REPENT & PREPARE FOR GOD’S PURPOSE

Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:1-12

2nd Sunday of Advent, December 4, 2022

The Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams

Years ago I came across this piece of art online. It is called “The Peaceable Kingdom with Two Olives.” It is the work of San Francisco based artist Will Bullas, whose work is described as witty and warmly colored, humor-filled, and often built around puns. The artist himself is described as a master of one-liners, such as “When lions and lambs come together there are always martinis involved.” It is an amusing, if somewhat cynical commentary on the idea of the peaceable kingdom of Isaiah’s vision. And why not? Honestly, what is your first reaction to hearing that wolves and lambs, leopards and goats, calves and lions, cows and bears will all live together, graze together, and lie down together to rest in peace? This is a fairy tale fantasy — an impossible dream. We may well wonder how many martinis the prophet had imbibed.  

Again, this reading from Isaiah is right there at the top of my favorite scriptures, revealing to us God’s purpose, God’s dream and desire for us and all creation. Isaiah 11 is often interpreted as a messianic prophecy, a promise that God will send a leader, a savior who will make the world right. That’s okay. But I listen again to the words of verse 2:

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him [that might a ruler or it may be anyone], 

  the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of counsel and might,

the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Compare these words with the words that were spoken when you were baptized:

Sustain [fill in the blank with your name] with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. 

And when you were confirmed:

Stir up in [fill in the blank with your name] the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in God’s presence, both now and forever.

So in our contemporary context, who is Isaiah’s vision really about? Isaiah’s vision is about you. It is for you. It reveals to each one of us God’s purpose. 

The first vision begins with a metaphor of new growth: reminding us that each of us is a new sprout on an old stump. Each one of us is inextricably connected to those who came before us. Together we all share the same roots that go back to God’s original creation of humankind in God’s own image. As new branches each of us is intended to flower and bear fruit according to the strengths, talents and gifts given to us. To assist us in our flourishing the Spirit of the Lord rests upon each of us, calling forth wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge, fear of the Lord, and joy in God’s presence. Just a world about “fear of the Lord” — this categorically does not mean that God wants us to live in fear or terror. The ancient Hebrew word translated into English refers to feelings of awe and reverence. It’s one of those great paradoxes: God is as warm and comfortable as the very best hug AND at the same time as deep, dark and mysterious as outer space. 

The Spirit rests on each of us because left to our own devices we make judgements and decisions based solely on what we see and hear, even though our eyes and ears are not always reliable. Biases and prejudices influence what and how we see and hear. We are easily deceived by lies. We jump to conclusions without examining all the evidence. The Spirit’s task is to help us overcome our inner judger, ask questions, and wake us up to see and hear ourselves, each other, and the world we live in more clearly — more like God sees and hears.

The Spirit guides us to make decisions based on justice, equity, and faithfulness. Biblical justice is all about right relations rooted in love: God’s love for us and our love for God, acted out in our our love for neighbor, stranger and even enemy. In Christ, we are called and committed to love  one another as Christ loves us. Minimally that means treating each other with the respect and dignity due to every child of God, caring for and serving all people following the example of Jesus, and working for justice and peace in all the world. When we do God’s work with our hand, Christ’s Spirit is acting to bring to fruition the vision of the peaceable kingdom. The beauty of that vision is that everyone gets to be who God created them to be, and everyone allows everyone else to be who God created them to be — lambs and lions both. 

This morning Isaiah’s gentle vision of Spirit-led people, as new growth on old stumps, acting with justice, equity and faithfulness too restore all creation is accompanied by the fire and brimstone preaching of John the Baptist. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Repent — turn around,  realign your values, attitudes and practices with the Reign of God. John calls his audience a brood of vipers, warns of the wrath to come when the messiah arrives with axe and winnowing fork in hand, chopping down fruitless trees, baptizing with fire, and beating chaff from grain. (I must confess that’s a pretty scary image of the Christ but we’ll talk about that next week)

Isaiah and John the Baptist are not preaching opposite messages. Isaiah’s vision of God’s purpose and dream for humanity, in fact, follows his condemnation of rulers who write oppressive laws, and make evil judgments that deprive the needy of justice, rob the poor of their rights, leave the most vulnerable members of the community defenseless. Isaiah is actually calling God’s people to repent and realign their values, attitudes and practices with God’s purpose and dream for the world. John the Baptist calls that vision the Kingdom of God.

These prophets remind us that God does not approve of everything we do or say, just because we are beloved children. All of us, personally and collectively, make mistakes. We are hurt by others. We are seduced, pressured, and even coerced to live into the expectations and judgments of others, and so lose ourselves. So much of the brokenness and evil in the world arises from denying our truth and striving to become something other than our God-imaged, God-beloved selves. In the face of these realities, we are called to repent, to change,  to opt out of whatever obstructs our becoming more Christ-like.

Isaiah shows us that God’s purpose for every new sprout on the human tree is to flower and bear fruit as they are lead by God’s Spirit, and so bring forth that peaceable kingdom where lambs and lions might even enjoy a martini together (by the way,  that’s a metaphor). John the Baptist calls us to repent and to prepare the way of the Lord, which means identifying and removing the obstacles that stand between us and God’s dream. 

Let me conclude with a paraphrase of the prayer that was prayed over you each of you when you were baptized and confirmed: 

We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your children new birth, cleanse them from sin, heal their hurts, bind up their wounds, and lead them into authentic, abundant life. Sustain each one with the gift of your Holy spirit. Stir up within each one the gift of the Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, reverence and awe for the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.