The first scripture at mass today
was Isaiah's vision of the peaceable kingdom...
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6-9
For decades, Lord,
I've taken Isaiah's vision of the peaceable kingdom
as a dream of how nations might live in peace
- but this morning his vision struck closer to home...
What of the divided "kingdoms" in our families, Lord?
What of the little "fiefdoms" in our neighborhoods?
And those "territorial disputes"
that disrupt the workplace?
How 'bout the cliques that cruelly distance
those who are "in" from those who are "out?"
And the prejudice and bias we normalize
as "natural," and "just the way things are?"
What of our tolerance
of resentments and grudges,
hard feelings and bitterness
that tear apart people
at home, at school and at work?
Isaiah' vision is both local and global,
his dream is for all, right where we live,
and it falls upon each of us, no exceptions,
to work to make that dream come true...
Give us your grace, Lord, to live in peace,
with all, in all ways, at all times...
Protect us, Lord while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
To my surprise, I wasn't able to find a suitable song based on Isaiah's vision of the peaceable kingdom - but I did come across this video of a young girl's share in Isaiah's dream...
Peaceable Kingdom
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