Monday, December 10, 2007  (Human Rights Day)

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

The prophet Isaiah proclaimed a vision of a world at peace. The words are familiar, bringing together nature’s predators and prey: the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, the lion and the calf, the bear and the cow, the asp and the nursery child. And these young ones will not be hurt or destroyed.

Edward Hicks, an early American artist, painted many versions of this scene which he called The Peaceable Kingdom.  He was a Quaker. In the backgrounds of the paintings Hicks frequently pictured William Penn signing a treaty with American Indians, as if human beings might also live together in peace.

Isaiah’s vision saw that the root of Jesse could be a symbol for all peoples.  The nations would come and learn from him. Judaism, at its finest, offers its Shalom to the whole world. Judaism has fulfilled that mission in several ways: the Sabbath day of rest is commonly accepted; there are basic commandments for living together in a society; and there is the haunting plea for justice to the poor.

But there is a sadness when we hear Isaiah’s vision today over and against the reality of the Middle East.  Judaism’s vision of peace is a far cry from life in Israel and the Occupied Territories.  For that matter, that vision is a far cry from the role the United States plays in today’s world.  Our national policies make a mockery of the vision of the Peaceable Kingdom.  It is a time for lamentation.

At a recent conference I learned that the lament is, in itself, a positive response to the world scene.  It is the work of prophets.  It is well within our tradition to lament. To proclaim our vision is also a positive act.  It, too, is what prophets do.

Throughout the recent British film Nicholas Nickleby, the heartless uncle, Ralph Nickleby, is an ever present evil force.  At the end of the film, he hangs himself. Outside, a beggar is singing the hymn “God Is Working His Purpose Out.” 

The hymn concludes,

Nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth will be filled
with the glory of God,
as waters cover the sea.

That’s part of Isaiah’s vision. It is today’s lesson.