Advent Perspective: Wolves and Lambs

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Wolves and Lambs

The wolf will live with the lamb,

and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;

the calf and the young lion will feed together,

and a little child will lead them.

The cow and the bear will graze.

Their young will lie down together,

and a lion will eat straw like an ox.

A nursing child will play over the snake's hole;

toddlers will reach right over the serpent's den.

They won't harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain.

The earth will surely be filled with the knowledge of the Lord,

just as the water covers the sea.

Isaiah 11:6-9 (CEB)

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the new-born King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled"

From "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!"

by Charles Wesley and George Whitefield

Once again, Advent is upon us.  This is the season on the Christian calendar in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Christmas.  During this time, churches typically read the words of ancient prophets that are believed to point to the coming of the Messiah, the leader who would be anointed by God to liberate God's people from oppression and usher in a long awaited age of peace.

One such prophecy that has been on my mind recently is a proclamation by the prophet Isaiah, which describes life in the messianic age of peace.  Isaiah describes a kingdom where wolves live with lambs, where leopards rest with young goats, where calves and lions eat together, where cows and bears graze together, where lions eat straw with oxen, and where infants and toddlers play with snakes.  The thread running throughout Isaiah's vision is that creatures that are known to be predators peacefully coexist with the creatures that tend to be their prey.  Sometimes the place of peace described by Isaiah is called the Peaceable Kingdom.

I do not think that the prophet is speaking about literal animals that change their instincts.  Instead, I believe he is speaking about human beings who change their ways.  He is describing a kingdom in which people who were once exploited and victimized live together in peace with the people who once mistreated them.

For such a vision to become a reality, at least two things are necessary, both of which were promoted by Jesus and His contemporaries.

Firstly, a kingdom in which "wolves" and "lambs" can live together in peace requires penitence on the part of the "wolves."  Make no mistake, the Peaceable Kingdom Isaiah describes is not a fox-guarded henhouse.  The predatory creatures in the prophet's vision have undergone a fundamental change.  "A lion," for example, "will eat straw like an ox."  In other words, carnivores have become herbivores, so that they no longer "harm or destroy" other creatures.  If the "wolves" do not change their ways, the "lambs" will be in danger around them, and, if the "wolves" do not demonstrate a commitment to change, the "lambs" will not feel safe around them.

John the Baptist, the prophet who preceded Jesus, commanded the "wolves" who came to him in the wilderness to "bear fruits worthy of repentance" - in other words, to demonstrate a commitment to change.  He instructed everyone in the crowd to share their excess with people who did not have enough.  He instructed the tax collectors in the crowd to collect no more than they were required to collect, and he instructed the Roman soldiers in the crowd not to abuse their authority for their own gain.¹

Secondly, a peaceable kingdom of "wolves" and "lambs" requires forgiveness on the part of the "lambs."  Unless the "lambs" forgive, they will never associate with the "wolves," and they will not get to participate in the kingdom.  Jesus instructed the people who came to Him to be open to reconciliation with those who have wronged them, saying, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."²  He modeled forgiveness most starkly on the cross, where He prayed for His abusers, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."³

Please note that I am not suggesting that people who have been abused leave themselves open to continued abuse.  I am instead suggesting that they work through their pain and their trauma and somehow find it in their hearts to forgive their abusers so that, in the event that their abusers truly repent, reconciliation may be possible.

Perhaps it seems as if I am making a distinction between two kinds of people and recommending a different course of action for each.  I would actually suggest that all of us need to practice both penitence and forgiveness, for a wolf and a lamb lives within each of us.  All of us have the potential to be abused by others, and all of us have the capacity to abuse others.  I would suggest that it is even possible for a person to be simultaneously one person's "wolf" and another person's "lamb."  Russian historian Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn writes, "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.  And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

Advent is a season of preparation.  Not only do we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Savior on Christmas, we also prepare ourselves for the Kingdom we pray that He brings.  May we practice both penitence and forgiveness as part of our preparation this season.


Notes:

1. Luke 3:7-14 (NRSV)
2. Luke 6:27-28 (NRSV)
3. Luke 23:34 (NRSV)

Peaceable Kingdom of the Branch was painted by Edward Hicks in the early 1800s.