“Listen, Pray, Sing”
“Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
. . . that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ ”
He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah 2:3a, 4
The Advent readings from Isaiah and Psalms, beautiful and poetic, tell of the timeless and universal yearnings of humankind for peace among all people and nations. Isaiah paints a picture of crowds streaming to the mountain of the Lord, where he will judge and arbitrate, bringing about a peace that is so profound that weapons will be made into tools. Rather than the fearsome judgment of an angry God, he offers a remarkable opportunity to accept his ways, so that all can live peaceably with one another.
The Psalmist further enriches this theme, expressing an eagerness to enter God’s house and to live in harmony brought about by living in God’s presence (Psalm 122). In the weeks to come, the prophecies and promises are reiterated and retold in several ways, continuing the legacy of faith in God’s love and commitment to his people.
The apostles and early church leaders were well versed in the scriptures and traditions of the Jewish people. Writing to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul advised those early Christians to turn to scripture: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” (15:5) He went on to quote Isaiah’s foretelling of the one who will be sent by God to all people, further encouraging them to welcome everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, into the community of Christ.
As we experience the short season of Advent, we’ll continue to hear the Old Testament assurances that God would indeed send a Messiah, a Savior, to his people. We’ll pray that by the coming of Christ, we will have strength in our conflicts and our path through the darkness of the world will be illuminated. And we’ll sing hymns with themes of preparation, rejoicing, and welcoming, as well as the beautiful chant of “Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel.”
When it comes right down to the essentials of human life, we are more like our ancestors in the faith than we are different from them. We still need to know that we are loved and cared for by our heavenly Father, that however broken and pathetic we are, he accepts us and forgives us. As Isaiah’s listeners were inspired by his description of a world at peace, we, too, can allow ourselves a little glimmer of hope. We can pray for a day when battleships are sent on missions of mercy to areas of desperate need, and the financial resources that go toward instruments of war and destruction can instead go toward caring for “the least of these.” The world is listening. What will it hear?
Looking, listening, waiting,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers