by Rev. Julie G. Hutson
A Reflection on Isaiah 11: 1-10
Isaiah speaks of the wolf living with the lamb, the leopard lying down with the kid and the calf and the lion and the fatling together. In our house, it was the dachshund and the retriever who had to learn to co-exist.
Of course, what Isaiah prophesies is the upside down kingdom of God. And it is not the place where the rules of this world call the shots.
In the upside down Kingdom of God, there is grace and mercy and salvation for all people. It cannot be earned, it is freely given. It is wildly undeserved, for we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
No, in the upside down Kingdom of God, we await a King who will come as a baby. We await a Messiah who will not reign until he has first died a horrible death.
But this is an upside down kingdom, where everything and anything remains possible. It is a kingdom where we await a savior who has already come, but will come again.