Lectionary Thoughts: 1st Advent
December 2, 2010
This week’s texts: Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:37-44, Romans 13:8-14, Psalm 122
In focus: Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)
1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days
the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.3 Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.5 Come, descendants of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Coming into Advent, we are starting a season of waiting and expectation, looking forward to the time when Christ returns and everything is put right and renewed. Isaiah here gives us a great image of what that will look like – God’s temple is established on the highest mountain, and people come from all over the world to be there in that temple. In particular, God sits in that temple and resolves all the disputes and conflicts of the world. Instead of using war – a conflict resolution tactic whose historical success is parodied here – the nations of the world can simply go up to God’s mountain, and the problems are solved. In the midst of a world consumed by disagreements, fights, and wars of every kind, we look forward to a world with perfect peace – because, through God’s judgments, there is perfect justice. No more Costa Rica – Nicaragua border disputes that could spill over into violence. No more fights over mining rights in places like Bougainville. No more wars about oil, nuclear programs, ideologies. Just God’s perfect justice, and God’s perfect peace. That’s something worth waiting for.
But, we don’t just wait for it to come. This vision motivates us to work to make it a reality here and now – if God wants perfect justice and perfect peace, why not start practicing right away? As we look forward to being with God on that mountain, learning God’s ways, walking in God’s paths, we can also think about ways to stop building our weapons of war, and instead creating tools of peace. God’s kingdom has no place for swords and spears, that can only kill and destroy; we need more plowshares and pruning hooks, that provide people with plenty. Let’s make it happen.
