Isaiah 2:2-5 (NRSV)
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Verse 2In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Verse 3Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Verse 4He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Verse 5O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Devotion
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob (Isaiah 2:3). The prophet Isaiah declares Zion to be the destination for all nations and people as they stream toward God's holy place. There they are schooled in the ways of the Lord. The first school project has the people turning their swords into shovels and their spears into hoes. This is a vision of perfect peace that Isaiah describes for us, a time when instruments of death are turned into implements for life and when nations no longer study war anymore.
The prophet's words are still compelling. They are so expressive of our deepest yearnings that they have found their way into the public square as a vision for all God's children. Engraved on a wall near the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, Isaiah's words stand to inspire the work of the nations of the world. Thousands of years later, this dream of God remains alive. This Advent, may we learn ever more deeply God's ways of peace.