There are a lot of voices telling us what to be afraid of. Those voices can be convincing, especially when the future seems unpredictable, or when we're tired of trying to figure out what comes next.

The people of Jerusalem knew something about that feeling. In our scripture reading this week from Isaiah, an official from the Assyrian Empire stands outside Jerusalem and delivers a message designed to frighten the people into surrender. He questions their leaders, mocks their trust in God, and promises them security if they give in to his demands. He even claims to speak with God's authority.

It's a reminder that not every voice claiming to speak for God is actually speaking God's truth. Fear can be dressed up as wisdom. Promises of security can come at the cost of someone else's freedom.

That's an important distinction as we come to the final week of our fall theme, Called for More. Over these past weeks, we've been exploring the ways God continually calls us into greater purpose and a life shaped by love. From this season I think one of the most important things we can remember is this: Being called for more doesn't mean being called to have more power or more certainty. It means being called to make more room for God's love to take shape in the world.

The prophet Isaiah gives us a picture of what that might look like. He speaks of a world where people from many nations stream toward God's presence to learn a different way of living together. And then, they turn their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Instruments designed to wound and destroy become tools for planting and feeding. Can you imagine? What once caused harm now helps something grow.

It's a beautiful and challenging vision. Because Isaiah isn't describing a world we should sit around and wait for. No, Isaiah wants us to begin practicing that future now. What might it mean to turn a sword into a plowshare in our own lives?

Perhaps it looks like choosing curiosity instead of assuming the worst about someone. Or speaking up when someone's dignity is being diminished. It might also mean transforming our frustration into service, or our resources into opportunities for someone else to thrive.

Overall I think Isiah’s call asks us to learn that God's peace is about creating a world where people have what they need to live with dignity, and where our differences don't have to become divisions.

As we prepare to enter Advent, Isaiah's vision feels like a fitting place to end our fall journey. Because we are still being called beyond fear and beyond simply wishing for a better world. Instead, we are called to do the difficult work of helping a better world take shape. 

We won't always agree about what the next faithful step should look like. But we can keep listening, learning, and showing up for one another. That's the beautiful thing about God's call. There is always more grace to discover and more good to grow.

We can turn swords into plowshares and gratitude into action. All the while, we trust that the God who calls us is already at work, making all things new.

Amen.

 

Peace,

Pastor Katie

Service Opportunities
Serving Our Congregation