Advent Day 2: Mountain of Peace (Isaiah 2:1-5)

Isaiah 2:1-5 (NIV)

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days
    the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.
Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.
Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord.

I love the poetic imagery of this passage: there is a mountain that the nations "stream" to.  The idea is that the reign of God is reversing the "natural" laws of gravity.  This temple, the place that God dwells, is going to be so compelling, so beautiful, so powerful that the nations will "flow" to it.

But why?  

What is so compelling about this mountain of God as opposed to other mountains or temples?  What is so beautiful about the Lord as opposed to the gods of other religions or maybe even other philosophical and secular traditions and worldviews?  

Peace.

The second part of verse 4 says, "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" and that "nations will not take up sword against nation."  

Wouldn't that be wonderful!  No more hostility between nations or even between racial or ethnic groups.  No more tribalism that leads to conflict! 

We are all different and have different cultures and values, but at the end of the day most of us simply want to live in peace.  And if spears are turned into a pruning hooks and swords into plows that means hostility will be turned into... work!  Our weapons of violence and even self-defense will, instead, be used to live productive lives for ourselves, our families, and others.

Obviously, our world still has conflict and war.  But that is not only on a global scale.  We see conflict and war in our day to day lives.  We have conflict every day with our friends, our neighbors, or those we love dearly.  At work we often have conflict and animosity with our coworkers, our bosses, and customers. 

But...

What if things could be different?  The Kingdom of God claims to be different.  God's promise is that His Kingdom is filled with peace.  Can you picture a world where complete peacefulness reigns?  Wouldn't you want to "stream" to that place?

That is what Jesus has come to inaugurate.  He begins by offering forgiveness and a new start... a new life in the Spirit.  When God's Spirit begins to reign in us God begins to change us into new creations that are all about peace, mercy, righteousness, justice, and love.  

That doesn't mean being a Christian makes you perfect!  It means that we are learning to surrender our wills to the Prince of Peace.  Jesus laid down weapons and took up mercy, grace and forgiveness.  He showed us peace and offers his peace to us.  His reign in our lives is where the journey of Advent is headed.  Are you "streaming" up that mountain?

Heavenly Father, give us the strength to climb the mountain of faith to live in your presence.  Fill us with your Spirit that we might be transformed by your love, mercy and peace.  And make us agents of your peaceful kingdom now in our relationships at home, at work, with friends, and even with our enemies.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.