Second Sunday of Advent

Last Sunday in the morning parish Eucharist we lit the second of the four advent candles on our wreath. This candle is the Candle of Peace, standing for the Old Testament prophets and the peace we look forward to in the light of the Jesus Christ whose birth we eagerly await.


And we had that lovely reading from the prophet Isaiah 11 vv. 1-10 foretelling the coming of Christ, the shoot coming out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch growing out of its roots, "righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins," and

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

For a detailed commentary follow this link, supplied by Anathea Portier-Young for the Luther Seminary: "The visions of 11:1-10 are characterized by a remarkable dynamism that is at the same time the mark and guarantee of stability and peace. In the visions, the order of nature, political and social life, and the common life of humans and animals are organically linked and woven together."