The cover of our
bulletin has the artwork called “The Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks. It is a famous painting and you may have seen
it before. The original hangs in the National
Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. It is
based on Isaiah 11:1-10 which we had for our first Bible reading today. It’s small and hard to see the details, but
in the foreground you find an image from the second half of our reading. There is a wolf beside a lamb. A leopard and kid are lying down
together. A cow and a bear are
grazing. A lion and ox are eating
straw. A little child is playing over
the hole of a snake.
In the background
is something to make my Pennsylvania roots swell with pride. The background is an American expression of
the first half of the passage. The first
half of the passage talks about a righteous ruler who governs with wisdom and
understanding, with counsel and might, and with the spirit of the knowledge and
the fear of the Lord. And so depicted in
the background is William Penn Jr., the founder of the colony of
Pennsylvania. He is kneeling. With him are other English citizens, fully
dressed and with hats. Penn is kneeling
before a group of Delaware Indians, who are also dressed in official attire and
wearing head pieces. The scene depicts
Penn buying part of Pennsylvania from the Indians. This is historically accurate in that Penn
would buy land from the Indians, then sell it to settlers; then use that money
to buy more land from the Indians and so own.
My own family was one of the original settlers that moved into the
Susquehanna River area purchased in 1701. And as you may know, there are no Indian
reservations in Pennsylvania and no Indian land claims.
William Penn Jr.
was one of those rare leaders who had incredible power yet embodied the spirit
of Isaiah 11. Penn’s reputation was that
he was first and foremost kind and peacemaking, as his Quaker beliefs required
him to be. Yet he was also a solid
businessman. He knew how to make deals. He knew how to keep order and he knew how to
administer discipline.
Would that our
political leaders today lived by those same principles, but all too few do in
any of our political parties. Yet as
Penn demonstrated, it can be done.
These are the same
principles we want to live by. As
Christians we read of the peaceable kingdom in Isaiah 11 and we say that it
points to Christ. Indeed Jesus did
fulfill it. So let’s look at it so that
when we are in a position of power or leadership over others, we know how to
lead in a Godly way.
It starts off: “A
shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, a branch shall grow out of his
roots.” Biblical scholars believe this
portrayal comes out of the period of the Syro-Ephraimite war in the 8th
Century B.C. You’ll remember that Jesse
was the father of King David. After the
war the Davidic dynasty appeared a mere stump compared to its enemies. We learn that God can pull great leadership
from seemingly small and weak places.
You don’t need an exquisite education, a fine pedigree and all the right
connections in order to be great and effective in God’s work.
While Jesus could
claim a bloodline to David he did not have a formal education. He was not rich and he was not well
connected. None of his disciples were
either. We should never think ourselves
incapable just because life didn’t give us the perceived advantages of some.
The verse goes
on, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him…”
Here the word spirit is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2 to talk
about the spirit of God in the work of creation. The idea is that a leader’s inspiration comes
from God’s own spirit, God’s own creative purposes.
That’s a sweet
thought, but one that is hard to feel.
Most every person feels that his or her faith is too weak, or not up to
the task. Rarely do people feel a
confident sense of God’s presence and inspiration in their lives. The good thing for us is that the text goes
on to describe that spirit. So for those
many times when we doubt or don’t feel it we can still know how to live it.
According to
Isaiah the spirit of the Lord endows a faithful leader with three pairs of
gifts: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
and the knowledge and fear of the Lord. Those words might sound familiar to you. We pray them over our confirmands when we
confirm them and every time we do an Affirmation of Baptism service.
It only takes a
few moments’ worth of contemplation to realize what these gifts are intended to
do. A wise and understanding leader is
able to face reality and deal with it fairly, including politics and law.
The spirit of
counsel and might refers to diplomatic and military judgment and
authority. Those who think the world is
a safe and sweet place are kidding themselves.
Jesus is often portrayed as a sweet and kind guy. Indeed he probably was. But he could also be forceful. He overturned the tables of the money
changers in the temple. He verbally
conflicted with the religious leaders on many occasions. He challenged people, refused some people,
and called many people into dangerous situations. Having faith in God does not mean one becomes
a cream puff for life. And when you are
in leadership you should have the courage to use force when necessary, but also
the resourcefulness to be able to avoid it.
William Penn
Jr.’s great city of Philadelphia was first built without any walls or
defenses. Why? Because unlike other colonies Penn worked
with the Indians and made sure they had all the rights and privileges of a fair
legal system. If you were a European
looking to move to the New World Pennsylvania looked pretty sweet. It was safe.
Plus, places like Philadelphia could be built much faster and cheaper if
defense wasn’t a constant worry. Penn
could be forceful, but he knew how to create a situation where it was unlikely
to be needed.
And the third
pair of gifts are knowledge and fear of the Lord. I want no leader – whether it be in business
or politics or religion who does not have some fear of God. This doesn’t have to be a trembling fear, but
it does have to be the fear that causes respect in the face of ultimate power.
When a pastor is
ordained he or she is reminded that one day her or she must be ready to give
account to God for what they do in ministry.
While God is gracious, loving and forgiving, that does not give leaders
the license to exploit. Leaders in
business, politics and religion are not less likely to become arrogant and
greedy if they truly respect God.
And while we’re
talking about real leadership let’s also remember something very important as
we look at this from the point of view of Christ – that is, incarnation. Remember, incarnation means God coming to
earth in human form and fully embodying his form.
I want to conclude
with this clip from the radio program On Being which WXXI airs on its AM
station on Sunday mornings. In last
Sunday’s show the host, Krista Tippett, interviewed Jesuit Priest Greg Boyle,
who works with gang members in Los Angeles.
I think it speaks to how Jesus relates as a leader.
Ms. Tippett: What your ministry so bespeaks is this incarnational heart
of Christianity, but that it always comes down to relationship between people —
that that’s where we discover God, as well.
Fr. Boyle: Well, it’s relational, but it’s also — I think we’re
afraid of the incarnation. And part of it, the fear that drives us is that we
have to have our sacred in a certain way: It has to be gold-plated, and cost of
millions and cast of thousands or something, I don’t know. And so we’ve
wrestled the cup out of Jesus’s hand, and we’ve replaced it with a chalice,
because who doesn’t know that a chalice is more sacred than a cup, never mind
that Jesus didn’t use a chalice?
And a story I tell in the book about a homie who was — on
Christmas Day, I said, “What’d you do on Christmas?” And he was an orphan, and
abandoned and abused by his parents, and worked for me in our graffiti crew.
And I said, “What’d you do for Christmas?” “Oh, just right here.” I said,
“Alone?” And he said, “No, I invited six other guys from the graffiti crew who
didn’t had no place to go,” he said. “And they were all…” He named them, and
they were enemies with each other. I said, “What’d you do?” He goes, “You’re
not gonna believe it. I cooked a turkey.”
[laughter]
I said, “Well, how’d you prepare the turkey?” He says, “Well,
you know, ghetto-style.” And I said, “No, I don’t think I’m familiar with that
recipe.” And he said, “Well, you rub it with a gang of butter, and you squeeze
two limones on it, and you put salt and pepper, put it in the oven. Tasted
proper,” he said. I said, “Wow. Well, what else did you have besides turkey?”
“Well, that’s it, just turkey.”
[laughter]
“Yeah, the seven of us, we just sat in the kitchen, staring at
the oven, waiting for the turkey to be done. Did I mention it tasted proper?” I
said, “Yeah, you did.”
[laughter]
So what could be more sacred than seven orphans, enemies,
rivals, sitting in a kitchen, waiting for a turkey to be done? Jesus doesn’t
lose any sleep that we will forget that the Eucharist is sacred. He is anxious
that we might forget that it’s ordinary, that it’s a meal shared among friends,
and that’s the incarnation, I think.
Greg Boyle didn’t intend to speak of the peaceable kingdom, but
that’s it. Enemies gathered around to
share, held together by our Lord, our Lord who creates, sustains, and
saves. And may we always be gathered in
the same.
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