December 8, 2019
Isaiah 11:1-10
I’m certain you can tell that I got my hair cut a couple of days ago. For almost 12 years I’ve gotten my hair cut at Leon’s Beauty School. Getting your hair cut at a school like Leon’s is different than going to the same salon or a barbershop because it is a school where the work being performed, in this instance hair-cutting is being performed by students and if you go there over a long enough period of time, your hair will be cut by many different students. I love all aspects of getting my hair cut there, but I especially love that one because it has afforded me the opportunity to meet new people and to learn a bit about their story.
For the past 6 months or so, Miguel has cut my hair. Miguel is different from a lot of the students there. For one, he did not come to beauty school fresh out of high school, and in my opinion the only reason he is there now is because his 18-year-old daughter enrolled after she graduated from high school last spring. You see, when his daughter told him what she was going to do, Miguel enrolled first, which means he is set to graduate before her, but he is now planning to continue his education by enrolling in the teacher training program. At least while his daughter is still in school.
The very first time I sat in his chair, I learned about Miguel’s service to our country. Service that began when he graduated high school and ended only because he had qualified for full retirement from all of his years in the US Navy. This past Friday, when I went to get my hair cut, Miguel already had someone sitting in his chair, so one of the instructors directed me to another student. After I paid, but before I left, I made a point to find Miguel. I wanted to wish him a Merry Christmas, but when I got to him the first thing out of my mouth was, “man what is going on with the Navy this week.” I could tell by the look on my face he had no idea what I was talking about, so I told him about the 2 shootings that had occurred on Naval bases that week. The first having occurred at Pearl Harbor and the second, which happened only a few short hours before I saw Miguel, at the naval base in Pensacola, Florida. In his polite way he told me he hadn’t heard about either of those, he had been too busy with school and his commitments to his family, but we both shared how devastating things like that are on communities.
For those, like me, who read the news on a daily basis, we’ve learned more about both of these tragedies. Like so many times before, I find the attacks at the Naval bases in such a short period of time hard to process. I also find myself asking why I continue to read the news because I could do like so many I know and just give it up altogether. Maybe I would have a better outlook on our world if I stopped reading about all of the senseless ways we hurt each other. Yet I believe I will keep on reading because I want to be informed. I think being informed is actually a good thing. And I believe the good aspects of being informed continue to outweigh the bad, so if for no other reason, I plan to continue my daily intake.
It is quite unnerving though to stop and think about all of the destructive ways we human beings interact with, live with, commune with each other. And as much as I would like to say these destructive tendencies are characteristics of past generations, I can’t, especially not as 2019 is coming to an end. Yet, I find myself still full of hope. Hope that God’s Peaceable Kingdom is still a reality, even though it is not here quite yet.
It is said that in the 1820’s the American Quaker Edward Hicks painted 62 different versions of “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Each of these paintings was a depiction of the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God’s desire for earth to be defined by cooperation instead of competition. 62 different depictions of life defined by cooperation. I’m not positive on this but, but I don’t even think the prophet Isaiah offered 62 versions of God’s Peaceable Kingdom, yet this one man was able to paint 62 different versions. Maybe his 62 versions were created because of his own life experience, or the life experience of others, and if that is the case, I suspect we today could come up with a lot more than 62. For Hicks, though, one scene made its way into more than one of those 62. It was a scene depicting William Penn meeting with Native Americans to make a friendship treaty, something any student of history could tell you was not the end result of any get together between William Penn and native Americans.
Those same students of history would tell you that our world, and more specifically its human inhabitants, have proven themselves to be quite good at creating ways to harm and/or oppress each other. There are countless stories of violence and oppression throughout all of history. From the territorial assaults of the kingdoms and empires depicted in our biblical stories to the mass shootings within this country this past year, history has shown a bright light on our violent tendencies toward those we label as “others”.
The fact that reality would paint something completely different, didn’t stop Hicks from painting with hope. You see, without those who envision the world being as God intended, a peaceful and nurturing cohabitation of all life, we truly would be lost. Through his paintings, Hicks was showing what he could see, even when those around couldn’t. We need those voices of hope. We always have. We also need them to become even more plentiful. Isaiah needs to be joined in this vision by a chorus of voices like you and me. That will prove our greatest chance of bringing God’s Peaceable Kingdom.
****************************************
Seeing the world as it could be, as it should be, is what the Prophet Isaiah did long before Edward Hicks. And he saw it in the midst of pain, destruction and death. Isaiah’s voice served as a voice of hope for the people of Judah who had very little reason to hope. Their kingdom was all but destroyed by outside forces. They had become the lamb whenever everyone else around them was becoming the wolf. They were now the prey of the more powerful kingdom and there was little they could do to change that.
Yet they had this voice of hope. This voice that told them about the coming Prince of Peace, whose rule would change everything. Isaiah spoke about a future reality guided by hope and peace, not death and destruction. “All is not lost for the people of Judah, because from the Davidic line will emerge a King for a new kind of Kingdom, God’s Peaceable Kingdom. In this Kingdom those who used to act like adversaries cease to do so. In this Kingdom those who thought it proper to label outsiders as others and therefore oppress them, cease to do so because in this new Kingdom, Peace rules and when Peace rules the only option you have is to get along with each other. And whether you consciously want to get along doesn’t really matter because in this new Kingdom you get along because you finally realize you must if you truly want to live your best life. In this new Kingdom all live their best life because all help each other achieve it. That is what Peace looks like and the fact that its not here yet shouldn’t deter us. The fact that God’s Peaceable Kingdom isn’t here yet should never deter us. Maybe that is another reason we need voices like Isaiah’s. Voices who are willing to share their visions of this future Kingdom.
*******************************
The fear is that Isaiah’s voice is no longer heard. The fear is that the world around us is so loud in its destruction that we can’t hear Isaiah’s voice of hope and peace. That same fear, though, was surely present during Isaiah’s day and it didn’t keep him from speaking. Nor should it keep us.
Surely Isaiah’s was not the only voice of hope God intended the world to hear. In fact, Isaiah’s own words tell us more voices of hope were coming. Those voices were to start in the stump of Jesse and out of that stump new promise, new hope was to grow and grow and grow until one day all who follow would join in.
During this Advent season I think we must ourselves if we have actually joined in with those voices the way God intends. God’s Peaceable Kingdom is relying on it.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
Isaiah 11:1-10
I’m certain you can tell that I got my hair cut a couple of days ago. For almost 12 years I’ve gotten my hair cut at Leon’s Beauty School. Getting your hair cut at a school like Leon’s is different than going to the same salon or a barbershop because it is a school where the work being performed, in this instance hair-cutting is being performed by students and if you go there over a long enough period of time, your hair will be cut by many different students. I love all aspects of getting my hair cut there, but I especially love that one because it has afforded me the opportunity to meet new people and to learn a bit about their story.
For the past 6 months or so, Miguel has cut my hair. Miguel is different from a lot of the students there. For one, he did not come to beauty school fresh out of high school, and in my opinion the only reason he is there now is because his 18-year-old daughter enrolled after she graduated from high school last spring. You see, when his daughter told him what she was going to do, Miguel enrolled first, which means he is set to graduate before her, but he is now planning to continue his education by enrolling in the teacher training program. At least while his daughter is still in school.
The very first time I sat in his chair, I learned about Miguel’s service to our country. Service that began when he graduated high school and ended only because he had qualified for full retirement from all of his years in the US Navy. This past Friday, when I went to get my hair cut, Miguel already had someone sitting in his chair, so one of the instructors directed me to another student. After I paid, but before I left, I made a point to find Miguel. I wanted to wish him a Merry Christmas, but when I got to him the first thing out of my mouth was, “man what is going on with the Navy this week.” I could tell by the look on my face he had no idea what I was talking about, so I told him about the 2 shootings that had occurred on Naval bases that week. The first having occurred at Pearl Harbor and the second, which happened only a few short hours before I saw Miguel, at the naval base in Pensacola, Florida. In his polite way he told me he hadn’t heard about either of those, he had been too busy with school and his commitments to his family, but we both shared how devastating things like that are on communities.
For those, like me, who read the news on a daily basis, we’ve learned more about both of these tragedies. Like so many times before, I find the attacks at the Naval bases in such a short period of time hard to process. I also find myself asking why I continue to read the news because I could do like so many I know and just give it up altogether. Maybe I would have a better outlook on our world if I stopped reading about all of the senseless ways we hurt each other. Yet I believe I will keep on reading because I want to be informed. I think being informed is actually a good thing. And I believe the good aspects of being informed continue to outweigh the bad, so if for no other reason, I plan to continue my daily intake.
It is quite unnerving though to stop and think about all of the destructive ways we human beings interact with, live with, commune with each other. And as much as I would like to say these destructive tendencies are characteristics of past generations, I can’t, especially not as 2019 is coming to an end. Yet, I find myself still full of hope. Hope that God’s Peaceable Kingdom is still a reality, even though it is not here quite yet.
It is said that in the 1820’s the American Quaker Edward Hicks painted 62 different versions of “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Each of these paintings was a depiction of the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God’s desire for earth to be defined by cooperation instead of competition. 62 different depictions of life defined by cooperation. I’m not positive on this but, but I don’t even think the prophet Isaiah offered 62 versions of God’s Peaceable Kingdom, yet this one man was able to paint 62 different versions. Maybe his 62 versions were created because of his own life experience, or the life experience of others, and if that is the case, I suspect we today could come up with a lot more than 62. For Hicks, though, one scene made its way into more than one of those 62. It was a scene depicting William Penn meeting with Native Americans to make a friendship treaty, something any student of history could tell you was not the end result of any get together between William Penn and native Americans.
Those same students of history would tell you that our world, and more specifically its human inhabitants, have proven themselves to be quite good at creating ways to harm and/or oppress each other. There are countless stories of violence and oppression throughout all of history. From the territorial assaults of the kingdoms and empires depicted in our biblical stories to the mass shootings within this country this past year, history has shown a bright light on our violent tendencies toward those we label as “others”.
The fact that reality would paint something completely different, didn’t stop Hicks from painting with hope. You see, without those who envision the world being as God intended, a peaceful and nurturing cohabitation of all life, we truly would be lost. Through his paintings, Hicks was showing what he could see, even when those around couldn’t. We need those voices of hope. We always have. We also need them to become even more plentiful. Isaiah needs to be joined in this vision by a chorus of voices like you and me. That will prove our greatest chance of bringing God’s Peaceable Kingdom.
****************************************
Seeing the world as it could be, as it should be, is what the Prophet Isaiah did long before Edward Hicks. And he saw it in the midst of pain, destruction and death. Isaiah’s voice served as a voice of hope for the people of Judah who had very little reason to hope. Their kingdom was all but destroyed by outside forces. They had become the lamb whenever everyone else around them was becoming the wolf. They were now the prey of the more powerful kingdom and there was little they could do to change that.
Yet they had this voice of hope. This voice that told them about the coming Prince of Peace, whose rule would change everything. Isaiah spoke about a future reality guided by hope and peace, not death and destruction. “All is not lost for the people of Judah, because from the Davidic line will emerge a King for a new kind of Kingdom, God’s Peaceable Kingdom. In this Kingdom those who used to act like adversaries cease to do so. In this Kingdom those who thought it proper to label outsiders as others and therefore oppress them, cease to do so because in this new Kingdom, Peace rules and when Peace rules the only option you have is to get along with each other. And whether you consciously want to get along doesn’t really matter because in this new Kingdom you get along because you finally realize you must if you truly want to live your best life. In this new Kingdom all live their best life because all help each other achieve it. That is what Peace looks like and the fact that its not here yet shouldn’t deter us. The fact that God’s Peaceable Kingdom isn’t here yet should never deter us. Maybe that is another reason we need voices like Isaiah’s. Voices who are willing to share their visions of this future Kingdom.
*******************************
The fear is that Isaiah’s voice is no longer heard. The fear is that the world around us is so loud in its destruction that we can’t hear Isaiah’s voice of hope and peace. That same fear, though, was surely present during Isaiah’s day and it didn’t keep him from speaking. Nor should it keep us.
Surely Isaiah’s was not the only voice of hope God intended the world to hear. In fact, Isaiah’s own words tell us more voices of hope were coming. Those voices were to start in the stump of Jesse and out of that stump new promise, new hope was to grow and grow and grow until one day all who follow would join in.
During this Advent season I think we must ourselves if we have actually joined in with those voices the way God intends. God’s Peaceable Kingdom is relying on it.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
