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FOCUS VERSE: “The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; the calf and the young lion will feed together, and a little child will lead them.” — Isaiah 11:6 (CEB)

PRAYER OF PRESENCE:

God, whose love does not let us go,
In the stillness, we open our hearts to Your presence.
Draw near and center us in Your love and grace.
May You gentle light guide our thoughts,
Your peace calm our souls,
And Your Spirit move within us,
That we may reflect experience your peace and grace.
Amen.

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 11:1-9

HYMN FOR REFLECTION:
|Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcEMnANPXgU 

COME, THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS
Charles Wesley, 1707–1788

  1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
    born to set thy people free;
    from our fears and sins release us,
    let us find our rest in thee.
    Israel's strength and consolation,
    hope of all the earth thou art;
    dear desire of every nation,
    joy of every longing heart.

  2. Born thy people to deliver,
    born a child and yet a King,
    born to reign in us forever,
    now thy gracious kingdom bring.
    By thine own eternal spirit
    rule in all our hearts alone;
    by thine all sufficient merit,
    raise us to thy glorious throne.

REFLECTION:

You may have heard me say in a sermon or two that the job of prophets is not merely to diagnose the ills of the world. That’s called social commentary. The role of the prophet is far more profound: to take the broken realities of the world, paint a God-inspired vision of what could be, point people toward the new reality God has in store, and journey alongside them in that direction.

In Isaiah 11:1-9, the prophet Isaiah does exactly that. He paints a picture of a world transformed—a reality far beyond anything the people had seen or imagined. Isaiah speaks of a day when justice and righteousness will reign supreme, when predators and prey will live in harmony, and when a child will stand among them without fear and lead them all. It is a vision of profound peace, radical equality, and divine restoration, rooted in the promise of God’s redeeming power.

As I reflect on Isaiah’s vision, I am reminded of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday our nation celebrated yesterday. Dr. King was, in many ways, a modern-day prophet. He stood in the midst of a broken and unjust world, boldly calling out the evils of racism, poverty, and violence, while at the same time proclaiming a vision of a transformed reality—a “Beloved Community” where justice rolls down like waters and peace and love prevail. Dr. King’s dream, like Isaiah’s vision, was not a vague hope but a call to action, grounded in God’s promise of liberation for all people and a conviction that God’s power could indeed bring this reality to fruition.

During the Christian year, we often encounter this text from Isaiah during Advent or Christmas. The prophet’s words serve as a sign of hope, pointing the people toward the One who was to come and usher in God’s preferred reality. In Christ, Isaiah’s vision became tangible. Jesus, born from the root of Jesse and filled with the Spirit of the Lord—a spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and reverence—embodied this new reality. Through His life, ministry, and ultimate sacrifice, Christ revealed what God’s kingdom looks like and invited us to join in building it.

What does this mean for us today? It invites us to examine the broken and hurting places in our world and dare to imagine what God’s transformation could look like. It challenges us to not only dream of peace and justice but to actively work toward making those glimpses of God’s kingdom visible here and now. It calls us to be courageous enough to hope, persistent enough to act, and faithful enough to trust in God’s redemptive power.

So today, may Isaiah’s vision and Dr. King’s dream stir our imaginations and move our hearts. May we embrace the prophetic call to look beyond the brokenness of the present and live in the hope of God’s promised future—a future of justice, harmony, and peace for all God’s children. And may we, like Christ, work to bring that future closer to our world today.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Our Father, fresh from the world,
with the smell of life upon us,
we make an act of prayer in the silence of this place.
Our minds are troubled because the anxieties of our hearts are deep and searching.
We are stifled by the odor of death which envelops our earth,
where in so many places brother fights against brother.
The panic of fear, the torture of insecurity, the ache of hunger,
all have fed and rekindled ancient hatreds and long-forgotten memories of old struggles,
when the world was young and Thy children were but dimly aware of Thy Presence in the midst. For all this, we seek forgiveness.
There is no one of us without guilt and, before Thee,
we confess our sins: we are proud and arrogant;
we are selfish and greedy;
we have harbored in our hearts and minds much that makes for bitterness,
hatred and revenge.
While we wait in Thy Presence,
search our spirits and grant to our minds the guidance and the wisdom that will teach us the way to take,
without which there can be no peace and no confidence anywhere.
Teach us how to put at the disposal of Thy Purposes of Peace the fruits of our industry,
the products of our minds, the vast wealth of our land and the resources of our spirit.
Grant unto us the courage to follow the illumination of this hour to the end that we shall not lead death to any man’s door;
but rather may we strengthen the hands of all in high places,
and in common tasks seek to build a friendly world,
of friendly men, beneath a friendly sky.
This is the simple desire of our hearts which we share with Thee in thanksgiving and confidence.
— Howard Thurman (1899-1981)

WEEKLY PRACTICE: Jan 19 - 25 (Sun - Sat)

Petition: Asking For Needs and Desires in Prayer

Each day this week, take a moment to ask God for something that weighs on your heart and mind as you seek to engage life with the mind of Christ. It’s not always easy to focus on ourselves, and it may even feel selfish to ask for anything while being aware of the challenges others are facing—both around the world and next door. Yet, God chooses us, loves us, and invites us to ask freely and without hesitation. By faith, we trust that God not only hears and feels with us, but responds with the boundless love and grace that also abides within us. 

May you be filled with passion for whatever your heart desires and may that passion be fueled and inspired by God’s abiding love. Amen.
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