Second Monday of Advent 2025

 

Isaiah 11:1-10

A ruler brings justice and peace

11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide by what his ears hear,

11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb; the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion will feed together, and a little child shall lead them.

11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.

11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Reversal is the theme this week. The reversal which is God’s justice.

True to the Hebraic witness, this justice comes from a ruler who will “judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth.” And the spirit that guides this ruler comes from the spirit of the Lord, “ the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.” Which could lead us off to a discussion of Sophia. No, not a woman, but wisdom. Because wisdom comes from God, and is a sign of God’s spirit.

But for now, just pay attention to the catalog. The spirit of the Lord will give the ruler wisdom (Sophia), understanding, counsel, might, and knowledge. All of which leads in two directions, which are actually one: justice for the poor and the oppressed; and a “peaceable kingdom” in which all creatures, animal and human, live together in harmony. Predators and prey live peacefully together. And “ They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” The reversal of conditions is final and absolute, when the ruler receives the spirit of the Lord and puts on his “armor of light (righteousness and faithfulness) then all shall be well, and all things shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.  

This is the fuel of the apocalyptic, this revelation of cosmic justice. After all, it’s not that big a step from “Give the king your justice, O Lord, to: fuck this shit!