to kill an olive tree

Sunday December 5th, Isaiah 11: Something new is coming. Something humanity has not yet experienced. A green Shoot will sprout from the old stump we thought was long dead. The life-giving Spirit of God will cover the land and the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, the Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and awe-of-God, will be our joy and delight. It is almost impossible to kill an olive tree. It is like rhubarb for most Alaskans in that respect. Just when you thought it was dead, up from the roots comes something new, something fresh and something alive. This second Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of Peace, peace that comes through working for justice. Humanity has tried to kill the concept over and over again. We talk about it longingly, but it is mainly rhetoric to hide the fact that we would rather put it off for another generation to tackle. Humanity has not really tried living in peace by working for justice in any sustained manner. If half of the military budgets from the nations of the world, or even, just from our nation, were to be spent on justice and building up, would there be a need for the other half of the budget to be spent in the long run? God’s plan from the beginning of time is for all the children created in the image of God to live in peace. So far, a few have found ways of making money through war, and getting power (which is another way of saying making money) through war, and have even been able to talk ourselves into sacrificing our children to do so. But God’s plan is for peace and like all of God’s plans, it will happen with or without our participation, our task is to decide if we will join God’s process or continue hammering away at the age old process of power trips. After all the millennia of trying to kill what is left of the notion of peace, God will have God’s way and a green shoot will sprout from the old stump of peace, will you be there to celebrate it?