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Isaiah 2: 1-5
This is what 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 mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!
The Word of the Lord.
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Over the last century, more than 100 million people have died in war. This includes the 1,300 Israelis and 16,000 Palestinians who’ve died in their ongoing war.
Meanwhile, more than 30 other armed conflicts are unfolding across the world as people fight over power, politics, theology, and access to scarce resources like land, water, and food.
Smaller conflicts also arise in our own families. Siblings argue over which toy belongs to whom, and later who gets the inheritance. Spouses spat over finances, time spent together, communication, and the kids.
It seems conflict – whether great or small – is written into our post-Eden DNA, ever since the split between Adam and Eve.
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Yet, the prophet Isaiah foretells in our first reading: “One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again…They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
Swords into plowshares. Spears into pruning hooks.
That’s God’s promise to us: cosmic peace.
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Advent is an appointed time for us to help make that dream a reality by considering where we need to beat our own swords into plowshares.
Maybe we’ve become short-tempered; we need the Lord to transform words wielded in anger into words of comfort.
Maybe we need to melt a grudge into an act of forgiveness.
Or selfishness into selflessness.
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Advent is a season of grace, a time to beat swords into plowshares.
May it begin with us.
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Image credits: (1) Swords into Plowshares, Reluctant Xtian (2) Swords into Plowshares, Sergey Ivanov, Fine Art America (3) PodPoint