Friday, December 2, 2011

Advent Season... Swords into Plowshares


Advent Season... Swords into Plowshares


Today’s Passage: Isaiah 2:1-11

This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all— the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.” (Verses 1-3a)


Words of Devotion from Scripture
I confess... I never really read this passage correctly. I always thought that the verse referring to swords and plowshares was a reference to some violent battle where the farmers used farm tools to take up arms against the trained soldiers. (If you've ever seen the movie Brave heart, you know what I mean!) Taken out of context, you might read this verse as a very violent image—you might picture well-trained, well-equipped warriors doing battle against ill-trained, ill-equipped farmers. Swords vs. plows and Spears vs. pruning shears…
But this is not the case at all. When Isaiah's vision becomes reality, “nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
In other words, there is no longer a need for swords, so the iron-smiths will heat the swords up and remake them as plows. The spears will be reshaped into pruning hooks.
In other words, the instruments of war will be destroyed and reformed into instruments of agriculture. Instead of destruction, they will be used for generating food and beauty.
The boot camps will turn into summer camps for under-privileged children from the city, the military bases will help us solve the world’s housing crisis, the destroyers and aircraft carriers will become vehicles of recreation and exploration. Billions of dollars from every nation will no longer be used to destroy life—but to enhance it. 

This is the vision that Isaiah speaks of—the vision of the Kingdom of God, come on this earth.

Impossible? Then why do you pray “the Lord’s Prayer”? You know…the part where it says, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” And yet, do we pray that prayer with any actual belief? Do we pray in expectant anticipation? Do we pray with certain hope? Do we really believe that we might wake up one morning and find that these words had become our actual present reality? That God was actually reigning on earth? That the Kingdom of God had actually come? That His will was actually being done here on earth?

Advent is not simply a way for us to mark time until we can open the gifts under our Christmas tree. Advent is a time for us to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It’s a time for us to consider if we are ready for the Messiah to come. Advent is about waiting—but it’s also about hope, expectation, anticipation, preparation, and excitement. It’s about recognizing that Christ has come, is here, and is coming again. It’s about living our lives according to those truths.

PRAYER: Almighty Father, I live in a world that is broken and war-torn. I realize that my tendency is toward violence and retaliation, not peace and reconciliation.  Help me welcome the Prince of Peace into my life that I might be shaped more and more by Your Kingdom.  Amen.

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