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Holy Week resources and reflections

Peace for predator and prey

The wolf shall live with the lamb,

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.

— Isaiah 11:6

Maybe I should have known, but it recently occurred to me that the Christmas decoration Pete Peterson made a few years ago with a lion and a lamb and the word PEACE might be obscure for some folks.

Many people, Christians and otherwise, recognize the guy with the red suit. Folk know to expect greenery, garlands, and bows.  Everyone seems to enjoy the lights that take on greater significance during the winter seasons of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. But it took a friend saying, “Why a lion and a lamb?” for me to realize that the prophetic image from Isaiah of God’s peaceful reign was not an image most people associated with the Christian high holy day.

When Pete showed me the plans, I was really taken with the Biblical image of peace. I think folks rarely spend much time considering what God’s peace will look like, how we might experience it, what the cost of it might be. I suspect that most of us think of divine peace as life like it is, only easier, without the annoying people, the confusing situations, the challenging ethical questions of the day. That’s why the simplicity of placing the vulnerable image of the defenseless lamb next to the powerful, predatory lion spoke to me. The tranquil relationship of the two animals was an eloquent, elegant representation of a peace that is more challenging, confusing, annoying than we have allowed ourselves to consider.

We hail the birth of “God with us,” Emmanuel, at Christmas and call him Jesus, Messiah, Prince of Peace. By the last week of his life amongst us, he referred to himself metaphorically as the Paschal lamb. We may want a Savior who is known for strength, power, might, but the prophetic image in both testaments is of a Messiah who redeems that which is broken, who reunifies that which is divided, who brings together predator and prey in peace. This peace is difficult for those of us who feel vulnerable and possibly more difficult for those of us who are powerful.

During this Advent season, while we wait for the vulnerable Christ child’s birth ask yourself these questions: When do I feel like the wolf, the leopard, or the lion?  When do I identify more with the lamb or the kid? How will I let the little child lead me into God’s peaceful reign?

Susan Phillips is pastor of First Church, Shawano, Wis.

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