What Will Be That Is Not Yet
November 28, 2010
Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44
The words of the prophet Isaiah are a vision, a word seen by the prophet, an act of the imagination that looks beyond the present reality through the eyes of God, to see what will be that is not yet. What will be that is not yet.
This word, a vision of the greatness of Jerusalem as the place where the world comes together to make all things right again would have been surprising for those who heard it first for Jerusalem at that time was marginal and vulnerable and at the mercy of more powerful states around them at the time. They were not a great city in any sense except of course in their own minds. Their influence in the affairs of the world was non-existent. They were marginal at best in the affairs of the world and vulnerable to the whims of those around them. In other words, what the prophet imagines is in sharp contrast to what actually existed on the ground. The prophet imagines a Jerusalem where the rest of the world will come but not because the Jerusalem of the moment, a Jerusalem of nationalistic fervor and self-serving religion, a culture of arrogance really, the worst kind of arrogance, based on false pretenses, has finally been triumphant but rather because Jerusalem repents and returns to God and perhaps even more to the point, God returns to Jerusalem. When God’s presence is back in the house, the nations will come not because it is Jerusalem but because of the presence of God and not just to worship God but to fulfill God’s purpose of radical peace, not just the end of violence and war, but the creation of something completely different, of a peacetime economy where weapons are not simply destroyed and unused but are remade into plowshares and other useful tools for the transformation of battlegrounds to fertile gardens. This is powerful imagery, the transformation of the weapons of destruction for the tools of cultivation, of destruction to construction, a vision that promises what seems unlikely but which is also not outside what the human imagination can describe. Why not? Why not a world of peace and prosperity for all? Why not, indeed?
Most people whether they live now or 2500 years ago don’t like to hear this but the way of peace begins with our own repentance. That is to say that peace can only happen when we change our attitudes and our actions from the well established patterns of division and violence and revenge to a new way of relating to each other, a way restrained by the obligations of love and God’s justice and mercy, the way of peace. Repentance means turning away from that which destroys and separates and seeks only its own interests against all others and turning toward God who calls all peoples to come together and find ways to live where there is mutual concern, for every created living thing of God is sacred and holy. The way of peace is the way of humility and sacrifice and forgiveness. It is not the easy way or even the natural way. The way of peace must be learned and courage and sacrifice will be needed to go there and to abide there. In the vision of the prophet it is what will be that is not yet. Shalom, a vision where people seek ways to reconcile their differences and benefit each other with a deep and mutual concern.
The prophets vision is from God who comes to make things right again. It is the message of Advent that God is coming and what is not yet realized will one day be. And while we wait we are to live into the promise. Advent calls us to wait for what is coming but the waiting is not passive. There are things to be done, preparations to be made. We are to stay awake. We are to watch and be ready.
This reading in Matthew today seems at first hearing to contradict the words that say that God is always merciful and kind but it seems to me that this description not so much about what God will do but what we will do. This is a description of the world without peace, a world where random violence picks off some and leaves others unharmed. There is seemingly no justice, no reasonable explanation for anything important. To stay awake it seems to me, could be a way of calling us to practice peace where there is no peace. We don’t know how this will end and this is one of two things in this passage that are important to hear. No one knows what will happen in the end and whatever happens will be a surprise. This is important because it guards against arrogance and manipulation. The point is not that the end is coming but that there is an end and we are not there yet and in the meantime, the time of now, and what we are about now is what matters most. To be awake is to be intentional about practicing peace, to already be what is not yet. The vision of what will be that is not yet is a call to bring the not yet to be by living it out even in the context of something completely other. This is how vision enables faith. There is a vision of shalom, of an entire peace, not a forced peace but a peace of the heart that actually desires the well being of all others at least as much as one’s own well being and this vision which is not yet fulfilled can be practiced even now.
A couple of years ago the Masssachusetts Council of Churches came out with a practical list of ways we can practice peace even if there is no peace. I really believe that we become what we practice. In any case, here is what they came up with:
Lift up common values. Can we look into the face of our enemies and see ourselves?
Do not demonize the Other. Naming those who oppose us as evil is the best way to end any hope of the conversation that might led to understanding. It is also much easier to commit violent and horrific acts against those we have dehumanized.
Avoid prejudicial stereotyping. Only the truth will set us free. Prejudice and stereotyping keep us enslaved in ignorance and lies.
Pray for enemies. God’s people, the people of the vision, of the not yet, seek not to destroy but to heal and reconcile.
Promote justice. Justice is the restoration of right relationships both with God and with one another whether it be personal, religious, political, or economic. Remember God comes to make things right. There is no peace, no shalom without a deep and abiding and lasting justice.
Resist revenge. Revenge is not justice. Justice is not revenge.
Affirm that just ends are reached by just means. The practice of peace is the way to peace. Missiles are not peacekeepers no matter what we call them and torture is an abomination, an affront to God for it harms not only the victim but the perpetrator. Doing good at any level requires also doing no harm.
Adhere to moral principles. We must insist that those in power tell us the truth, the first and most basic moral principle of all, and that we be not afraid to speak the truth to power.
Support critical self-reflection. Truth passes through confession first. Humility puts us in the right place before God. Humility is the truth. “The root of all disturbance, if one will go to its source, is that no one will blame himself.” (Dorotheus of Gaza, 6th century)
This one is crucial. Even committed peacemakers can become too full of themselves.
Protect the innocent. Crimes against humanity do not justify crimes against humanity.
Avoid double standards. How can we as a people expect others not to have nuclear weapons if we have them ourselves? How can we expect the world to disarm if we are producing and selling the arms? Do not expect anyone to do what you won’t doyourself.
Stay grounded in the peace of God. The peace that se seek is not the peace that the world gives but the peace that only God can give. It is not the peace of the democrats or the republicans or the green party but the peace of God, the ‘what will be that is not yet’ but when it is ‘what will be’ will be more than any one part but will include the whole. Shalom.
Affirm that peacemaking is a process, a way of being and not just a final goal. We become what we practice. A wise man was once asked what is the way to peace and his answer was simply, “Peace is the way.”
Be active in the pursuit of peace. Peace is not the absence of struggle but the presence of love. Love is something we do. Love is self-giving. The practice of peace will challenge us to make sacrifices. Poverty is a major impediment to peace. How can our lifestyle benefit or harm the world’s poor? Peace is not just what we want but what we do, how we live. It is also true that we will need to be brave, peacemakers are vulnerable and peacemaking is dangerous. We should not be naïve. Peace and love will always be resisted by those who profit form their absence. Sin is alive and well in our world and in our hearts. We know it is true. Often it is what we have left undone as much as what we have done that separates us from the purpose of God to heal and reconcile the world. Sometimes we don’t know what to do or who to believe and it is good that we test and examine everything and not fall into the trap of arrogance that always claims to be right whether we know what we are talking about or not. This vision is not happening quickly from our point of view. The not yet is a long time. So long that we have been known to ask, how long, O Lord?
I am reminded of the time Christopher Robin organized an expedition to find the North Pole. No one knew where it was or even what it was they were looking for and there was much confusion and chaos along the way but when Pooh found it they all knew it (except Pooh himself of course which is perfect) because Pooh found a long pole that he used to save little Roo from drowning and whatever it was they thought it would be or wherever they thought they would find it, they knew that it was what saved them. Our journey in the not yet is not so unlike that. Sometimes in the name of peace we who want peace hurt each other and we don’t really know what it looks like or where it is but we will know when we see it because it will save us. God will save us from ourselves. What will be that is not yet is coming nonetheless and we have only to practice peace while we wait being careful to get ourselves out of the way of what love can do if whatever we do, we do for love. The vision of the prophet is clear. It is what will be that is not yet: they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. This is the Word of God. So be it. What Will Be That Is Not Yet . . . Is Coming. SHALOM. Peace be with you in this Advent.
