July 25, 2026
July 26: The Satisfaction Cookout
July 26: The Satisfaction Cookout
So just as a reminder… this Sunday we’re back at the Lopez-Erickson household for a community cookout! There will be barbecuin’ and blazin’ tunage and a likely refreshing breeze under the shaded pine trees. You can bring your favorite side dish to share, and a camp chair if you like.
11AM at Casa de Lopez Erickson
5038 SE 99th Avenue
By the way, you might be wondering… *what’s with the name? Is Jelani going to be playing random Rolling Stones tunes at this shindig?**
One of my favorite passages from the Hebrew Scriptures comes from Isaiah 55:1-2:
*“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
**2 **Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.*
More than a few evangelical worship songs have been written from this text, but because this is the case I think sometimes we over spiritualize its meaning. Yes, Isaiah is speaking metaphorically here, offering an invitation to be present with God and find their satisfaction in Him. But the metaphor only works because Isaiah understands that we are human beings, with spirit, soul and body all mysteriously wrapped together with eternal significance and divine creativity.
So the parts of us that need to be connected to the divine presence of Jesus through worship and prayer … those parts are also intimately connected to the parts of us that enjoy good food, good music, good social events. I believe that part of the reason why we are instructed so many places in the Bible to gather in community is because by finding satisfaction in these basic needs like food, shelter and entertainment… doing those things together, we remind ourselves that God is ultimately the source of satisfaction.
The apostle James says it this way:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17, NIV).
This is also the reasoning behind the sacrament of the Eucharist, also known as communion. We eat and drink to remind ourselves who God is, what God has done, and therefore, who we are becoming in response.
In this light, Isaiah’s words make more sense. When he writes, “why spend your money on what isn’t food,” he’s not just railing about poor quality nourishment.
(That said, If he were alive today, prophets like Isaiah might have something to say about unhealthy additives in the American processed food industrial complex. But I think his ire would be aimed less at the people consuming the food and more about those selling it. The Hebrew prophets were always denouncing exploitation of the poor by the rich.)
But I digress.
Isaiah is not some joyless scold trying to get people to eat more vegetables and less chocolate. Rather, he’s offering a simple corrective. If God has already provided what we need, why would we go out of our way to engage in something that we already know will not truly satisfy us? Indeed, an oversimplified definition of sin is anything that we know will not give us the satisfaction we truly long for, whether that’s violence, abuse, gluttony, greed, or anything else that falls short of God’s best.
So if you need a reminder of who God is, experience the divine creativity of our creator, refracted through the food, the music, the trees, and the various beautiful image bearers who will be present (yes, including you, dear reader).
Come on out to James and Veronica’s place. It’s summer time, for Christ’s sake (yes, I do mean those words).
Let’s have a cookout!
REMINDERS:
SUNDAY AUGUST 2nd: Sabbath Sunday (No Gathering.)
SUNDAY AUGUST 9th: Meetup at Mt. Scott Park
*Rolling Stones? Probably not. But I might be convinced to play “Satisfied” by Renee Elise Goldsberry, from the Hamilton soundtrack.
Copyright (C) . All rights reserved.