The Shape of Things to Come – Isaiah 35:1-10

Before the pandemic, I had the privilege to attend a retreat in Ottawa led by Steve Bell. Steve is a musician who has become well known for his thought-provoking songs of faith that speak to the human condition.  As with most song writers, he has written from his own experience of life and his own growing and changing relationship with God. In recent years Steve has also started leading retreats and writing devotional material.  He has no formal background in theological education and yet he brings a depth of insight and wisdom that makes for compelling reading.  Among his works is a series of small books entitled Pilgrim Year.  Through this series, Steve explores the different seasons and times of the church year working his way through the themes that are most significant to each time.  He has a folksy way of writing which is refreshing as it is devoid of any language that people might find confusing.

In chapter 5 of his pilgrim journey through Advent, Steve explores what he calls the Advent Oracles of Isaiah.  Not only is Isaiah the prophet most often quoted by Jesus but Isaiah – more than any other prophet –   speaks of what the kingdom of God will look like.  Claude Mariottini in his book - What are we waiting for? – says this about the prophet: “Isaiah’s message directs our faith to a future in which justice will prevail, in which creation will be restored, and universal peace will be established. Advent heightens this hope and impels us to journey together with Immanuel on this Holy Way.” (Pilgrim Way: Advent, p. 39)

The first prophetic vision that Steve looks at is the one that we began our Advent journey with:

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; 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 ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:2-4)

The second one he looks at is the one that we explored last week.

With righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth…. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall life down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11:4,6)

The third one he looks at is from Isaiah 7:

The Lord himself with give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

All of these prophetic visions point to a day when nations in search of true wisdom will stream to the mountain of the Lord; a day when warriors will beat their weapons into gardening tools; when the wolf with lie down in peace with the lamb; and when a virgin will give birth to a child who will lead us.  Of course, the last one has been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, but the other two are still to be realized.

Steve reflects on how these prophecies can be quite comforting to a believer yet at the same time we need to be aware that they are anticipating a radical and challenging reversal of the world as we often find it to be.

So, let’s go to that first prophetic vision from Isaiah 2. NATIONS WILL STREAM TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD.

Ever consider that things don’t stream uphill? Yet nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord.  Steve sees in this imagery of Isaiah a sign of the radical reversal of nature. The image is intended to describe not only a change physically but also one that challenges our inner sense of how things should be.

Too often the inclination of people is to move away from God and seek for solutions to problems through their own logic and use force to achieve their goals, but the prophet sees that the only real hope for true wisdom and peace is for the nations to stream to God, to ascend to the height of God and rise above all that which has not brought them a true wisdom that would lead them to perfect peace and hope.

Now let’s look at the second part of that prophetic vision from Isaiah 2.THEY WILL BEAT THEIR WEAPONS INTO PLOUGHSHARES

The second part contains the unexpected vision of people turning their weapons into pruning shears.  This vision is certainly one that the world would welcome, except that throughout history, many of the world’s largest economies are and continue to be based on the need for war and the opportunities for wealth created through war.  It is hard to imagine the radical shift in worldview that would be necessary before the abandonment of arms could ever gain traction in this world.

Steve now turns his attention to part of the vision from Isaiah 11.

THE WOLF WILL LIE DOWN WITH THE LAMB

The wolf and the lamb have often been used as metaphors for human beings. The imagery reminds us that some people actively seek to incite violence while others seek to live in peace. Of course, depending on your perspective, you may see yourself as a lamb while others may view you as a wolf.  Steve himself reflects on the passage this way: “I am a reasonably nice Christian man committed to the betterment of my fellows through the exercise of the gifts God has bestowed on me for the sake of the gospel. Surely, if there is a continuum, I lean towards the lamb side.  And yet, I am aware that I am a white, middle-class, privileged consumer. I participate in and benefit from systemic injustice every day – feeding like a wolf on the labours of others. I can try to justify this behaviour, I suppose, but I don’t think my defences would stand long before the steely gaze of the ‘Lamb who is on the throne.’” (Pilgrim Way: Advent, p. 43-44)

Lastly Steve reflects on the vision given to us in Isaiah 7:

A VIRGIN WILL BEAR A SON; A CHILD WILL LEAD THEM

Consider how God chose to enter the human story. God would come into the world in a way that bears a resemblance to the way we all enter this world and yet in a way that no other person has ever come to be. Isaiah’s prophecy comes to fruition in Mary.   And the child born will be called Emmanuel – God with us.   The Child will lead them in so many ways and even when the Child matures to adulthood, he will never forget or neglect those in society who are weak and powerless.  Through this Child, whom society would have deemed illegitimate, God will reveal his ultimate love, ultimate mercy, ultimate forgiveness, and ultimate justice. Through this Child, God will challenge the institutions and social norms that the people of the world had constructed for themselves and reveal the path that will lead people to real peace and freedom.

Finally, let us reflect on the words of Jesus:” The kingdom of God is within you and among you” (Luke 21:17). One of the goals of Advent is to help us seek the heart of things… to come to know that what we need the most, though veiled, is already given as a deposit against what is to come. This is the Advent of joy and so we are to give witness, in faith and deed, to the joy we know and the joy that will certainly be.

AMEN