Monday, December 9
Written by Rev. Ara Guekguezian
Community United Church of Christ
Isaiah 11:1-10
Hearing that the wolf shall live with the lamb…and the lion shall eat straw like the ox is a bit unnerving. These few words reflect a complete transformation of the created order. How will we be able to function or dwell in a completely different universe? The passage concludes with ‘and his dwelling shall be glorious.’ But you and I are normal (ish) human beings.
The restoration, the wholeness, the shalom of this eleventh chapter of Isaiah begins with the very usual way: the salvific act and person comes naturally. New life comes directly from a healthy root. The Messiah is not a superhero alien coming from another part of the universe, but from our forebears. And we follow directly from that stump, that root. The one who is the fulfillment of these words, uttered a few of his own: I am the vine and you are the branches.
As we wait, we also prepare to participate in the transformational acts that make peace and establish justice.
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