|
Morning Devotion for the Season of Advent
December 2, 2024
Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5
The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
How striking, the energy that is captured in these verses and the intentional directionality of it! Hear these words, “the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established”; ”all the nations shall stream to it.” ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…’ I admit, I do not usually think of Advent as such a vigorous and energetic season, but as I now sit here with this passage it makes absolute sense to me that in a season of high anticipation of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, yes there is absolutely an accompanying sense of very high energy! It is captivating.
God draws near to God’s people and to the world! God’s promises to his people, now to us, are so often obscured by defeat, judgment, and historical circumstances. These promises will be fully realized in history. Imagine, if you will, the day when glory outshines shadow, when joy smothers sorrow, when peace silences violence, when rebellion cedes to obedience — when faith becomes sight. We as human beings are very sensitive to the sense of sight. It promises to be much to take in.
And in these few verses, we witness the scope and center of God’s reign, a reign that is cosmic, centered (according to the psalmist) in Zion, God’s governance extending over the entirety of creation. As it should be. This is the means by which God will establish order and bring chaos to an end. That seems comforting, but we cannot overlook the discomfort that we might feel arising from the anticipated judgment of God. Indeed, judgment is promised. We need not fear. God’s judgment is one of discipline, that leads to correction and reconciliation. This assists in bringing into fruition what God promises. This ushers in an entirely new reality, as God’s people witness the city of God as a magnet for the nations.
What God promises to do seems absurd in the light of the history of humankind. Yet, as we know, the ministry of Jesus Christ, which we now await, always upsets long held beliefs and expectations. Just starting with a point of place or geography: the “mountain of the Lord” was never the most prominent mountain. The nations have never streamed to Jerusalem to learn divine teaching. Warfare continues to afflict creation today. These hoped for outcomes exist primarily in the realm of promise and hope, not in the realm of reality.
Can we not say similar things about the second advent of Christ? What does it mean since we pray for it longingly in this season? The church’s affirmation that Christ will one day return to change what we know by faith into sight is similarly absurd. Like the promises of God to Isaiah, the promises of Christ’s second coming are obscured in the tragedies of history.
The promise of Christ’s return contradicts much of what we see in the world. It is a joy to celebrate Christ’s coming in the past, but in this season of Advent let us pray earnestly for the faith to believe joyfully in Christ’s future coming, in all its glory and absurdity.
Collect for the First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth wit thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
| 
