Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, January 11, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is such an evocative image for me. I can absolutely see it as clear as day. The child has a flute and leads the animals around like the pied piper. The leopard and the lion roll and play like kittens, the baby goat leaping about with the lamb, the baby cow bobbing its head in time to the music. They frolic together in a lush meadow on a sunny day, as a light breeze tosses the tops of the grasses. All is joy and contentment and love. This is what God promises us through Isaiah, and ultimately through Jesus.
What does that mean for us today? Ponder this little re-write, if you will.
The wealthy, who have gained all they have through injustice and oppression, will change their ways entirely so that they will live in equity and love with those upon whose poverty they had formerly profited. The powerful who have visited generational trauma on those from whom their power was taken will give up their predatory ways and share all their power with those they once victimized. Those who have lived their lives nursing their own superiority by indulging in hateful narratives against all who differ from them will open their hearts to all people and live together in mutual support and respect. And God, in Christ Jesus, will raise up leaders whose relentless love for all they lead will cause them to work tirelessly that this new way should persist to the end of time.
Where do I find myself in this re-imagining of the text? How am I called to play a role in moving toward this promised future?
