5 December 2023 – Homily for Tuesday, 1st week Advent – Isaiah 11:1-10

     We hear from the prophet Isaiah today, as we often do during Advent. Isaiah’s prophecies bring a message that foreshadows and foretells the coming of Christ into our world. Today, Isaiah foretells of a new king who will be guided by the Spirit of the Lord, a king who will sit on the throne of David. This is not an ordinary king, but a judge without peer. This king will bring new possibilities to the governance of Ancient Israel and in the justice that is to be lived out in that nation.  Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann describes Isaiah's vision as the birth of a new innocence in creation, in which trust, gentleness, and friendship are not only possible, but are appropriate.

      Isaiah uses imagery that appeals to our imagination. He describes a peace so profound in all of creation that the wolf will live alongside the lamb, the leopard will exist together with the baby goat, the calf and lion will be together; all of these animals will be led by a small child. All these things would be unthinkable in the "normal" order of the world. 

       If we believe in the peace that Jesus could bring into the world through his birth, think of what a different place it would be. While this vision appeals to our imagination, it is so different from the reality of creation today, where wolves and leopards devour their prey. Isaiah's vision may seem absurd in the brokenness of the world. However, there a fine line between hope and absurdity. The reality of our world can certainly destroy hope. Yet, Isaiah's message brings us hope in this season of Advent. Jesus, from the branch of Jesse, from the lineage of David, is the source of peace and hope. It is a hope that will bring us wisdom and understanding.  

       God's hope transforms the impossible into reality.  The shoot that Isaiah describes has the power to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. We see the promise of God's kingdom in Isaiah’s message as we long for the coming of Christ's birth into our world. May the Lord of justice and mercy bring us strength and wisdom as we await the coming of his Son.