First Week of Advent, Monday – 4th December 2023 – Isaiah 2,1-5; Matthew 8,5-11
Being Witnesses of Hope
In the first reading, Isaiah gives a lovely prophecy, in which he sees what Jerusalem will be like in the future. He gives us the glimpse of God’s rule in the Temple and on the holy mountain. It is also a pre-figurement of the Reign of Heaven. The people of Israel had been ruled by human kings who had led them down the wrong paths to sinful ways. They wanted God to establish the divine rule again. With God’s reign dwelling among them, the people were expecting to live in peace as God would judge the nations. There, the implements of war would be turned into instruments of food production, benefitting all. This message of Isaiah is quoted outside the United Nations building in New York: “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 – Isaiah.” As we face the continuation of the war in various places on our planet, and violent terrorism, and have soldiers fighting and dying throughout the world, we, as Christians, need to implant hope in the world that God wishes to work for peace and we continue to symbolize the coming Reign of Heaven until the end of time.
