Word to the Wise
Monday, December 3, 2012 - 1st Week of Advent - Mon
[Isa 2:1-5 (or, in Year A, Isa 4:2-6) and Matt 8:5-11]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 recent conflict between Israel and Gaza is nothing new to the region, as anyone knows who reads the Bible or any history of the Middle East! Isaiah's majestic vision of peace expresses the longing of centuries of people! Nor should we restrict the meaning of his vision to the Middle East. We have only to read or watch the news that comes to us everyday from around our planet! The season of Advent offers us the challenge to gather into our prayer the suffering and misery of all those who are displaced or wounded or killed by the many armed conflicts around the world. Oh when, Lord, will it ever end?
In the gospel scripture for today, a military leader comes to Jesus on behalf of a valued servant! This Roman centurion would be at least a worshiper of Roman deities, including Caesar! Yet he comes to Jesus in faith. He is part of the occupying Roman army that would eventually destroy the temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and later utterly destroy Jerusalem in 135 A.D.! Jesus commends the faith of the centurion and heals the servant. In doing so, Jesus also warns that he has not seen faith like the centurion's in the people he ordinarily preaches to!
The last line from Isaiah's vision, quoted above, offers a way to peace that too many people reject. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! Why can't we follow that? Where has our faith in weapons led us? The centurion's faith, not his sword, is what brought healing to his servant! AMEN