The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
November 18, 2007
Vol. 10 no. 42

Everything But...
           As the Christian year draws to a close, the Lectionary readings become downright odd. As we shall hear, they head off madly in several directions: the coming end of the world, the hopeful vision of a new world, the crucifixion of Jesus. These are scriptures we seldom hear since we prefer to focus on the wise teaching and remarkable actions and events in Jesus’ ministry. It might be the more honest thing to say that we prefer to avoid these often dark and sometimes fanciful readings. Wisdom is a lot easier to handle than the apocalypse.
           It is fashionable in post-modern society to eagerly point out how disastrous human life has become. We have a knack for prejudice, violence, and the seeking of pleasure before commitment to the needs of others. So the end of the world Biblical passages unite both the yearnings of ultra-conservatives who want all evil people condemned and those of social activists who want all evil systems condemned. Along this dreary dark path, it is easy to lose sight of where we are supposed to be going.
           Isaiah’s prophetic oracles are a favourite of the Gospel writers and a favourite to be proclaimed amidst the Advent and Christmas lights. Today, let’s stop and listen closely to these familiar and joyful words. A new heaven and a new earth... no more weeping... the wolf and lamb shall feed together. This is an impossible world, and that’s just the point. It’s impossible by our standards, by the way we typically do things. What our faith declares quietly and often quite loudly is that there is another way to do things, another way to think of the world. Most of the time we look at the world as if we were its gods. Imagine what happens when you realize Someone Else is God.