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Isaiah 2:1-5 and Psalm 122 Perhaps you have visited the United Nations center in New York City. This twentieth century association of nations endeavors to settle disputes by providing a forum for leaders to voice their concerns. When we hear of all the violence of war every week, we could only wish the United Nations were more effective. But we don't know how much worse our world might be without their efforts for peace. Across the street from the General Assembly building of the United Nations is a sculpture built as a monument to peace. At the base of this sculpture are engraved the words from Isaiah in today's text, "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The vision of world peace prophesied by Isaiah almost three thousand years ago has not yet arrived. But we, as the people of God, are guided by the assurance of its coming. Advent is the season of waiting and preparation--there is anticipation in the air. We expect God to come to us in a special way. We go back in time to wait with Elizabeth and Zechariah, Mary and Joseph, for the birth of a special child--Jesus, who will save his people from their sins. We wait for the coming of Emmanuel, God With Us. In the season of advent we also wait in anticipation for another coming of God to earth in a special way, yet to be fulfilled. Our passage this morning speaks of a future time when the Sovereignty of God will be recognized by all the nations of the world. This time of transformation and enlightenment is portrayed as all the peoples of the world marching to Zion. We will take a closer look at this passage, with three questions in mind--Why are all the nations marching to Zion? What will God do for the people who march to Zion? And, How should the people of God respond to this vision of universal peace? Zion is the name of the hill on which the temple of the Lord is built in Jerusalem, the holy mountain. In the future time, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain. All the nations marching to Zion will form a mighty stream. Why will they come? As the people of the world climb the holy hill, they will say to each other, "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." The peoples of the world will march to Zion to learn God's ways. What would attract the nations of the world to
Zion to be taught by God? Seeing the people of God live in right relationship with
God and with each other is inviting. The prophet Isaiah lived in the land of
Judah which considered itself God's chosen people. But the descendants of Abraham
were never meant to be the only people to receive God's salvation. They were chosen
to be a model covenant community, a light to the nations. Neighboring countries
would see how the people of God In their desire to live the abundant life, the nations of the world will march to Zion to be taught by God. In order to learn a new thing, one has to make room in one's mind and heart by giving up the old ways of thinking and doing. Too often we come to God asking God to teach us and we are not willing to give up what we believe to be true in order to learn a new truth. Just as there was no room at the Inn for Mary and Joseph to spend the night and bring forth new life in that place, we often make no room in our understanding for life-giving new ideas from God. This Advent season let us sincerely march to Zion to be taught the ways of God, with an open mind to learning some new insight. The reason for learning new truth, of course, is to live according to God's purpose, to walk along God's path. In Isaiah's glorious vision, the peoples of the world who march to Zion to be taught by God will be blessed with a life of peace. But this peace is not imposed by God on the nations. This is not an enforced peace like the Pax Romana of Jesus' time, where the oppressive power of Rome tolerated no armed resistance, so there was an absence of war. In this future time of universal peace there is true justice. Nations willingly submit to the arbitration of God, who settles their disputes with wisdom and fairness. How often do we seek God's will for decisions in our lives, and when we have some sense of what God desires for us, tell ourselves that can't really be the answer. God must have dialed the wrong number this time. We will never know true peace in our own lives until we are willing to accept God's arbitration in the disputes we face from day to day. We will always be free to choose whether or not to accept God's wisdom. God's will is never forced on us. Justice is not always attractive to persons in a position of power. I wonder how many Americans would be willing to accept God's arbitration for a just distribution of global resources today, if we knew it meant giving up some aspects of the comfortable life we take for granted? In the end time, when nations willingly submit to God's peace, resources previously used for mass destruction will be channeled toward improving the quality of human existence. I saw a bumper sticker worth repeating the other day. It said something like, "What if our schools had all the money they need, and the airforce had to have a bakesale to build a new bomber?" That's food for thought. Of course the day the prophet says is coming has not yet arrived. But there is a word for the people of God who believe the day of peace with justice will come. We are admonished to live according to the truth of God that has been revealed, "O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!" Those who already live in the presence of God are called upon to take the first steps on the path to peace that all nations will tread one day. Psalm 122, which we read for responsive reading, was most likely sung by the people of Israel marching up Zion's hill to worship God in the temple at festival time. It is a Psalm for the pilgrimage. Three times a year all the People of Israel who were able were expected to go to Jerusalem for the observance of religious festival. In the spring at Passover time was the festival of unleavened bread, when they remembered their deliverance from slavery. Fifty days later was the festival of weeks, which marked the end of the grain harvest, and the beginning of the season for offering first fruits. In the seventh month was the festival of tabernacles, celebrating God's provision for them in the wilderness of Sinai. Why was it necessary for the people to travel to Jerusalem to worship God in the temple? Was not God just as available to them in their home towns? Why should we come to church every Sunday to worship God? Is not God present with us in our homes and at work? I propose two responses for your consideration. First, I believe God is available to us in our daily lives, but we are not always available to God. There is something about a pilgrimage that focuses one's attention on the purpose of the trip. Leaving the comforts of home and the distractions of daily living to walk to Jerusalem to worship God with a community of believers would give pilgrims a reason to remember the goodness of God. There would be great expectations after spending all that effort. Maybe our worship experience is just too convenient. There are some places in the world where people walk for miles to a worship service. And when they get there, if the celebration of music and dancing, and prayer and preaching does not last for several hours, they are disappointed. Secondly, the religious festivals celebrated the goodness of God with the community of God. We need each other. Companions on a pilgrimage get to know each other well. I heard a contemporary pilgrim speak about his journey on the radio. He said what struck him most about his fellow travelers was his total lack of ability to choose whom he would be traveling with. When you strike out on a path down a public road to a chosen destination, anyone else who chooses the same course is your traveling companion, like it or not. In many ways the church is like that. When we sincerely welcome all who desire to worship God to come into our building and fellowship with us, we might meet some folks who are challenging to get along with. But this is a pilgrimage where "whosoever will may come." And we can be glad for the person who said to us, "let us go to the house of the Lord." We are meant to encourage each other. This Advent season could be like a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, marching to Zion to celebrate the coming of Emmanuel. Perhaps there is someone you know who needs a helping hand for the journey--reach out in love. The youth like to sing "Lean on Me." Perhaps you are feeling the need for someone to lean on at this time in your pilgrimage. In the community of God, there is someone who can support you if you make your need known. Finally, this morning, let us consider the Psalmist's burning concern for peace for Jerusalem. The name Jerusalem most likely stems from the Hebrew word for peace, Shalom. This Hebrew word means much more than the absence of war. Shalom means harmony, wholeness, and justice for all of creation. The psalmist who prayed for Shalom for Jerusalem most likely lived in accordance with this dream about the way the world will be when the reign of God fully comes. A tragedy of our time is Jerusalem, the city sacred to all three of the world's monotheistic religions, and a symbol of peace, has been one of the most fought over cities in the world. One scholar has calculated that between 323 B.C. (the death of Alexander the Great) and 63 B. C. (the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman general Pompey), over two hundred major military campaigns were fought in the vicinity of Jerusalem--almost one per year! And today, the city is still frequently a battleground. Let us join the Psalmist in praying for peace in Jerusalem, that the city named for harmony and well-being might be a living symbol of the power of God for transformation and reconciliation. And let us live our lives according to our vision for Shalom. I close with a story about a tourist among Pilgrims. An American tourist found himself in India on the day of the pilgrimage to the top of a sacred mountain. Thousands of people would climb the steep path to the mountain top. The tourist, who had been jogging and doing vigorous exercise and thought he was in good shape, decided to join in and share the experience. After twenty minutes, he was out of breath and could hardly climb another step, while women carrying babies and frail old men with canes, moved easily past him. "I don't understand it," he said to an Indian companion. "How can those people do it when I can't?" His friend answered, "It is because you have the typical American habit of seeing everything as a test. You see the mountain as your enemy, and you set out to defeat it. So, naturally, the mountain fights back, and it is stronger than you are. We do not see the mountain as our enemy to be conquered. The purpose of our climb is to become one with the mountain, and so it lifts us up and carries us along." Will you be a tourist or a pilgrim as you march to Zion this Advent season? Will you let the demands of the season defeat you as an enemy, or will you become one with the holy hill, and let the preparations lift you and carry you along to the Blessed Event? |
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