Advent devotional for Adults

This Christmas, the prophecies about Jesus written in the Old Testament have been making me think...and the words to my new favorite Christmas choral piece have been drumming in my head.  So I perused Isaiah,  particularly chapters 9 and 11. My suggestion is for you to do a little search yourself.  Read the following words to a song entitled

“The Dream Isaiah Saw”

             By Glenn Rudolph

Lions and oxen will sleep in the hay,

leopards will join with the lambs as they play

wolves will be pastured with cows in the glade

blood will not darken the earth that God made.

     Little child whose bed is straw,

     take new lodgings in my heart.

     Bring the dream Isaiah saw;

     life redeemed from fang and claw.

Peace will pervade more than forest and field;

God will transfigure the Violence concealed

deep in the heart and in systems of gain,

ripe for the judgment the Lord will ordain

    Little child whose bed is straw

    take new lodgings in my heart.

    Bring the dream Isaiah saw;

    justice purifying law

Nature reordered to match God’s intent,

nations obeying the call to repent,

all of creation completely restored,

filled with the knowledge and love of the Lord.

Now find the literary allusions in Isaiah 9 and 11.  Frequently we see the prophecy and assume Jesus didn’t fulfill it all—wars exist, brutality is rampant, peace is not reigning in individuals or in countries—YET.  Advent is a celebration of the first coming of messiah; yet the complete revelation is yet to come.  On the second advent of the Christ, we will all beat the metal of weapons into farming implements to feed a hungry world.  And peace and justice will reign.  Are you willing to ask the Christ to “take new lodging in” your heart?    Send me your thoughts on the poem and scripture!