Isaiah 11:1-10
In this season of Advent, we prepare to receive Jesus anew into our lives and into our world. This particular passage comes on the heels of destruction wrought upon those not in right-relationship with God described like a forest being cut down. But from this destruction, like a new shoot from a stump, Isaiah puts forward a little child who will lead us. Just as Jesus saw himself as a fulfillment of the prophets’ words, we look to Jesus as a much-needed path forward in a world that so often seems unhinged from what God would want.
Too often it seems that where we seek truth in our world, we instead find 24/7 media designed to sensationalize, divide and frighten. Where we seek community, we may find social media that celebrates temporal success. Where we seek fellowship, it may be that friendships are strained by differences in the aftermath of a contentious election. Alas, it seems all-too-easy to find suffering, injustice and pain. Indeed, the gifts that Isaiah tells us will come from the stump of Jesse seem allusive. We yearn for wisdom and understanding. We search for righteousness and justice.
In a world where we see types of war that we thought were relegated to history books and a global movement toward authoritarian leadership with increasingly nationalistic agendas, the prospects for peace may seem dim. We look for a new model that might transcend and transform human understanding; one where the lamb and the leopard lie down with the goat.
And so, in this season of preparation, just as this passage follows on the destruction of an old way with this new, infant-like shoot of Truth, let us examine ourselves and break down what we must so as to be ready for the new road that Jesus seeks to lead us on. Let us be like children again, ready and with a sense of wonder and anticipation around the journey ahead.
As we contemplate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate again the promise of a new covenant, one of right relationship with God and with neighbor; one where being a follower of Jesus marks us as disciples who will cast a great and, we trust, growing light into the darkness of the world.
PRAYER: God, thank you for the gift of Jesus anew in our lives and in the world. As we anticipate the miracle of His birth, let us search ourselves and break down what may hinder our ability to follow Jesus. Let us prepare ourselves and be ready to follow as Your light in a world of darkness. Amen.
PROMPT: What can I break down in my life to prepare for a new chapter in being a follower of Jesus? How will I allow Jesus to lead me to a better relationship with God and neighbor?