The Table Boston - Weekly Sermon
Free to Receive // Isaiah 44–45 // Abigail Dundore
This week, Abigail Dundore shares a message from Isaiah 44–45 titled "Free to Receive." Speaking into Israel's exile in Babylon, Abigail shows why idolatry is more than loving the wrong thing. It means loving something that cannot love us back.Abigail starts with Isaiah's almost comic picture of the blacksmith and the carpenter. They work hard to shape their idols and end the day hungry, thirsty and cold, still taking care of themselves. She connects this to the idols of our city: career success, financial security and intellectual achievement. Each one demands everything and gives nothing back. In contrast, God pours water on dry ground, plants the willows and carries His people from birth to old age. Abigail tells the story of giving up her plans for law school and discovering the justice work God had already given her. She also opens up about the shame she carried for years after a long season of chronic illness in her childhood, and about hearing the Lord say He never needed her to perform. Finally, she shows how blindness keeps us from seeing what enslaves us, and how God sweeps it away like mist.The sermon rests on a simple distinction: idols are pursued, but gifts are received. The same good thing can be an idol that enslaves us or a gift that delights us, but it can't be both. Shame enters when we overreach, trying to prove ourselves wise and self-reliant. From the beginning, all God wanted was for us to walk with Him as His sons and daughters. His Spirit does not disappoint, and shame cannot stand in the face of His love.Ultimately, this sermon is an invitation to put down the burdens we've learned to call normal and let God carry us. Some of that freedom comes in a moment, and some of it takes years of formation. Either way, God is working toward our joy. As we say yes to His redemption, He widens our capacity to receive His gifts with open hands and to break out in song.
