Experiencing God’s New Creation—Lectionary Reflection for Easter C (Isaiah 65)

 

 

Isaiah 65:17-25 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹⁷ For I am about to create new heavens
    and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
    or come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy
    and its people as a delight.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
    and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it
    or the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days
    or an old person who does not live out a lifetime,
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
    and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat,
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
    and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain
    or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
    and their descendants as well.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer,
    while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together;
    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
    but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
            says the Lord.

                *****************

                Easter is a day of celebration. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, with its promise that we too might share in that resurrection. Jesus is, according to Paul, the first fruits of the resurrection of those who have died (1 Cor. 15:20). Then in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away so everything is new (2 Cor. 5:17). So, as we gather on Easter Sunday, we can say that this is a day of new beginnings.

                The first reading for Easter Sunday, according to the Revised Common Lectionary, comes from Isaiah 65 (an alternative first reading comes from Acts 10:34-43). This reading comes from a prophet who most scholars believe ministered during the post-exilic period. While the exile might be over, the rebuilding process would take many years. Even then, Judah remained a province of Persia. Nevertheless, the prophet offered the people a vision of a new day, when things would be set aright. There is an eschatological dimension to this vision that involves creating something new. In fact, God will create both a new heaven and a new earth. In this new creation, the old will no longer impact the current situation or the future. What the prophet envisions is a day when the people of Jerusalem will once again rejoice, because God will rejoice and delight in the city. This word is offered to a city that was likely in the midst of a rebuilding program. We can get a sense of what Third Isaiah has in mind if we think of cities devastated by war or some natural disaster. Yes, there is loss, but there is also hope for something new.

                Isaiah then speaks of a time when people will no longer weep or experience distress. Death will be a rare occurrence. We should take note here of the mention of infant mortality. I think here of the many children who have died in Gaza due to Israeli bombings. Children always seem to be “collateral damage” in times of war. I wonder why that is. But here the message is that children will grow up to adulthood. Not only will children grow to maturity, but the elderly will live to a great old age, such that if one dies at one hundred will be considered a youth, and failure to reach that age would be considered a cursed life. Now, we know that most people don’t live to 100. My mother passed away recently at the age of 94. She lived a good, active life right up to the end. She might not have lived to 100, but she reflects this vision of living a good life. Perhaps Isaiah is speaking here metaphorically, but he offers us a vision of what life might be like in the new creation.

                For a people who experienced the devastation of an invasion that destroyed their city and witnessed the removal of the nation’s elite, the next word will come as a word of great encouragement. The people will build houses and live in them. Indeed, they will build houses that they can live in rather than others will inhabit. They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of the vine. In other words, they will experience normalcy. These are words that speak to the hearts of people who have been refugees and exiles, people who have been homeless and dependent on others for their food. This is a word that speaks of stability. To illustrate this sense of stability, Isaiah speaks of trees. Life will be like “the days of a tree.” I’m not sure which trees the prophet had in mind, but the Cedars of Lebanon have been known to live for a thousand years. The sequoias of California have been known to live even longer—up to around three thousand years. That is almost like immortality! According to Isaiah, that will be the experience of God’s people as they inhabit this new creation.

                Then there is a word about work or labor. God’s chosen people will enjoy working with their hands and not labor in vain. Not only will the people enjoy their labor, but their children will not experience calamity or terror. Life in the new creation will be good because the people of God will be blessed, as will their descendants. This will happen because God will listen to the voice of God’s people.

                The reading concludes with a beautiful eschatological image. It speaks to a reality where peace reigns. In verse 25 we have this beautiful image of the wolf and the lamb feeding together. The wolf, of course, is a predator, while the lamb is usually prey. Think of a powerful nation (the United States?) seeking to take over a smaller, weaker one (Canada?) or Russia and Ukraine. You know the stories that are out there. But in this scenario, the wolf and the lamb are equal. They share the same food (which means that the wolf has become a vegetarian). It is a picture of a return to Eden. But Isaiah has not finished offering examples. He also speaks of the lion eating straw like an ox. Once again, the predator is a vegetarian. Interestingly, the serpent is consigned to eating dust. For some reason, the Edenic curse on the serpent is not lifted (Gen.3:14).

                On this Easter Sunday, as we contemplate the resurrection of Jesus, Isaiah offers us an eschatological image of a return to Eden. It is a vision of a new creation, a new heaven and new earth, where God’s shalom will reign. In this time of uncertainty for our world, especially economically, this might serve as a hopeful word. It doesn’t mean we will not experience times of exile, but this exile will not be permanent. Harmony can and will be restored. Of course, since this is an eschatological image (and resurrection is an eschatological concept) we have not fully experienced God’s new creation. Jürgen Moltmann speaks to this promise of a new creation and its message of hope: “In this eschatological perspective, nature can be seen to exist within a history open to the future. The phenomena of continuity and discontinuity, stability and the emergence of the new, are interpreted theologically as signs of God’s faithfulness and God’s anticipating creation.” [Moltmann, Jürgen. The Spirit of Hope: Theology for a World in Peril (kindle p. 85) WJK]. This is, Moltmann reminds us, a word about God’s faithfulness. It is that faithfulness that gives us hope as we live in this in-between time, especially when things seem to be going awry. The promise of a return to Eden is, therefore, a word of encouragement and empowerment, such that we might join with the Risen Christ in establishing a beachhead for God’s new creation. In this new creation, we have the promise that the wolf and lamb might eat together in peace and friendship.

                With this promise in mind, we can sing together:

Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,

wheat that in dark earthy many days has lain;

Love lives again, that with the dead has been;

Love is come again like wheat arising green. 

[John M. C. Crum, Chalice Hymnal, 230].