Isaiah 11: 1-10 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)

“The wolf shall live with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the”kid.” It could mean a young child or young goat.

With these words, Isaiah the prophet writes a vision of universal harmony, an end to violence and destruction and now the beginning of a golden age of peace. This year like most years, we will be doing our Christmas shopping without the fear of bombs dropping on us. But many people like the Palestinians and the people of the Ukraine have no such luxury of peace as bombs are dropped on them.

There is a story about St. Francis of Assisi, who cared as much for animals as people do for humans.  This fictional story is set in Gubbio, a city in Italy. The people there were threatened by a fierce lone wolf, who attacks both animals and people. The townspeople contacted St.Francis to see if he could help them, so Francis approached the wolf and spoke to him. One thing to remember about this story, it’s a metaphor and not something literal, although St. Francis of Assisi was a real person. St Francis gave the wolf a lecture:

“Brother Wolf, you have done a great harm to this region, by killing other animals but also killing human beings. You deserve severe punishment, but I want to make peace between you and the people of Gubbio. townspeople agree, they will not hurt the fox as long as the wolf doesn’t hurt them. The people of Gubbio even made sure the fox was fed everyday until the day he died.

The natural reaction of the people from Gubbio has been to fight and kill the wolf. But Saint Francis had a vision of the wolf and people living together in harmony. What was needed was an intervision of someone to believe that God’s way of peace was not only better, but achievable. Some might remember the violence in Northern Ireland, the violence is gone and both Roman Catholics and Protestants have made peace.  

In Advent the book of Isaiah is often read. Isaiah was sometimes called the “fifth gospel” by the early church. This book is written against a background of immense suffering and difficulty. In almost every chapter there are signs of hope and promises of joy. The world will not always be as it is. There is a better vision. The servant of God, the saviour will come. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, John the Baptizer tells people to repent. The Greek word “repent” means “a change of mind.” The Hebrew word for “life” is a word meaning to live and treat foreign people as a guest.

In the Hebrew Bible it is written “swords will be beaten into plowshares” as a sign of peace. If we reflect on current political realities, or study Isaiah, a government must have good and fair people to achieve harmony. Unfortunately, we now have people ruining our government who worship money and racism. A good king or leader is one who recognizes his responsibility to care for all of his people and not quacks with bogus cures.

King David, for all his mistakes, is described as a man after God’s own heart. The king or messiah, as Jesus came to be known, will be filled with the Spirit of God and all of God’s wisdom. Jesus will not judge by appearance or hearsay, but true righteousness defending the poor. The greedy people will be judged harshly.

Fortunately, for all of us, God’s revelation through Jesus offers an alternative. And that means to repent and have a change of heart. This is what John the Baptizer was offering. But a change of heart is only real when one’s behaviour has changed.

Advent is intended to be a time of reflection and self-examination like we do during Lent, which begins this year on February 18th. We need to reflect on the meaning of the season instead of gifts that could put a person into debt. Love, joy and peace through the Christ is the best gift and it doesn’t even cost a penny. The fact that our heavenly king, who someday will judge the world, chose to exist on earth, showed humankind how they should live, and move beyond wealth, to help the poor and challenge systemic poverty that causes people to suffer. In this holy season it can cause depression. So as people bring baskets of food, there should also be baskets of love. Let us pray:

Heavenly Parent,

In sending your son into the world to be our Savior, you have opened to us and to all people a door into your kingdom of peace, justice and love. Help us, who have from your fullness received grace upon grace, to be ambassadors of your peace and agents of your love, that the world may be reconciled to you and know you as its true king, through the same Jesus the Christ our Lord.   AMEN.