"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain . . ." - Isaiah 11:6a, 9a
Dear Friends in Christ -
Peace on earth. This time of year, we sing these words. We read them printed on pretty cards. We see them emblazoned on the sides of buildings in twinkly red-green-yellow lights.
Peace on earth . . . an activist slogan? a dream? Maybe it's just my imagination, but as we sing and think and read about peace MORE this time of year, I seem to see it LESS: families torn apart by addiction or divorce, communities hurt by partisan politics, nations plotting war.
What do families, politics, and war have in common? They're complicated. Perhaps it seems unrealistic or even silly, then, to look to the prophet Isaiah for answers. The picture he paints is so simple: wolves laying down with lambs and all that.
It seems unrealistic until you actually see it happening. Some of the most popular videos on YouTube are videos of the unlikely - dogs and cats sharing beds and food dishes, people singing in shopping malls instead of shoving people to get at sale items. Yes, I know some of the stuff on YouTube is staged. I also know that for every incident that is staged, there are many wondrous peace-making gestures that are never caught on tape.
Peace is possible. As St. Francis said, it begins with us. The requirement is this: willingness to believe in what we hope for, and willingness to take a risk - just one small step - in that direction.
Faithfully believing,
Janet+
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