11/29/2011 – Homily for Tuesday, 1st week Advent – Isaiah 11:1-10

      We hear from the prophet Isaiah today, as we often do during Advent, as his prophecies foreshadow the coming of Christ into our world.  Today, Isaiah foretells of a new king who will be guided by God's spirit, a king who will sit on the throne of David.  He won't be just any king, but a judge without peer.  This king will bring new possibilities in the governance of 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.

       The imagery Isaiah uses appeals to our imagination: it is a peace so profound in all of creation that the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will be with a baby goat, the calf & lion will co-exist together, and all of these animals will be led by a small child. 

       If we really believe in the peace that Jesus could bring into our lives & creation through his birth, think of what a different place our world would be.  While this vision appeals to our imagination, it is so different from the reality of creation today, where wolves eat lambs, leopards devour baby goats, & little children wouldn't stand a chance in the presence of wild beasts, let alone leading them anywhere.

       Isaiah's vision may seem absurd in the brokenness in our world today.  On the daily newscast we see so much suffering, turmoil, and violence.  When I visit the inmates in prison, they talk very openly about the senseless violence that rules so many lives in our world today. 

       So, is there a fine line between hope and absurdity?  The reality of our world can often destroy our hope.  Yet, hope is exactly what we have in Isaiah's message in this season of Advent that is upon us.  Jesus, from the branch of Jesse, from the lineage of David, is the source of peace & hope.   Through this branch, we gain 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.  New life comes into our world.  For those of us who are believers, we will see the promise of God's kingdom in Isaiah’s message, we will long for the coming of Christ's birth into our world, we will pray for the fulfillment of that kingdom. 

       May the Lord of justice and mercy bring us strength & wisdom as we await the coming of his Son.  May we find peace in the painful situations that confront us in our lives, until that time when God’s eternal peace comes here on earth.