

Now is not the time for sadness. Now is the time for reverent joy and solemn gladness. This bread and wine are the sign and seal of extravagant kindness, and they communicate to you the presence and favor of your God. When you partake, you are renewing covenant with your God, and He is renewing covenant with you.

And do not forget that this is a feast made for all people, for all the nations of the earth. We in north Idaho are testament to the breadth of the invitation list. This meal is not an act appropriate for individuals to have in their prayer closets. Rather this is an act of the corporate body. We come to the table all together because Christ has claimed all the nations.