The Peaceable Kingdom
This past week one of the great advocates for justice, peace, equality and freedom – Nelson Mandela, the father of the modern South Africa, died at the age of 95. Leaders like Nelson Mandela are rare. After 27 years in prison, Mandela worked to help all South Africans see themselves as one people, one family, one nation; rather than different peoples at war with each other. He worked to prevent what happened to the first family in the Bible. The first family we meet in the Bible experiences the murder of a son, Abel, by his brother, Cain (Genesis 4:8). This awful experience illustrates how deeply violence runs in human history. Yet as old as that story is, just as ancient are the words the Lord speaks to Cain that we are indeed our brothers (and sisters) keepers (Genesis 4:9). God’s desire for human beings is not violence and hatred, but righteousness, justice, and peace.
December 8, 2013
Isaiah 11:1-10, The Peaceable Kingdom
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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In the Old Testament, Jesse, was the father of King David. Today’s passage from Isaiah speaks of a time when a descendent of Jesse will come who is filled with the Spirit of the Lord, who will judge rightly, who will make sure the wicked no longer cause terror, heartache or grief, and there shall be peace on earth.
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 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.
3 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;
4 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.
6 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.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 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. 10
On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.”
There are so many images in these verses that have something to teach us. A shoot growing from the stump of Jesse, gifts of the spirit, the peaceable kingdom where predators and their prey live side by side, and babies play unharmed near poisonous snakes (as in the famous painting by Edward Hicks, slide). Woody Allen once gave his own interpretation of this vision: “The wolf shall lie down with the lamb. But the lamb won’t get much sleep!”
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse. . .” The stump is dead. God had said it would be at the end of Isaiah 10:33 where God declares: “the tallest trees will be cut down and the lofty will be brought low.” The trees, the people — both will be cut clean off. And yet, another word begins chapter two: “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse . . .” Have you ever seen a shoot growing out of a stump? (slide of stump with shoot) It looks really cool. When Jill and I walk in the spring one of our favorite things to look for is places in the asphalt by the side of the road that get pushed up and then a green shoot, often a fern appears pushing out into the sunlight. It’s amazing. You think, “How is this possible? How can something as small and soft as this little green plant move something as hard as asphalt?” And yet it does. Whether a dead looking stump or a seedling under asphalt, it’s amazing where and how new life can emerge from a situation that appears dead or hopeless. There are explanations of why such things are possible, yet each time I see it, that new, growing shoot is like a miracle.
I know people like that little plant. Something really difficult happens – a loved one dies, a job or health is lost, school is tough, someone goes through a difficult period and they appear beaten down, exhausted, drained, spent. When you see them you can tell they’re hurting, their eyes don’t meet yours, their head is often bent down, their shoulders stooped. Yet God’s Son can bring new life to the surface where there appears to be no chance and no hope; even out of death. When we’re discouraged it’s good to remember the shoot that comes from a stump or even pushes its way up through asphalt, or the plant that can end up breaking a rock in two. God can bless us when we least expect it; God can also move in our lives at times when our own strength or our own ability are not sufficient.
Isaiah says the shoot that comes forth from the stump of Jesse will be special in many ways: “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.” Righteousness, justice, equity, faithfulness will also be part of the One God sends. All of these qualities or virtues are ones we think of with Jesus. They are qualities we admire in other people and, hopefully, seek to cultivate in our selves.
Isaiah goes on to describe a time when the Messiah reigns and nature will be in a state of harmony. I don’t know how all the animals feel about it, prey probably feel better than predators, but there will be a time of peace when none is hurt. While we can tame wolves, lions, leopards, and maybe even snakes, we won’t bring about a universal time of peace, only the Messiah will do that. We can however, seek to be instruments of peace. Many years ago, a man named Thomas a Kempis wrote about the fact that we will never have peace in our life or home, our relationships or the world, if we are not at peace ourselves. “First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. A peaceful and patient man is of more profit to himself and to others, too, than a learned man who has no peace.” If we are not at peace with God and with ourselves, it shouldn’t surprise us if we are not at peace with other people. We can’t share with others what we don’t possess ourselves. This is especially true of peace. If you’re home isn’t peaceful the first question to ask is not, “what is wrong with everyone else?” The first question is, “Am I peace with myself? Am I at peace with God?”
The dictionary has many definitions for peace including those describing agreements between nations, public order, harmony in personal relations, and freedom from fear. Peace is a very significant word in the Bible. God’s desire is for people to be at peace with their Creator, other people, and the rest of creation. This is expressed in Genesis the first book of the Bible, in passages like this one from Isaiah, and in the birth and life of Jesus we celebrate at Christmas. In John 14:27, Jesus said, “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 be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.’”
Peace is what Jesus wishes to give to his friends. Passages in the New Testament frequently use peace as a virtual synonym for the gospel, summing up all the benefits that the coming of Jesus brought to humanity. When Peter summed up the gospel in Acts 10:36, peace is at the heart of his proclamation. “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all.”
Many people seem to lack a sense of peace today and wonder how to have it. An answer in a word is acceptance. Acceptance of the fact that the people around us aren’t perfect, life isn’t perfect, and neither are we. As much as we may have been disappointed or hurt by people, we also have hurt and disappointed others. Maybe not in the same way or to the same degree, but we have. Being at peace begins with accepting this lack of perfection, this lack of everything being ideal; the world in which we live is not the peaceable kingdom. Truly being at peace, as a Christian, comes through our full acceptance of and obedience to Jesus that gives us true peace with God and ourselves.
It’s interesting to note that surrounding Jesus there was almost constant turmoil: demanding crowds, eager supporters, critical and dangerous opponents, and stormy seas. Within Jesus there was a peace and calm he projected which attracted others to him. Peace is both a gift of God and a fruit of the Spirit for us to cultivate. With our nation fighting the longest war in our history, and violence all over the globe, at Christmas time, we remember that Jesus was born and came to bring peace on earth and once we have received the peace of Christ, we have a responsibility for living in peace & being instruments of God’s peace. The Hebrew and Greek words for “peace” are “shalom” and “eirene” (eye-RAY-nay). These words are active, positive words, communicating much of what we desire in life: health, security, long life, harmonious relationships with other people, and blessing. Can peace emerge in the midst of the world in which we live? Regarding the challenge of dismantling apartheid, Nelson Mandela spoke words that are inspiring when facing any seemingly insurmountable challenge: “It always seems impossible until it is done.” Can new life come from a stump? (put slide back up)
“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse…” Who could imagine anything growing as they sat on the stump of utter despair? I’ve sat there myself, perhaps you have, too. You may be there now — at that place where hope is cut off, where loss and despair have deadened your heart. God’s Advent word comes to sit with us. This word will not ask us to get up and dance. The prophet’s vision is surprising, but small. The nation of Israel would never rise again in the same way. The shoot would not become a mighty cedar. The shoot that was growing would be different from what the people expected: Isaiah 53:2 says, “For he grew up before them like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse… fragile yet tenacious and determined. It would grow like a plant out of dry ground. It would push back the stone from the rock-hard tomb. It will grow in the heart of a person cut off by sorrow until one morning she or he can look up again. It will grow in the hearts of people told over and over that they are nothing. The plant will grow. It will break through the places where even jackhammers fail.
What if we like Isaiah believe this fragile sign is God’s beginning? Perhaps then we will tend the seedling in our own hearts, the place where faith longs to break through the hardness of our disbelief. Don’t wait for the tree to be full grown. God comes to us in this Advent time and invites us to move beyond counting the rings of the past. We may still want to sit on the stump for a while, and God will sit with us. But God will also keep nudging us: “Look! Look — there on the stump. Do you see that green shoot growing?”
Prayer –
May this be a day of peace, of wholeness, of knowing that our lives are in your hands. May this be a day of hope, of expectation, of relishing each moment as a gift from you. May this be a day of freedom, of breaking free, of loosening the chains that still surround us.
May this be a day of joy, of blessing, of living in your kingdom as a child of God.
May this be a day in which we are instruments of your peace in our families, in our communities, and in the world this Christmas season.
Blessing:
“Live in peace; & the God of love & peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11
The Lord bless you & keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, & be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, & give you shalom. Numbers 6:26
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.
The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
Have you ever noticed new life growing from a stump? How can our lives be like that?
In Isaiah 11:2-5 what qualities of spirit are found in the One who will emerge from the “stump of Jesse”?
Why are these qualities or virtues important?
Are there any which we should be asking for God to bring forth and develop in our lives?
What do you think of the vision of “the peaceable kingdom” in Isaiah 11:6-10? What makes it possible?
Why is growing in the knowledge of the Lord important for us?
What is the relationship between knowing the Lord and peace?