On the Second Sunday of Advent, Hope passes the baton
on to Peace.
As his people are surrounded by land-grabbing empires,
and make desperate, futile attempts to secure their peaceful future, the
prophet Isaiah proclaims that a day will come when God sends someone who will
establish true equity. Then, there will be peace between the wolf and the lamb,
the leopard and the young goat, the calf and the lion, the cow and the bear.
Then, young children will play safely over the adder’s nest (Isaiah 11:6-10).
He isn’t talking about animals, but of the nations,
who take to themselves the symbols of aggressive animals. As the men’s football
World Cup is taking place, think the three lions (leopards, actually) of
England, or the dragon of Wales; the lions of the Netherlands, Senegal, and South
Korea. Think the Russian bear attacking the nightingale that represents Ukraine;
or the eagle of the USA, or ancient Rome with its eagle flying above the Pax
Romana. Isaiah dares to proclaim, a day is coming when there will be true peace.
John the forerunner comes to prepare the way for Jesus,
soaked in the words of Isaiah. When he sees many Pharisees and Sadducees coming
to be baptized, he calls them a brood of vipers. The adder’s nest. Not a random
insult, but a marker in time: the time when the innocent child will play in
safety over the viper’s brood has come near. There is a development here, from
the animals who represent surrounding nations to the snakes that represent
internal interest groups, the Pharisees who tried to secure a peaceful future
by keeping the rules, and the Sadducees who tried to secure a peaceful future
by cozying up to power. But the point is made: a new day is dawning.
How might we know peace? By surrendering the illusion
of control, and submitting ourselves to the sovereignty of the Christ, the King
of Israel.
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