The Peaceable Kingdom

The Peaceful Kingdom

A shoot shall come out from the
stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of
the LORD.
His delight shall be in the fear of the
LORD.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge
the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek
of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he
shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around
his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his
loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the
kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling
together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the
ox.
The nursing child shall play over the
hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its
hand of the adder's den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:1-10

If you have been reading any children's literature of late perhaps your imagination will know just what to do with this passage because you are already immersed in a world of talking animals; a world where mice and lions are friends; a world where children play with bears.  We are taking another trip through the Chronicles of Narnia at our house so of course, I couldn't help but think of Aslan after he broke the power of the witch's deep magic on the stone table. CS Lewis paints a picture there that continues to work on my imagination:

"You're not - not a - a?"asked Susan in a shaky voice.  She couldn't bring herself to say ghost.  Aslan stooped his golden head and licked her forehead.  The warmth of his breath and a rich sort of smell that seemed to hang about his hair came all over her.
"Do I look it," he said.
"Oh your real, your real! Oh Aslan!" cried Lucy and the girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses....
"Oh children said the Lion I feel my strength coming back to me," said the Lion, "Oh children, catch me if you can." He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail.  Then he made a leap over their heads and landed himself on the other side of the Table... A mad chase began.  Round and round the hilltop he lead them now hopelessly out of reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautiful velvted paws and catching them again and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy, laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.  And the funny thing was that when all three finally lay together panting in the sun the girls no longer felt in the least tired, or hungry or thirsty."

What a vision of new creation!  One has to wonder if texts like this morning's, from Isaiah, were a part of forming the imagination for this story in Narnia.  I wonder how the children will respond to these images Sunday morning?  How do you respond to the text today? Does it stir some wonder or create some possibility for you; does it give you hope? The wolf and the lamb, the lion eating straw, the cow and the bear eating together in the field, a child playing with snakes - and not just garden snakes but a cobra! Imagine!  A time of peace is coming that will be so profound - all that is fearful or threatening or dangerous will become tame and peaceful and even playful.

The baby born an outsider in a violent world, it was he whom the angels announced to the listening world; they lit up the hillside singing: "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among people." This song sent the shepherds running in search of the child, alive with the hope of God.  Jesus, the Prince of Peace.  He didn't have a political strategy for peace - he was peace. Remember the gospel stories, the way he calmed the seas - he was there when that boat was rocking and the fear was strong and he calmed the waters. He knelt down to the ground, he wrote with his finger in the dirt, "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" and after they had all left he said to the woman, "Where are they now, has no one condemned you?" she replied, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you." He is peace. And he said to his disciples, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts me troubled and do not let them be afraid."
It is this faith in the Prince of Peace that can sustain us in the midst of turmoil and disaster and sickness and grief and injustice.  During Advent we remember, we look for, and we look forward to the coming of Jesus into our world. We remember his faithfulness through all time for He is a God who keeps his promises. He is a God who comes near, who is with us, who is peace.  And when we trust in the Prince of Peace we receive his peace and we become a people of peace in a troubled world.

A shoot shall come from the stump of Jesse...David, the youngest and smallest of Jesse's children, the least obvious choice is the one Samuel annoints with oil, the one who becomes King of Israel. And from the line of this unlikely Shepherd King comes something even more unlikely: God enfleshed as a wee babe - and his name shall be Emmanuel, God with us.  God is with us.

On the way to the west coast of Vancouver Island, you may have stopped in at Cathedral Grove - a magnificent old growth rain forest with perfect moss beds, Ent-like trees and leafy canopies playing with sunlight.  There you will find quite a few nurse logs proclaiming to the world that out of a deadened stump new life can come - a tender shoot, a branch, a sign of hope!  A reminder for us that whatever the stump is in our life, whatever is cut off and as good as dead is not without hope. A tender shoot can come out of the dry ground or the dead stump or cracked concrete.  We are a resurrection people who receive new life in Christ.  We are advent people who wait for, who look for, who hope for Christ.

The Peace of Christ to each of you as you wait in expectation for the coming of our Lord.