They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:9
As I write this reflection, war is raging in Ukraine and in the Middle East. In addition, there was another school shooting last week. And last, but not least, we are mercifully coming to the end of yet another tumultuous political campaign
–one in which fear, hate, division and anger seems to consume the media coverage.
How long, O Lord? How long until you come down and fulfill the promise Isaiah proclaimed so many centuries ago in the passage that provides the focus for this reflection and in the verses leading up to it? Indeed, there is more to Isaiah’s vision than this one verse. In fact, it is the last verse of what is known as Isaiah’s vision of the Peaceful Kingdom (Isaiah 11:1-9).
The passage begins with the prophet’s prediction that a shoot will come out of the stump of Jesse (King David’s Father) and will be endowed with the spirit of God – a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord (vv. 1-2).
It goes on to promise that it will be a time when mortal enemies will cease being so (vv. 6-8). It is an inspiring vision of promise and hope that feels in our experiences of life as unfulfilled.
Perhaps? Or perhaps, as we hear those words in verse 2 about the spirit of God, it would be well for you and me to remember that they are the words spoken over many, if not all of us, when we were baptized and stood to affirm our baptism usually as young teens.
Perhaps God has been giving us a hint all this time, namely that you and I have been given the authority, the spirit to be the peace we desire, and the world so desperately needs.
To be sure you and I won’t bring an end to any of the items mentioned at
the opening of this reflection, but maybe, just maybe, we might strengthen a movement for peace and hope that God initiated in the birth of that tiny baby born in a lowly stable, the King of Peace, Jesus the Christ, by whose name we are called to be peace and hope in an often-troubled world.
Gracious and loving God, strengthen me to be the peace and hope you have called me to be through my baptism. Amen
Dennis Ritter is a retired pastor and former executive director of Lutheran Congregational Services.
No comments:
Post a Comment