Unlikely Pairs

Advent is almost upon us.  The season of anticipation.  The season of waiting.  The season of looking ahead to the incarnation of God almighty in a vulnerable baby boy.  Yes, Advent is almost upon us.  During the season of Advent, we remind ourselves of the many, many, many voices throughout the history of Israel that foreshadowed the inbreaking of God's presence here on earth.  We read passages from Isaiah, Jeremiah, the Psalms, and remember the future.  Yes, we re-member the future.

In this week's passage from Isaiah 11, we are provided imagery for a future king who will rule with a spirit of wisdom, understanding, planning, sgrength, sknoledge, and ultimately "fear of The Lord."  We are also shown a picture of what the future will look like on God's holy mountain (basically a euphemism for Zion/Jerusalem).  Wolves and Lambs lie together (not Lions and lambs...look it up), Lions and Calves eat together, Cows and Bears graze together, and in the midst of it all, we have Children playing near Snake holes (possibly reversing the condemnation of the serpent from Genesis).  It is an idyllic depiction of some future time when God's peace reigns completely, and it is beautiful.  This isn't some Circle of Life kind of thing where the animals that usually serve as prey are shaking with fear that the predators will change their minds at any minute.  This is a truly transformed world in which all have been redeemed by the peace of God.  I've included some images inspired by this passage.

For today, though, I wonder how this passage might read if we were to write it today and substitute pairings of people for the pairings of animals, keeping in mind the former relationships of predator and prey listed in the Scripture.  These pairs would include violent/non-violent, oppressors/oppressed, predators/victims, powerful/weak, etc.  To maintain the unlikelihood of the pairings, I think we would need to be prepared to think deeply about the nature of how people relate to one another in our society.  Historically in the US, we might put a slave owner and slave together.  In today's context, we might put child abuser and abused child together or sex slave trafficer and sex slave together.  Would we be willing to draw such a picture?  Are we willing to proclaim that even violent, oppressive people will find their way onto God's holy mountain along with non-violent, innocent, long-suffering people?

What pairings would you include if you were to write this passage and expect it to be truly transformative good news?

If even Lions and Bears become vegetarians in the "peacable kingdom" what does that say about our eating habits as we seek to live as kingdom people?

Reflect on who it might be hard to sit next to on God's holy mountain without God's peace transforming all parties involved.

Isaiah 11:1-9

1 A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
a branch will sprout from his roots.
2 The LORD ’s spirit will rest upon him,
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of planning and strength,
a spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
3 He will delight in fearing the LORD.
He won’t judge by appearances,
nor decide by hearsay.
4 He will judge the needy with righteousness,
and decide with equity for those who suffer in the land.
He will strike the violent with the rod of his mouth;
by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be the belt around his hips,
and faithfulness the belt around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
the calf and the young lion will feed together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow and the bear will graze.
Their young will lie down together,
and a lion will eat straw like an ox.
8 A nursing child will play over the snake’s hole;
toddlers will reach right over the serpent’s den.They won’t harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.
The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the LORD,
just as the water covers the sea.