The Peaceable Kingdom?

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox.

The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On that day, the root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11:6-10

The book of Isaiah has always been one of my favorites from scripture and I have reflected on this passage many times in my life. This passage was the subject of a daily meditation from the Henri Nouwen Society and got me to thinking and reflecting on it again. (As a side note, I am currently doing the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. It has been a wonderful experience so far, and has given me a whole new appreciation for the use of scripture and one’s imagination as very powerful tools for prayer.)

It was a tradition that we bought Dad a new ornament every year and along with other gifts and acquisitions that my Dad made throughout the years, I have amassed quite the collection of ornaments. While decorating the Christmas tree this year, I noticed that many of my ornaments are angels, depictions of the nativity and the lion and the lamb.

A powerful image, the lion and the lamb. I remember seeing one version of Edward Hick’s painting at the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, and also saw a later version in the National Gallery. Wonderfully deep, rich and symbolic paintings, and also an image that leaves itself open to a wide variety of interpretation, from the “cute-sy” to the somber.

As we come to the middle of the Advent season, the days get shorter and the nights longer, and as I reflect on the experiences of the past couple of years, I have seen this passage in a whole new light.

As I look around- in my church, in my community, in my workplace and seemingly, ingrained in society itself, there is a division that runs deep and wide.  We are about as far from the “Peaceable Kingdom” as Pluto is from the sun!

We have “red states vs. blue states”, “liberals vs. conservatives”, “orthodox vs. progressive”, etc, etc, etc. What we don’t have (at least enough of it to make a difference) is any attempt to look at what binds us together, that we are all beloved creations of a merciful and loving God.

As we enter more deeply into the mystery of the unfolding incarnation this Advent, I think it is wise to remember and celebrate our commonalities and set our divisions behind us and work toward the “peaceable kingdom” that Isaiah describes and so many have rendered so beautifully through the ages.


Happy Advent!