Reflection for December 7
Advent is a period of hope and waiting, and today Isaiah reminds us that both ‘hope’ and ‘waiting’ are action words; there’s work to be done. What is it? The Church speaks of the Kingdom of God as “already but not yet.” God has established it; we live in it, as imperfect as we are, and we are called to participate in bringing it to its fruition. Today, Isaiah tells us some of what we must do, and his message is one of both consolation—a reminder that God is with God’s people even as they live in exile—and commission, the work of fashioning a realm where justice prevails and peace is more than a byproduct. We are to love God and neighbor, and especially those who may not love us.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the young lion shall browse together (Isaiah 11: 6-8)
Perhaps I’m not the only one who has reflexively aligned myself with the lamb, and the kid, and the calf. The ‘underdogs.’ The ones who rely upon their counterparts not to eat them. Maybe most of us have. But what if we’ve gotten it wrong? What if Isaiah intended for us to see ourselves as the wolf, or the leopard, or the lion? The predator? What is the message then?
Maybe it’s an encouragement for us to identify our individual weapons and lay them down. To curb our tongues, if we’re capable of wounding with them; to delete those harsh comments; to listen attentively instead of intimidating with a look of contempt. Maybe Isaiah is nudging us to walk alongside someone who thinks differently from us, and just ‘be’ together. Even when we’re convinced we’re right. Even when we know it. We’re all keenly aware of how divided we feel right now, and that not everyone is willing to be just ‘be.’ But ‘just being’ is what hopeful waiting requires. It has to start somewhere, with someone. With a community of someones.
Let’s be that community. Let’s build the Kingdom.
Pat Joyce
Pat Joyce