The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them. – Isaiah 11:6 (NRSV)
In October, I traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador, for a meeting of the International Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Commission, where we were considering questions related to unity, diversity, communion and mission and made pilgrimage to sites associated with Christian martyrs of the 20th century. Our commission encountered joy-filled and wonderful people during our visit in a city marked by a recent violent past – the Salvadoran Civil War followed by gang violence. Our commission prayed together in the simple hospital chapel where the former archbishop of San Salvador, Mons. Oscar Romero, a martyr who called for peace, was assassinated during Mass in 1980. This chapel, once defiled by an ugly and evil act, could have been frozen in time as a museum. Yet, it is sanctified again and again by prayers and in the breaking of bread and sharing of the cup, offering the hope and love of Christ to those who are suffering or living in the midst of war and violence. In those moments of prayer and reflection, the Holy Spirit witnessed to us the foretaste of God’s kingdom of peace to come.
All the earth is groaning under the weight of war, poverty and environmental degradation. With social media and the 24-hour news cycle, we can no longer feign ignorance nor turn away from the world around us. We witness the ways the strong attack the weak, and the rich deprive the poor. Narratives of scarcity and hoarding, “might is right” and marginalization are normative.
Yet, the near future of Isaiah’s hope-filled vision is neither unimaginable nor absurd, rather it is transfigured and reordered. This Scripture text taken from our Advent lectionary does not pretend that all is well in creation. Instead, it boldly declares the future that we have in the fullness of the reign of God and points us with hope to peace and justice in Christ our Savior. In this vision of our Christmas miracle, our world is a place where we will live without fear. Peace is brought to all humanity and to the entire created order in this seemingly unlikely future. Those who commit injustice and wage war no longer rebel or prey on their neighbors and the downtrodden but, like the domesticated animals, become vulnerable and reliant. As we submit our lives to God and lay down control to rely on the Creator, God brings us ever closer to this peaceful future.
Prayer
O Christ, the prince of peace, may your justice and peace prevail in our world. Strengthen us as we witness and work for peace in our neighborhoods and nations. Protect all those who live in war zones and homes filled with violence. Through the Holy Spirit, soften the hearts and minds of those who make war, so they lay down their weapons and live in peace as Christ intends for our world. Amen.
The Rev. Matthew A. Laferty is a Global Missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries, serving as the director of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome, Italy.
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