Peace on Earth may be an elusive reality, yet it is our hope as people of faith. It is what we hold to – that image of God’s Peaceable Kingdom coming to fruition for all of God’s people. It is what we are called to work towards as we share our light with others. So we gather to pray, to dream, to vision. We gather, knowing that in the days to come, God’s Shalom will fill our world.
December 8, 2024
This Little Light
“This Little Light Brings Peace”
Isaiah 2: 1-5
Rev. Dr. Heather W. McColl
Isaiah 42; 1-9
This is what Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of the mountains. It will be lifted above the hills; peoples will stream to it. Many nations will go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s Mountain, to the house of Jacob’s God so that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in God’s paths. “Instruction will come from Zion; the Lord’s word from Jerusalem. God will judge between the nations, and settle disputes of mighty nations. Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war. Come, house of Jacob, let’s walk by the Lord’s light.
This Little Light Brings Peace Isaiah 2: 1-5
I was at a crossroads when it came to sharing a message on this Peace Sunday. I could go the route of the beauty pageant and talk about World Peace, knowing that our faith, our sacred text does tell us about the coming God Shalom, that our story as people of faith is filled with the promises of God’s Peaceable Kingdom coming to fruition here on Earth. Even in our text for today, we are told that in the days to come, nations will beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks, that in the days to come, the nations will no longer learn how to make war, that in the days to come, many nations will stream to the mountain of the Lord and learn the ways of God.
The only problem is we don’t know when those days to come will happen. They could be tomorrow, or they could be 100 years from now. In fact, Isaiah wrote these particular words over two thousand years ago and still we are waiting for those days to come, days in which the promise of God’s Shalom are fulfilled. This lack of promises coming to fruition is frustrating and disheartening for us as people of faith. So much so that I fully admit when a few weeks ago while in conversation with someone and they asked me asked me if I believed I would see God’s Beloved Community come to fruition here on Earth in my lifetime, my gut response and immediate answer was no.
I know that seems like a strange answer, especially from someone whose vocation is to preach the good news, to bring hope in the midst of despair. But at that point in my life, in the world, and on my faith journey, that was my answer. And yes, even now, this morning, in light of the news of the fall of the Syrian government, with the way the world is, with the news of all the world powers it seems rattling their sabers, I still hold to that answer. I don’t believe I will see God’s Beloved Community coming to fruition for all of God’s people in my lifetime.
And yet, I stand before you on this Peace Sunday, reading this text which is some two thousand years old, telling us once more of the promises we have as people of faith, promises from our God, promises which tell us that one day will come when nations will learn war no more, that one day will come when instruments of war will be transformed into instruments of life.
See what I mean… a crossroads. I will be the first to admit it is hard to believe, hard to trust, hard to hope for these promises to come to fruition when they are constantly drowned out by the noise of world powers as they argue and fight. It is hard to believe, hard to trust, hard to hope in this promise when they seem like naive words offered by a dead prophet from long ago. It is hard to hold to this vision of God’s Shalom becoming a reality for all of God’s people when they haven’t for some two thousand years, when after war after war, when after conflict after conflict, when they seem like a dream now as much as they were when Isaiah wrote them some two thousand years ago.
And yet, I still stand before you on this Peace Sunday, telling us once more of the promises we have as people of faith, promises from our God, promises which tell us that one day will come when nations will learn war no more, that one day will come when instruments of war will be transformed into instruments of life.
What changed? Thankfully, I stumbled on the words of a mentor and a friend, who reminded me that when we as people of faith talk about shalom, we aren’t talking only about the end of war, a common misconception especially given the descriptions Isaiah uses in the vision he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Shalom is so much more than that. As people of faith, when we talk about Shalom, we are talking about the “experience of being in right relationship with God, which would mean that you see yourself and your neighbors as God does: inherently good and worthy of respect. Such a state of being would make violence impossible because each person would be valued as the image of the Divine in the world.” Let me say that last part again…Shalom makes violence impossible because each person would be valued as the image of the Divine in the world”.
Shalom is right relationship with our God, a relationship based on love and grace. Shalom is right relationship with our neighbor, a relationship based on community and respect. Shalom is shifting the narrative from fear to peace. Shalom is about wholeness where “God, humans, and creatures are woven together in justice, fulfillment and delight.”
This idea of Shalom, of wholeness of completeness is what Isaiah is talking about when he invites the people of Israel, invites us to walk in the light, that beautiful light, to walk by the Lord’s light. He knows that the powers that be will rage and war. Nothing he does or the people do will change that because ultimately that is up to God. All we know as people of faith is that this world will not have the last word, that love and light will overcome, that in the days to come, the nations will no longer learn war. Yes, we don’t know the time or place where any of this will happen. Rather what we do know, what we do have is a choice…we can fall into a state of hopeless, staying filled with anxiety with each news report Or… we can choose a different way. We can choose the way of Shalom, meaning that we can focus on what we can control, focus on how we as individuals will respond and act. We understand that to walk in the light is to live a life guided by God’s love and grace, to live a life which reflects the character of God… a God who is steadfast and generous from generation to generation, a God who welcomes all, a God who has claimed us and named us as God’s Beloveds. As people of faith, we are not powerless. We are not hopeless. We may not be able to control the world powers and the rattling of their sabers, but we can choose to see things the way God sees them and respond in a way which reflects God’s love.
You see, what constantly trips us up as people of faith is that we forget we live in a here but not yet. We know that God’s Beloved Community is here. We have experienced it in our lives, on our faith journeys. We catch glimpse of it each and every day and yet… we know it is not fully realized here on Earth. So in the meantime until that day comes, we do what we can. We choose to walk in the light which shines bright with hope. We choose to walk in the light which brings peace because we know that choosing to live this way, to walk in the light makes violence impossible. And hold to the promise that in the days to come, nations will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning hooks, that in the days to come, nations will learn war no more.
I wish I had a great sermon illustration to bring it all home but I don’t. What I do have is an invitation, an invitation which sends ripple effects of Shalom throughout the world. It is the same invitation Isaiah extended to the people of Israel some two thousand years ago when he first shared his vision. And the invitation is simply this: Come people of faith, let us walk in the light of the Lord. May it be so. Amen.
See also: Theology Tuesday for Sunday, December 8, 2024 – This Little Light Brings Peace Isaiah 2: 1-5.
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