Unprecedented Peace

Isaiah 11:1-10

This reading comes from an 8th century (BCE) prophet, Isaiah, whose mission was to the southern kingdom of Judah. The beginning of the 8th century BCE had been a time of prosperity for Judah, but everyone did not share this wealth. While the powerful were enjoying a life of luxury, most of the citizenry of Judah was struggling to survive. The ruling class imposed heavy tax burdens on them and required forced labor and military service. Survival was all that the people could hope to do.

The prophetic vision, found in Isa 11:1-10, echoes the dreams of people desperate for a better life. Since the fate of the nation of Judah was controlled by their human ruler and their relationship with God, the best hope that Isaiah could offer was a promise of a time when a just and righteous ruler would be in charge (vv 3 & 5), one who would “decide with equity for the meek of the earth” (v 4a). All the suffering of the poor would end, and their oppressors would be punished (v 4b). This new ruler would usher in a time of unprecedented peace, reflected not only in nature (vv 6-7) but also in the political realm (vv 9-10).

This vision of the “peaceful realm” (particularly vv 6-7 & 9) is also found in Isa 2:4, Isa 11:6, and Micah 4:3. The dream of a restored “Israel” was still incomplete; they remained under foreign control with no hope of self-governing. The “root of Jesse” was intended metaphorically, not restricted to a person of Davidic lineage, but rather a ruler who embodied the characteristics attributed to David and other “good” kings in Israel’s history. This could even be a foreign ruler/power. Most important was the vision of a world in which natural enemies worked in mutuality for the common good, and everyone knew a life of wholeness (shalom) that only came from God (v 9). What would it take for you to experience the kind of wholeness described in Isa 11:6-9 (and other places in the bible)? How do we live in right relationship with God and with all of Creation? Is that even possible in this 21st-century world? Is Advent about envisioning the “impossible” – shalom – and then working to make it a reality?

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