The Shoot of Jesse Arises—Lectionary Reflection for Advent 2A (Isaiah 11)
 |
| John August Swanson, Peaceable Kingdom |
Isaiah
11:1-10 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
11 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
*****************
It is time to light the candle of
peace when the world is ablaze with war and anger and hatred. There is war in
Ukraine and violence on American streets. Mass shootings continue unabated
while guns are easily obtained. That’s because we seem to be, at this moment in
history, a rather violent species. Yes, this is the context in which we light
the second Advent Candle, the Candle of Peace. It is to this time and place
that Isaiah speaks to us, offering us a vision of hope, where peace will reign.
This follows the word from Isaiah 2 that envisioned a time when the nations
would turn their swords into plowshares and give up learning the art of war (Isa.
2:1-5). That day has yet to arrive, but the vision of peace is laid before
us by a prophet who knew and understood the reality of war.
This vision is cosmic in nature.
Here in the shoot from the stump of Jesse will arise, for Christians a
messianic vision of the Davidic monarchy, but for ancient Judah a reminder that
even in the worst of situations, the monarchy remains present as a sign of
continuity. This word was shared with the people of Judah at a time (eighth
century BCE) when the superpower of that day, the Assyrian Empire, was pressing
in on the nation. Indeed, during the reign of Hezekiah, the nation of Judah
didn’t extend much beyond the walls of Jerusalem. In that context, this word
might seem rather grandiose, but it offered a word of hope to the people.
While contextually, this might have
been a word about survival in difficult times, it also speaks of a time and
place when peace would truly reign. It’s a vision that continues to haunt and encourage
those who move through time. Perhaps a day will come when peace reigns. I
realize that most science fiction offers a different vision. Consider Star
Trek, even if peace reigns on earth, the galaxy is anything but peaceful.
Nevertheless, Isaiah wants to expand on that vision to envision a time when
peace will reign, a time when the Spirit-anointed king will achieve true and
lasting peace. That will be a time when the wolf and the lamb, the lion and the
calf will lie together in peace. It is a vision that gave rise to Edward Hick’s
powerful painting, “The Peaceable Kingdom.” Of that vision, Leanne Van Dyke
writes:
The peaceable kingdom portrays unlimited inbreaking of the kingdom of God and harmony between humans and animals. These are clearly images that reflect an expansive hope for justice, good order, and the well-being of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. Children will not be hurt. Those vulnerable ones will be protected. Transformations and reversals abound. [Connections: Kindle Edition].
We
receive this vision of peace that will come upon us when the realm of God
breaks into our existence during the season of Advent. For us as Christians,
this is a messianic vision. At the time Isaiah shared it with the people of
Israel, the people faced a dire situation. This was a time when the superpower
of the day, the Assyrian Empire, was bearing down on the nation. The northern
kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed. Would they be next? Or would the
nation and its monarchy continue? Was God with them at this moment? Again,
larger and more powerful nations had fallen to this wolf/lion. The reference to
the “stump of Jesse” may reflect this reality. A stump suggests that damage had
been done to Jesse’s tree. But perhaps there is hope, that out of the stump,
that is the southern kingdom of Judah, one would emerge who could redeem
David’s kingdom. This figure, according to Isaiah, would be anointed with the
Spirit of God.
Likely, the one envisioned here by
Isaiah, the shoot/root of Jesse was Hezekiah, son of Ahaz. Ahaz had gotten
Judah mixed up in a disastrous rebellion against Assyria, but the hope is that
the son will take Judah in a different direction, one that would bring peace
and security. The reason for hope is that the Spirit of God would rest upon
this new king, bringing wisdom and understanding. Here is that word:
If the kind of peace envisioned here could be achieved, then
there would be a need for such a leader as this.
While it is likely that Isaiah had Hezekiah in mind, Christians have looked to
passages like this from the Hebrew Bible to frame the ministry of Jesus. That
is because the Gospel writers envision Jesus to be the son of David, and
therefore, the messianic heir of David’s throne. We see this revealed in the
genealogies in Matthew and Luke. The Gospels also speak of Jesus being the one
who is filled with the Spirit as revealed here in Isaiah 11. This passage
envisions a messianic figure who not only rules but who also serves as a judge
over the people. In this role as judge, Isaiah’s messianic king will bring
about justice and righteousness.
There are similarities between this
passage and Isaiah 61:1, which Luke draws upon when he pictures Jesus preaching
in his home synagogue of Nazareth Luke
4. In that message, the text Jesus draws on is Isaiah 61:1, but the
premise remains the same. In Luke 4 Jesus claims for himself a messianic
status. He makes a claim on this anointing by the Spirit. In Isaiah 61, the
expected anointed one will bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the
brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners.
All of this reflects Judah’s experience of liberation from exile. The message
in Isaiah 11 is a bit different. The anointing spoken of here brings with it
wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might, along with knowledge and the fear of
the LORD. With these gifts of the Spirit, the anointed king is expected to bring
righteousness and justice to the land, while ruling in favor of the poor and
meek. This has echoes in the Beatitudes (Matthew
5:3, 5). As the Spirit-anointed judge, this hoped-for ruler will base his
judgments not on what he sees with his eyes and hears with his ears, but will
instead judge according to what is right and justice. The message here would
appear to be that this ruler’s judgments won’t be influenced by money and
power. This judge isn’t impressed with worldly entanglements and can’t be
bought. That is because this king is endowed by the Spirit with wisdom and
understanding.
As we ponder these descriptions of the character of the coming anointed king,
Isaiah then reveals his vision of the peaceable kingdom. This is very much an
eschatological vision. It looks forward to what will be by reflecting back on
what was. What was, is Eden. In this eschatological vision of the peaceable kingdom,
the lions eat straw, along with the oxen. While this vision might seem out of
reach, the prophet is inviting the reader/hearer to move toward that realm
where harmony reigns not only among humans but within all of creation, such
that lamb and wolf, calf and lion, child and asp can dwell together in safety. Consider
that vision of safety at a time when schools, houses of worship, stores,
colleges, and nightclubs have all been scenes of deadly violence. It seems as
if there is no place for safety in the land. Rather than throw up our hands in
frustration, Isaiah invites us to embrace the message of the peaceable kingdom,
which according to Isaiah will be led by a child (vs. 6). Most likely, contextually,
that child would be Hezekiah, who gained the throne of Judah at the age of 12.
But might we imagine how this vision of a realm led by a child might turn
upside down our normal power structures where might rather than meekness is the
name of the game?
In the real world, Hezekiah never
became that leader who turned the world upside down. Yes, he reformed the
nation’s religious structures, but his kingdom barely survived the Assyrian
assault, and his son Manasseh would return to the old ways overturning all of
his father’s reforms. Reality may suggest that this vision is improbable. That
may well be true, but that doesn’t mean we reject the vision. It doesn’t mean
we must embrace the alternative vision of life, where injustice and violence
are the norm. The question for us concerns how we might work toward living into
this vision. The assumption here is that God will take the lead, but for this
to bear fruit we’ll have to participate in the work of God. The challenge is
moving toward this goal without embracing the world’s vision of power, a vision
that too often ends up with forms of religious nationalism, such that religious
folk seek political power so they can impose their so-called “values,” values
that look nothing like what Jesus offered his followers. Let us remember that
Jesus chose the way of the cross not the way of the conqueror as he sought to
bring into reality the realm of God.
As we continue the Advent journey, having lit the candle of peace, let us take hold of this vision of the one who is filled with the Spirit; the one who will bring into existence the realm of God, which is a realm of peace, where predator and prey lie together in peace. Let us go to God’s holy mountain where Isaiah promises no one will be hurt or destroyed, but instead will come to the full knowledge of God (Is. 11:9). On that day, Isaiah reveals, the “root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious” (Is. 11:10).
Image Attribution: Swanson, John August. Peaceable Kingdom, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56556 [retrieved November 26, 2022]. Original source: Estate of John August Swanson, https://www.johnaugustswanson.com/.
Comments