Come Into the Light

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 27, 2022:
The First Sunday of Advent

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Isaiah
2.1-5

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.

Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

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I love entering into Isaiah’s headspace, all sixty-six chapters of it – a dark mountain with threads of light breaking through cracks. I could get lost in the rivers coming down this mountain.

The prophet Isaiah seems to have been given a unique voice.  His words, when they are collected and seen from a distance, show a vein, a stream, of gold running through the rough rock. These glimpses of a Messiah coming. Images of meekness and suffering, of majesty and splendour. The virgin shall bear a child. Unto us a Son is given. A great light has dawned on those living in darkness. A stone that makes people stumble. Jesus. 

Here as we walk into Advent, we have the word that Isaiah saw. A word so real it seemed to be seen, not heard.

A mountain with the Lord’s house built into its side
Pushing and rising above the rest 
All nations streaming to its summit to find Him
A reverse river wending its way up the mountain slope 
Into the City on a Hill. 

That He may teach us His ways
That we may walk in His paths
His paths, not described for us but demonstrated
We are stepping in the path marked by the crush of His feet
Going where He goes
It’s not a list of rules, it’s a lived relationship

And where does He go? Where does He lead us?

In the diversity of nations coming, He makes community. As we flow toward Him uphill, He flows downhill out of His house to meet us, a river moving between the nations, filling the spaces between us. As we are sharing the same Water, something changes. Our implements of destruction become implements of production. We move from felling to feeding. 

This isn’t an ideology or even an experience He invites us into. It’s a practice. Stroke by stroke they beat their swords into ploughshares. I may start with getting lost in the joy of the incandescent rivers running through Isaiah, but He invites me to actively work with Him in transforming my hard parts that hurt the people around me into strong tools to help them. I get to study, learn, and practice love with Love Himself — through Him and with Him and in Him, one step at a time. As I walk into Advent again, I can take it as the Latin word it is: AD + VENT. Toward + Come. Come toward Him. I can accept His invitation to walk into the light and let Him expose what needs to change, and take a closer look into His eyes.




​Noreen Smith​

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