Isaiah’s message:
God will create new earth with delighted people in a city of joy: A city with no weeping; no infants will die early, all will live full lifetimes; all will have homes; vineyards will provide them fruit; all will enjoy the work of their hands; none will labor in vain; children will not be struck by calamity; the wolf and lamb, the lion and ox will live in peace. Only the serpent shall eat dust.
My reflection on this:
God is not out there, above, preparing to make everything perfect. There is no snake that is the source of evil.
God is in all we can know and in all the mystery beyond our capacity to know.
God is in everyman. No human being was born to be the snake in the dust.
Find the center in quiet and stillness where you are not experiencing the world as good and evil. Where you do not judge, where you are not dominated by fear of or fear for. In this stillness let go of good and evil, judgment and fear. Find God in yourself and have compassion for the snake when it appears.
In this center you will find wonder and mystery.
You will find compassion for the suffering of all human beings.
You will find tolerance for what you do not understand and cannot explain or condone in the world of man and nature.
What you fear will melt away instead of dominating you.
You can find your soul is truly ready to pray for yourself and the sins of the world.
