“The spirit of
the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding … a
spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD.” – Is 11:2
Isaiah 11 paints
an idyllic vision of the spirit of the Lord resting upon Jesus, who inaugurates
God’s Kingdom. This reign of justice and reconciliation is marked by peace and
harmony even among natural predators and their prey: “The wolf shall
be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the young goat … the baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy
mountain; for the earth shall be
filled with knowledge of the LORD, as
water covers the sea” (Is. 11:6, 8-9).
Yet, this vision
seems distant given the rising global violence that Pope Francis calls a “Third
World War fought piecemeal.” The recent attacks in Paris, the downed Russian
plane over Egypt, and the suicide bombings in Beirut, Lebanon further dim the
Isaian prophecy. Pope Francis' strong words recently woke me up: “Christmas is
approaching: there will be lights, parties, lighted Christmas trees and manger
scenes… it’s all a sham. The world continues to wage wars. The world has not
comprehended the way of peace!”
I am stunned by
his words. Even more as I admit humbly that I am more excited for the upcoming
film, Star Wars: The Force
Awakens on December 18th,
than for Christmas a week later. Currently for me, Christmas is a sham! I
struggle to let God’s spirit land, much less become a resting place.
It has been said,
in the spirit of Archbishop Oscar Romero, “the Kingdom of God is not only beyond
our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.” Those in power killed Archbishop
Romero. His dream for a peaceful El Salvador or a church truly for the poor
only began to emerge a decade later. It remains an ongoing, slow growing shoot.
The Spirit of the Lord - that divine force given to individuals to enable
fulfillment of missions otherwise beyond them - rests in him, as it rests on
Jesus.
That same spirit
is promised to each of us. Pope Francis encourages us that Christmas can be
redeemed by opening our hearts to God's invitation of mercy and friendship
offered in Jesus. Spirit of God, awaken in me!
For a few minutes
today, let us just stop, take 7 deep breaths and get in touch with an
experience of being loved and cared for. Let’s allow the Spirit to awakened in
us, transform us, rest on us.
No comments:
Post a Comment