‘Nation will not lift sword against nation,
there will be no more training for war.’Isaiah 2:4
The words of Isaiah leap from the page and confront us with the challenge or vision of peace. We will see this again in the gospels, when Jesus orders his followers to lay down the sword, when he lays down his life in a supreme act of non-violence.
‘No more training for war’ comes as a powerful contradiction to terrorising acts and wars against terror, of which we have seen so much in recent times. Does Isaiah propose an impossible dream, or something that we might take seriously, as we consider how to make peace? The Psalm poignantly prays for the ‘peace of Jerusalem.’
Advent is a wakeup call as Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letter insist. The Gospel reading has both apocalyptic and ethical overtones. Stay awake; be prepared. The question for us as we hear these readings is not just personal but also political. How would we act if we really believed that the Son of Man was coming? The call on this first Sunday of Advent is to move from the darkness towards the light. We are sleepwalking through our lives. Advent calls us out of our stupor: Stay awake!
Copyright: Anne Thurston (Intercom)
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