by Ruth Padilla DeBorst
Swanson, John August. Peaceable Kingdom, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/ act-imagelink.pl?RC=56556 [retrieved December 15, 2022]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
In this season of Advent, consider how we, as part of God’s people, are called to look to the future and to live today in light of that vision of the future. My husband, Jim, and I have six “adulting” kids in our blended family. Three of them have already announced to us that they do not want to bring children into the world because it is so messed up. Theirs is a pretty grim vision of the future.
Grim also was the vision held by the people of Israel who received the words of the prophet Isaiah that we find in chapter 11. Pressed from the East by Assyria, they were tempted to sell their precarious freedom to Egypt in exchange for defense. Greedy political leaders only sought their benefit while the general population went hungry. Religious leaders focused narrowly on temple rites and festivities but showed no concern for justice. Those were dark days.
It is into the thick of this reality that the prophet Isaiah speaks these words: (Isaiah 11.1-11)
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
For the people of Israel, steeped in darkness, these were words of comfort and encouragement, of hope for a better future. Although the line of King David had long dwindled, it would resurge. “From the stump of Jesse a shoot will come up.” A leader would arise whose reign would contrast radically with those the beleaguered people knew. Four characteristics of the reign of this leader stand out. First, it would be marked by the Spirit of God, a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and fear of the Lord. These were all virtues so lacking in their midst!
Second, it would be a reign marked by true justice, one in which the vulnerable would be cared for and have their rightful place, something so unlike their experience under oppressive local and foreign leaders.
Third, this reign would bring peaceful and life-guaranteeing harmony to the entire creation because the whole earth would be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. The portrait is beautifully striking!
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
No more destruction. A peaceable reign.
Finally, under the reign of this promised leader, God’s people would be drawn together from wherever they had been dispersed.
Now, dare they believe this could take place? Might such a Spirit led reign of justice and shalom be possible? Against all odds, this is the bold vision Isaiah portrayed. No more violence, no more arbitrary rulings, no more exploitation of the poor, no more conflict on the earth. The rule of the expected Messiah would restore all relationships, of the people with God, with one another, and with the whole created order.
As the rest of Scripture attests, what Isaiah only saw and portrayed dimly came to pass with the advent of Jesus, the Christ. The awaited Messiah broke into the world, revealing and incarnating God’s good purposes in human history. In Christ, God’s reign of justice, peace and abundant life was inaugurated. Jesus launched his ministry with echoes from the very same prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom of the captives and the year of God’s favor” (Luke 4). And as he healed, preached, taught and engaged in friendship with unlikely people –women, simple fisher-folk, tax collectors, even people wracked with leprosy and demons– Jesus embodied God’s love and justice. Led and empowered by the Spirit he calmed the raging waters and drew together a community of followers who eventually became his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. Isaiah’s vision was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
All good and well, you may say. This all transpired far away and a long, long time ago. What does this have to do with us? These are dark days for our world. Russia wages war on Ukraine, committing atrocious crimes against civilians, while conflict continues to unfold in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Meanwhile, many governments, like those in Iran and Peru, commit violence against their own people as they attempt to repress protests. We decry rising tides of corruption, such as those evidenced in the preparations and execution of the FIFA World Cup. We mourn starvation and displacement of people due to climate crises, such as the flooding earlier this year in Pakistan and famine in countries like Somalia. Their situations loom in stark contrast to those of multibillionaires who continue to accumulate wealth, often at the expense of the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, societies across the world are increasingly divided by polarized ideologies, which come into sharp relief in Brazil and the Philippines after their recent elections. Perhaps some of your own adult children are saying what mine are. Days are so dark it’s not responsible to bring children into the world.
“Are there any grounds for hope?,” we ask. Faith tells us there most definitely are! During advent, we celebrate that Christ will come again. Current darkness is not the end of the story! The promised rule of Spirit led wisdom, justice, thriving creation and fellowship with people from all ends of the earth will come to pass! Jesus’ first coming anticipates his return. With that confidence, we can live today in light of God’s promised future.
Since we believe that one day God’s Spirit will inspire wisdom and awesome acknowledgement of God, we strive to deepen our recognition of God’s rule over our lives here and now. Since we believe Christ’s reign of justice will be established, we seek justice in all relationships, systems, and realms of life here and now. Since we believe there will be peace and security in the whole of creation, we engage in the care of creation here and now. Since we believe God will gather God’s people from around the world, we embrace fellow human beings across borders, cultures, ethnicities and skin color here and now. Since we believe Christ will come again and his reign will one day be fully manifested, we live today into God’s future.
By God’s grace, the work of Christ, and the presence of the Spirit, may we live here and now in the present hope of that future. Amen.