Working at Peace: Advent 2.
Isaiah 11: 1 – 10; Matthew 3: 1 -12 (1595)
Isaiah 11: 1 – 10; Matthew 3: 1 -12 (1595)
What a beautiful picture Isaiah sets? The messiah will judge with righteousness and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And the wolf will live with the lamb and the lion will eat straw like an ox. It’s bizarre but beautiful. It is a word picture of peace – real peace.
On the second Sunday in Advent we light the Peace candle. Peace is the theme of our Bible texts. It is explicit in the Isaiah text and implicit in the other texts. Isaiah provides a rich insight into God’s peace. Isaiah’ word pictures show that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but Creation living in harmony. Listen again to the words of Isaiah chapter 11.
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 on the adder’s den.
This prophetic picture shows the vulnerable and the powerful living together in harmony and wholeness. It is a picture where the enemy and foe have moved beyond the cessation of violence to the place of togetherness. The wolf lives with the lamb, the leopard lies with the kid, the cow and bear graze together as does the lion and the ox. A child leads all. Isaiah paints a picture of Creation living in community and harmony. Not surprisingly a statement about God’s judgement precedes this futuristic scene. God’s Servant will judge us not by rational evidence that is seen and heard, but by the deeper measure of equity and righteousness. [Is 11: 1 -10] God’s righteousness is never just moral rightness. God’s righteousness is about relationships. God’s righteousness starts with right relationships. So from the Isaiah text we learn that God’s peace is more than a cessation of violence but the development of harmony and wholeness for the whole of creation. Though Isaiah has articulated these thoughts so eloquently they are found elsewhere in the Scriptures.
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 on the adder’s den.
This prophetic picture shows the vulnerable and the powerful living together in harmony and wholeness. It is a picture where the enemy and foe have moved beyond the cessation of violence to the place of togetherness. The wolf lives with the lamb, the leopard lies with the kid, the cow and bear graze together as does the lion and the ox. A child leads all. Isaiah paints a picture of Creation living in community and harmony. Not surprisingly a statement about God’s judgement precedes this futuristic scene. God’s Servant will judge us not by rational evidence that is seen and heard, but by the deeper measure of equity and righteousness. [Is 11: 1 -10] God’s righteousness is never just moral rightness. God’s righteousness is about relationships. God’s righteousness starts with right relationships. So from the Isaiah text we learn that God’s peace is more than a cessation of violence but the development of harmony and wholeness for the whole of creation. Though Isaiah has articulated these thoughts so eloquently they are found elsewhere in the Scriptures.
Commonly speaking we think of ‘peace’ as the absence of war and strife. The dictionary provides us with richer meanings: a) the freedom from disturbance; b) a period of time where there is no war or conflict; c) an agreement of harmony between people; and d) personal inner peace.
Now the absence of war or conflict does not mean the same thing as ‘an agreement of harmony between people’. Harmony, as in music, means far more than the absence of the clash of sounds. Harmony in music means we have a composition that is greater than the sum of parts or notes of music. Harmony speaks of balance and symmetry. The harmony speaks of working together and relationships. Harmony speaks of the cooperation not competition.
It is important to distinguish between peace as an absence or cessation of conflict and peace that has established harmony. The first simply means there is no fighting. The second meaning means we have something new and beautiful, for harmony is always beautiful. We mistake the absence of conflict as true peace at our peril. We have all witnessed a scene where some innocent remark ignites a fiery response. The reaction is disproportionate to the action. What has happened? The remark has opened up an old wound. It has unlocked a vault full of emotions. Like a volcano the emotions have erupted and spilled their destructive forces on the relationship or community. This is because the former offences were never properly dealt with. They were merely suppressed: placed beneath the surface waiting to erupt when the right trigger occurred. True peace results firstly from a process of forgiveness and reconciliation. True peace arises when reconciliation, justice, mercy and equity take place. We see this happening at the personal level or in an organization like a club or church, and it happens between nations. Wherever past offences have not been properly dealt with, where there is inequity, unforgiveness and injustice, conflict will lie beneath the surface to only erupt in one way or another.
History provides us with some good examples. The Peace of Versailles established in 1919 following the World War I (WW I) was negotiated and imposed upon Germany with some very punishing clauses. This caused resentment in Germany. There had been a real struggle during the establishment of the peace to get the right balance. But the voice wanting punishment not reconciliation was not silenced. Many say that WW II was a result of the Peace of Versailles. That may be debatable, but it illustrates the fact that peace that amounts to a cessation of war and strife is a shallow peace that will most likely erupt into conflict later. What followed for Germany was the rise of a politician who led a movement to restore Germany’s national pride. In recent times we have seen that when politicians have not been listening to the people who have suffered real or perceived injustices and inequity there has arisen a strong reaction insisting on change.
Now Christ Jesus taught that God’s peace begins with us. If we are not at peace in ourselves we will not be peaceful people. Peace begins within us. We need to make our peace with God, others and ourselves. Remarkably we overlook the enormous impact on our lives when we don’t accept, forgive and treat respectfully ourselves. We need to love ourselves, as we are worthy of love. First we need to acknowledge our part in the breakdown of relationships with God, others and ourselves. We need to ask God’s forgiveness for the hurt we have caused. Secondly, we need to accept God’s forgiveness and gracious acceptance of us. We are created in God’s image. That means we are God’s. This means we have a residual worth. The image of God in us may be tarnished but it is never not there. Our recognition of God, our part in the failure and our acceptance of God’s forgiveness lifts the tarnish. The brightness of God begins to emerge in us. Thirdly, we turn to others and this world and ask for forgiveness and offer our forgiveness. Then we will be truly able to love our neighbour and build peace with God’s help.
Peace is God’s gift to us, but we must play our part so that real peace can take place. Colin Gibson, who wrote Gloria in excelsis the choir sang, sums up our responsibility and the richness of peace in these words.
“Peace be to all on earth that we share,
peace be the vision and peace be our care.”
“Peace be to all on earth that we share,
peace be the vision and peace be our care.”
Finally I share this parable to spur us on our way.
“World War XII, as everybody knows, brought about the collapse of civilization. Towns, cities and villages disappeared from the earth. All the groves and forests were destroyed, and all the gardens and all the works of art. Men, women and children became lower than the lower animals. Discouraged and disillusioned, dogs deserted humans.
Books, paintings and music disappeared from the earth, and human beings just sat around doing nothing. Years and years went by. Even the few generals who were left forgot what the last war had decided. Boys and girls grew up to stare at each other blankly, for love had passed from the earth.
One day a young girl who had never seen a flower chanced to come upon the last one in the world. She told the other human beings that the last flower was dying. The only one who paid any attention to her was a young man she found wandering about. Together the young man and the girl nurtured the flower and it began to live again.
One day a bee visited the flower, and a hummingbird. Before long there were two flowers, and then four and then a great many. Groves and forests flourished again and the boy and girl began to notice each other.
Love was reborn in the world. Their children grew up strong and healthy and learned to run and laugh. Dogs came out of exile. The young man discovered, by putting one stone upon another, how to build a shelter. Soon everybody was building shelters. Towers, cities and villages sprang up. Song came back into the world and troubadours and jugglers and tailors and cobblers and painters and poets and sculptors and wheelwrights and soldiers and lieutenants and captains and generals and major-generals and liberators.
Some people went to one place to live, and some to another. Before long, those who went to live in the valleys wished they had gone to live in the hills and those who had gone to live the hills wished they had gone to live in the valleys.
The liberators, under the guidance of an ideal, set fire to the discontent. So presently the world was at war again. This time, the destruction was so complete … that nothing at all was left in the world except one man and one woman and one flower.” [The Last Flower, Stories for Sharing p.49]
Books, paintings and music disappeared from the earth, and human beings just sat around doing nothing. Years and years went by. Even the few generals who were left forgot what the last war had decided. Boys and girls grew up to stare at each other blankly, for love had passed from the earth.
One day a young girl who had never seen a flower chanced to come upon the last one in the world. She told the other human beings that the last flower was dying. The only one who paid any attention to her was a young man she found wandering about. Together the young man and the girl nurtured the flower and it began to live again.
One day a bee visited the flower, and a hummingbird. Before long there were two flowers, and then four and then a great many. Groves and forests flourished again and the boy and girl began to notice each other.
Love was reborn in the world. Their children grew up strong and healthy and learned to run and laugh. Dogs came out of exile. The young man discovered, by putting one stone upon another, how to build a shelter. Soon everybody was building shelters. Towers, cities and villages sprang up. Song came back into the world and troubadours and jugglers and tailors and cobblers and painters and poets and sculptors and wheelwrights and soldiers and lieutenants and captains and generals and major-generals and liberators.
Some people went to one place to live, and some to another. Before long, those who went to live in the valleys wished they had gone to live in the hills and those who had gone to live the hills wished they had gone to live in the valleys.
The liberators, under the guidance of an ideal, set fire to the discontent. So presently the world was at war again. This time, the destruction was so complete … that nothing at all was left in the world except one man and one woman and one flower.” [The Last Flower, Stories for Sharing p.49]
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 04/12/2016
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
