by Anna Zaros
In last Sunday’s first reading Isaiah explained his vision for peace. In this Sunday’s first reading Isaiah highlights the kind of leader his people need to bring about peace.
Israel’s leaders concern Isaiah. Many of Israel’s kings offered no spiritual leadership. They worried more about their own power than about their own people, more about kingship than kinship.
As far as the prophet Isaiah is concerned, the royal family tree of David and his father Jesse is a dead stump. Isaiah no longer puts his hope in the recent kings of Israel, but instead hopes that God will raise up a new king, one who is Spirit-filled and cares about the people of Israel.
A sprout shall spring
from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
He shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
Isaiah 11.1-3
Just as Isaiah’s vision for peace still applies today, so does his vision of a leader for peace. Our world leaders often disappoint us and seem unconcerned about fostering peace and justice. One way to build peace is to support leaders who seek to resolve injustices and conflicts.
Isaiah’s words also remind us that the Spirit gifts each of us with the potential for building peace in our world. Being a peace builder is not reserved for powerful world leaders; rather, each of us has the ability to take on this role in our own lives.
The same Holy Spirit whose gifts Isaiah describes blesses us with gifts to be prophets in our time. In the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, the Church blesses us with the gifts of the Spirit for building peace among the people with whom we live.
We have the gift of knowledge for gathering information and learning one another’s cultures and needs. We can use our minds to think through conflicts, seeking understanding of all sides. We have a capacity to learn from experience and gain wisdom, recognizing that ultimately we live in God’s hands. We have insights we can share as counsel. We have the gift of courage to speak the truth and act upon it. We can feel awe at God’s wonders and reverence God in worship.
In addition to the gifts of the Spirit, we each have different experiences, abilities, and talents. Our unique talents and abilities help us to work for peace each in our own way. When we all work together the whole of our abilities and talents can bring about a positive peace for all.
Using our own gifts and talents, we can support leaders, and we can become leaders ourselves, who will contribute to building a peaceable kingdom in which even natural enemies become kin.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion will browse together.
A little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11.6
Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2304
A Force More Powerful
Nonviolent direct action, or civil disobedience, is a method peaceful movements use to bring about change. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used nonviolence to bring about desegregation and promote racial equality in the United States. The film A Force More Powerful documents how several social movements used nonviolent methods to end injustices. These movements range from ending apartheid in South Africa to Danish resistance to Nazi occupation.
Search out other people who have worked for peace from Isaiah’s time to current times. Identify global and local peacemakers today and the nonviolent movements in which they participate. Peacemakers come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Share with others what you have learned about the history of nonviolence. Check out the film, the book and the game at aforcemorepowerful.org.