Peaceable kingdom

Peaceable Kingdom

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

First Week of Advent

Isaiah 11:6-9

The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.
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.

Jesus invites us to the Kingdom of God.  Peace, justice and love rest in deep layers on this kingdom.  They are what I breathe.  God does not disguise himself or hide in the bushes to spy on us.  We do not run from him or worry when he looks us in the eye.

What’s wrong with this picture?  Well … nothing.  What’s wrong with me that I don’t live in the peaceable kingdom every moment of every day of my life?

Jesus does not invite me to do the impossible.  He wants me to do what he does, and he shows me how.  “Follow me,” he says, and “you will do greater things than I” (John 14).

There are just a few days of Advent, and then … In the morning of every one of these days Jesus asks me to say “yes” rather than “no.”  As Jesus did on the hillside, often before dawn, I learn to say YES by listening.  Waiting for God’s whisper.

I am not in a hurry now – no hurry to have my way, to make my way in traffic, to be first or right. No hurry. God is good, and I have all the time I need.

In the twinkle of your eye, Lord, you make me and hold me and fill me with your spirit. Your wild wholeness is holy and finished. Untamed. Perfect. So beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKwD34ZWvV8&noredirect=1 (Twila Paris sings “How Beautiful)

Edward Hicks’ painting, Peaceable Kingdom exemplifies Quaker ideals. Hicks painted 61 versions of this composition. The animals and children are taken from Isaiah 11:6-8.  file://localhost/(http/::upload.wikimedia.org:wikipedia:commons:6:62:Edward_Hicks_-_Peaceable_Kingdom.jpg).

http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1199