November 29- 3rd Day of Advent

November 29, 2016- Rebecca Reeder (CCO)Passage:

Isaiah 2:1-5

Reflection: From Violence to Cultivation

Today we read a passage from the beginning of the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet during the time of the Assyrian invasions and conquering of Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Judah had already become a vassal of Assyria in exchange for protection against Syria and Israel. After trying to usurp their power back, Judah has been taken over once more. The whole book of Isaiah centers on the Jews’ experience of threat, exile, and restoration, and God’s involvement in their human history.

Our historical climate today may not be a far cry from that of Isaiah’s. Just as Isaiah was stuck in the midst of invasion, battling rulers, the loss of God and the Temple at the center of life, and a long-divided nation of Jews in the North and South, so we are in similar state. Our country is deeply divided, our political leaders and media are constantly battling for control and the last word, and we live in a post-Christendom era, what some have also recently called a “post-truth” society. The view from where we sit is grim no doubt.

But Isaiah’s words are just as much for us as they were for the Israelites. We read that “In the days to come the mountain of the LORD’s house will be the highest of mountains,” and all “peoples will stream to it. Many nations will go and say, ‘Come, let’s go up to the LORD’s mountain.” Although Jerusalem is by no means the highest altitude in Israel or the world, to the Jews it was considered the mountain of the Lord’s house, the Temple, where the presence of the Lord dwelled. We know that Jesus compares himself to the temple of God, and the curtain shielding God’s presence from humans was torn at Christ’s death – symbolically representing that God’s presence is no longer off-limits to us, that God is in fact present with us in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is found when we go to the mountain of the Lord’s house. Jesus is the One who teaches us his ways, and walks alongside us in God’s paths. Jesus is God’s Word, God’s instruction, come to us from Zion. And Jesus is the highest of all mountains, hills, and authorities.

With that authority, Jesus Christ is also our judge – but not a mean, punishing judge. No, we read in Isaiah that he “settles disputes of mighty nations.” Christ is therefore more like our mediator, settling our many disputes, settling us in mind, body, spirit, and relationships. With Christ as our mediator, we can get rid of our weapons of violence and destruction, and turn them into tools of cultivation: “Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools.” And while we too wait for Christ to return and bring complete peace, we can participate daily in laying down our weapons and cultivating with Christ His new Creation.

Questions for Reflection:

• What destructive forces or patterns are present in your life right now?

• How can you actively turn from violence and destruction to cultivation of peace in your life and relationships?

Prayer:

O ruler of the nations,

Monarch for whom the people long,

you are the Cornerstone uniting all humanity:

Come, save us all,

whom you formed out of clay.

Come, Lord Jesus.

God of grace,

ever faithful in your promises,

the earth rejoices in hope of our Savior’s coming

and looks forward with longing

to his return at the end of time.

Prepare our hearts to receive him when he comes,

for he is Lord forever and ever. Amen.