First Tuesday in Advent

First Tuesday in Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10

Isaiah’s words of comfort continue.  Today he promises the Messiah, the descendant of David who will rule with justice and equity, bringing not only political peace, the absence of war, but cosmic peace - lions and lambs lying down together, little children safe and leading the animals.

The whole first week of Advent sounds like this - promises, promises.  Read as promises, they lack a certain punch for me.  I may like the sound of them, but can I believe them?  When, God, is this going to happen?  Is this just a rotten joke, or a missed opportunity, or what?

But then I think, it’s not exactly a promise.  It’s a possibility.  I don’t mean possibility like “it’s possible for the US to end gun violence,” or “it’s possible I’ll win the lottery.”  I don’t mean possibility as something in the future, something to work for or ward off.  Peace is a possibility right here, right now, when we stand for it.  When we become people of peace, peace enters the world.  

This is not a matter of advocating for peace in the political realm.  You may do that, and that’s good.  But the way I’m using possibility here, it’s not advocacy.  It’s standing for peace, being peace.  It’s how we go about everything we do, including our advocacy.  

***heresy alert****

What if you are the Messiah?  What if you are the answer to Isaiah’s dreams, as you make the possibility of peace and justice the place where you live?

Isaiah prophesied, not to tell people what was going to happen like a news report, but to get them to turn to God and change their ways.  He opened them to the possibility of being that peaceable realm.  Today he opens us again.

Don’t tell me you can’t.  We all stand for something, one way or another.  We all make the world.  

What world will you stand for today?