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In ways both subtle and blatant, across all aspects of our life and culture, our lives have been and continue to be shaped by enemy images. There is an understanding of “how the world works” which operates at a deep level and assumes that the world is divided into “us” and “them,” and that “they” are out to get “us.” We hear it from our politicians. We see it in the news. We find it on our Facebook pages. We watch it unfold in the midst of our own community. Sometimes we hear it preached from the pulpit, and we even read it in the pages of scripture. It is a world view which is so ubiquitous and pervasive as to be almost invisible. It hides in the shadows, flies below our radar, and slips past our awareness. All too often we tend to think it simply is the way things are and the way they always will be, because it is the way things always have been.
That seems to be what was happening with the prophet Isaiah. In the first five verses of Isaiah 25 the prophet is so sure that the world is filled with enemies he even brings God into the middle of the fight. In Isaiah's understanding, the aliens (read here all those who are not like me and are, therefore, out to get me) will be brought down by God. That is, after all, the only solution when you see the world through the lens of “enemies.” They have to be destroyed before they destroy you. If you aren't with me you are against me, and if you are against me then God will protect me by destroying you.
Fortunately, for us and for the rest of the world, Isaiah doesn't stop with verse five. We aren't given any indication of what happened between verses five and six, but what we see revealed represents a quantum shift. It is as if God steps into the conversation and says, “Wait just a minute! There is another way to look at all of this!” “Us” and “them” is transformed into “us.” “On this mountain God will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.” (Isaiah 25:6) The understanding of enemies gives way to an awareness that in God's eyes we are all in this thing together. And the results of the two ways of looking at the world stand in stark contrast. When we see enemies, the world is filled with devastation and ruin. When we see partners and fellow travelers, the world becomes a banquet.
Far too often we take up the tragically mistaken notion that we are separate - from each other and from God. Such thinking is a classic case of self-fulfilling prophecy. It leads us to darkness and grief and death. We believe we are separate, so we act like we're separate, and thus we create the very experience we thought we were reacting to. Talk about a vicious circle.
But there is hope - a way out - a different way of being in the world. Isaiah sees it as a party - a lush, extravagant feast. The only requirement is that we have to leave our enemy images at the door. If we don't we will just end up ruining the party, because when we get inside we quickly discover that we aren't alone. “What is she doing here?” we mutter (none-too-quietly). Soon one thing leads to another and the next thing you know the buffet table has been tipped over and the police are breaking up the fight. Eventually there will be a party (literally the party to end all parties). It will happen because God is determined to have one, and God can simply outlast us. But wouldn't it be great if it started now, instead of later? There are already enough cities lying in heaps. There are already enough “enemies” who “have been destroyed.” Isn't it time we began looking for another way? Isn't it time we accepted God's invitation to the feast?
It really is possible to learn, and grow, and change. We do not have to stay stuck in our old patterns for seeing the world. Just look at the world we live in. Issues around race, and gender, and sexual orientation (to name just a few) continue to challenge us, but we have also made amazing strides forward in recent years. We aren't there yet. There is still a whole lot of transformation that needs to take place. But we are on the way, and it is helpful to remember that it is not an impossible task. We know it can be done, because we have already done so much. In 1959 the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted a prayer from a preacher who had once been a slave: “Lord, we ain't what we want to be; we ain't what we ought to be; we ain't what we gonna be, but, thank God, we ain't what we was.” We can choose to move beyond our enemy images.
Of course it won't be easy. Such images are deeply and firmly entrenched at every level of our lives. It even seems to be true. There really are people out there who are trying to hurt us. The difference is we don't have to see them as enemies to be destroyed. It is possible to understand them as hurting and struggling and lost, doing the best they know how to find meaning and purpose in their lives. When we see them as enemies we don't have to understand them. We just have to destroy them, or pray for God to destroy them. When we see them as fellow travelers who are all trying to get to the same party we're trying to get to, then the rules of engagement change. Rather than destroy them, the challenge becomes finding ways to embrace them. It isn't about being a naïve doormat. It is about seeing the world through the lens of connection and compassion rather than through the lens of separation and fear. To strive for anything less is to settle for the same painful reality we already know all too well. To strive for anything less is to miss out on God's abundant feast.
There really is hope beyond our enemy images. Come to the party, and leave them at the door. If you don't like it, you can always leave, and pick them up again on your way out. But for now come on in and give it a try. The band is playing. The food is on the table. The Host has even reserved a dance just for you. It's time - come on in to God's party!
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