There are things I just wonder about on a regular basis– life on other planets, what puppies really think, what really might be in a hot dog. There are other things of which I am certain – love is the way, God is good, dying is the beginning. In the latter list I would add something from today’s reading. Isaiah paints us a picture of the world after Messiah’s coming. We may hear it as Israel’s preparation for the Incarnation. But we are in a new age now. We cannot neglect the empty tomb as we reflect on the humble manger. Isaiah asks us now to dream not of the birth but of the return. This Scripture affirms something I believe with all my heart. On that day…there shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea [Isaiah 11:1, 9]. When Christ comes again everything will be as it should be – as it was intended from the beginning. Not only has our relationship to the Creator been fully restored by his selfless sacrifice but all creation will know the harmony of Triune love. This is the same passage with the famous metaphor of the beasts – the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, etc. Imagine! What if it read something like this?
People of every faith will worship God together,
Israel and Palestine will share the “Promised Land”;
terrorists will lay down their explosives,
and the widow and orphan will forgive the unforgiveable.
“Yours” and “mine” will disappear,
And there will be only “ours”;
No one will go to sleep hungry
for feeding one another will replace the need for sleep.
Death will be forgotten unless we tell the story,
Bodies will be made whole and shine like the sun;
Words will be unnecessary,
For the Word will teach us to speak with the heart alone.
This place of pain and longing will become the garden God intended,
The Christ will reign with love and justice;
And through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
All glory and honor shall be yours, Almighty God, forever and ever!
Yes, this someday is for certain. This is the promise of Advent. We wait with joyful longing for the One who has taken our flesh into the heart of God and will return for us – for all creation. May we live this day and every day certain of our destiny in Christ. May we bear the sufferings of this time, these bodies with courage and trust. As Christ is, so we shall be.
Advent joy and love to you all…
- Sister Vicki
