Peaceable Kingdom

1 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. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

We understand the season of Advent as a time of waiting and preparing in both remembrance of and anticipation of the coming of our Savior. Isaiah's prophecy of the Messiah aligns with Jesus' mission and ministry but we still await the earth-shifting results of justice and righteousness. As we sing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" are we ready to live, love and laugh with our enemy? Are we ready to eat the same meal as those outside of our cultural comfort zones? Are we willing to lay aside our power for peace? Are we willing to be led by children like:

Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old Swedish activist who's speaking out about climate change and its impact on future generations.
Isra Hirsi, a climate and racial justice advocate who is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the US Youth Climate Strike.
Emma Gonzalez, survivor of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, is an activist and advocate for gun control in the United States.

When we're ready and willing to live into the vision of Isaiah we will be able to pray, with confidence:

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling 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. (Isaiah 11:6-10)

Art Attribution:Swanson, John August. Peaceable Kingdom, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56556 [retrieved December 4, 2019]. Original source: www.JohnAugustSwanson.com - copyright 1994 by John August Swanson.