Can you imagine a world where natural enemies become friends? In today's Advent reflection, we look at the Prophet Isaiah's vision of the "Peaceable Kingdom," where the wolf lies down with the lamb. We explore what this means for modern conflicts—Ukrainians and Russians, Gazans and Israelis, Republicans and Democrats.
The scripture readings for the Second Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 11 and Matthew 3) challenge us to speak the truth. Isaiah prophesies a leader who judges not by appearance, but with justice for the poor—slaying the wicked not with guns or spears, but with "the rod of his mouth." Meanwhile, John the Baptist calls the Pharisees a "brood of vipers," demanding not just words, but the fruit of repentance.
We are called to address the injustices we see. We cannot fix everything, but to stay silent is to tacitly endorse the wrong. Join us for a reflection on how to live with hope and take prophetic action this Advent.
The first reading today is from the Prophet Isaiah (which we just had last Tuesday as well.) It says, "On that great day a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse," and it promises the Peaceable Kingdom. It says, “the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.” Can you imagine a world in which these natural enemies become friends, become neighbors to each other, living in peace? Extrapolate that to the peoples of the world living in peace with each other: Ukrainians and Russians, Gazans and Israelis, Republicans and Democrats. Imagine.
Isaiah includes an implicit critique that the Peaceable Kingdom isn't the world we live in right now. The reading says that “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots, a bud shall blossom.” Jesse's tree has been cut down, but new life will come. What will that new life be? It says t”he Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him—a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” One will come who will have wisdom, who will know truth, and be dedicated to that truth. That, of course, we as Christians believe is Jesus, but it is also our call as his followers.
When he comes, Isaiah says, "Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice and decide aright for the land’s afflicted." He will judge the poor with justice, being so dedicated to the truth that even the poor will get justice; the land's afflicted—the people whom the system is crushing—will be set free by the coming Kingdom if we are dedicated to the truth.
But how will this come about? The text says “he shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he shall slay the wicked.” No guns, no spears, no weapons of war—just words. He will speak the truth, and that will bring about justice.
So, for you and I, that's all we need to do. You and I simply need to speak the truth, and God will bring about justice and peace. What would that look like? Call out the injustices you see. Get to know and introduce to others the people who are being crushed by the system, the “land’s afflicted.” When you see something wrong, say it is wrong, and do not let your silence tacitly endorse it
In the reading from the Gospel from Matthew. John the Baptist appeared preaching in the desert of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Advent is about preaching repentance, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, metanoia, turn your life around. And that's accompanied by a confession of sin. That's what John the Baptist was calling people to: "Confess your sins, get baptized in this water to show that you will repent."
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance." Do not just come and get baptized in this water and say you repent; show the fruit of your repentance—the fruit that you have turned your life around.
The good news is that "fruit" doesn't mean fixing everything that's wrong with the world. We can't do that; only God can do that. But that fruit is a fruit of my life showing I have reoriented it towards truth. I now want what God wants, and even if I can't grasp it, my life shows that that's what I want. When I see someone in need I don’t pretend I don’t see them. I do something about it. When I see injustice, I don’t simply turn away. I see if there is a way I can help right this wrong. Not that I can right all wrongs. I can’t. That is God’s job. But to not try to address any wrong is to fail to distinguish wrong from right, or to come down on the side of wrong. This is the fruit God is looking for from us, even today. Repent, turn our lives around—repent of the ways where our actions shows that we have no hope—that we don't believe things can get better, or that the wolf could never be a guest of the lamb, and do some prophetic action that begins a process of healing that God can finish.
We are called to be people who believe that God can make the world better. We need to live our lives showing hope is alive in us, working to help bring it about—knowing that we can't bring it about alone, but we can work towards it. God is asking of us this week to be people who act justly because they are grounded in truth, and live in hope that God can still bring about a better world—that there will one day be a Peaceable Kingdom. And we want to be a part of that.
God bless you this week and all through your Advent journey.
- Log in to post comments
