My 4-year-old, whose name just happens to be Owen has book called “Owen and Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship."
The book is based on what happened to a frightened young hippopotamus, that was separated from his family by a devastating Tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Owen was rescued by people and put in an animal sanctuary.
His new home was in a part of the sanctuary shared by a 130 year-old giant tortoise named Mzee.
Mzee wasn’t very friendly and always kept to himself.
But Owen, was in search for his mother, and soon he decided that Mzee would make a good one.
At first the tortoise hissed at Owen, but the Hippopotamus did not give up.
Owen snuggled up against Mzee and soon the old tortuous didn’t seem to mind at all.
Soon Owen and Mzee were inseparable.
They swam together, ate together, drank together, and sleep next to one another.
Wildlife experts are still puzzled about how this unlikely friendship came to be.
Most have never heard of a mammal, such as Owen, and a reptile, such as Mzee forming such a strong bond.
It’s a cool story, and the pictures of the hippo and the old tortious snuggling up against each other are quite amazing.
The true story of Owen and Mzee made me think of our Scripture Passage for this morning.
Maybe you have seen the videos of a rat who rides on the back of a cat, or of a cat that hangs out with a dog?
How about a picture of a tiger nursing a bunch of piglets, or stories about a lioness adopting and raising antelope calves?
We find these kinds of things fascinating, do we not?
And surely our fascination with these things has more to it than our love of the cute and an interest in the bizarre.
We see something profound in these unusual occurrences, do we not?
And I think it is because they signify HOPE.
Because even in our broken world, we are given glimpses of the way things are supposed to be.
If even animals can squash their bloody instinct, is there a chance that we humans can do so as well?
Is there a chance that there is something beyond what we normally see in nature?
If every lion took care of baby antelopes, it wouldn’t be news.
Likewise, the picture that Isaiah paints in our Scripture passage for this morning is so remarkable because it goes against everything we know: A wolf sleeps next to a lamb and a leopard with a goat.
A cow eats alongside a bear, and a lion eats straw like an ox.
Little children play without fear.
Even snakes don’t bite.
This passage stands in direct contrast to the terror and brutality that permeates our world.
And we all know a lot about fear and brutality.
News of terrorism, war, economic collapse, and wild weather events can cause us to live with a deep sense of anxiety.
These things wreck lives.
Our fear for our children and grandchildren’s safety and future is especially pressing.
All this can cause us to really wonder: “Is there any hope?”
And apparently, according to the Prophet Isaiah, our hope begins with a stump.
Now what does he mean by that?
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
Jesse is the name of King David’s father.
And Isaiah is saying that out of the Davidic line will come a King—the Messiah—He will be a Branch that will bear fruit.
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him…
…righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
That Branch becomes the Tree of Life as we return to Eden in the final consummation.
Finally, broken creation will indeed become what God intended it to be.
Isn’t that an awesome thought?
I mean, God didn’t create this world to be ruled by bloodshed and survival of the fittest after-all.
It’s not supposed to be a cruel world, and it won’t always be.
But in order to get to this perfect Kingdom, we must first have a Ruler in the line of David—“The Branch” Who will come from the root of Jesse.
And that Ruler, is, of course, Jesus Christ the Lord!
The Hebrew people were waiting for this Ruler for a long time.
Remember, in John Chapter 1 when Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, after spending a day with Jesus, went running to Peter saying: “We have found the Messiah.”?
This is how strong the Jewish hope for a Messiah was.
King David’s House had fallen like a tree that will never sprout again.
But wait.
All was not lost.
Isn’t it fascinating how, out of something that appears finished, lifeless, left behind and dead comes the sign of new life?
This is how Hope gets its start: it emerges as a tiny green twig in an unexpected place.
And it grows from there.
Is there a place in your life that seems dead?
Is there a place where you feel “cut-off”?
Can you believe, that even now, God might be nurturing the growth of something new and good from there?
That’s what God does, you know.
God brings the dead back to life.
Isaiah’s promise of a peaceable Kingdom is not just a far-off future one; even now there are tiny signs of HOPE and life in places that look dead and lost.
I was talking with Angie Turnure this past Wednesday as folks were working hard getting ready for Thursday’s Food Pantry.
I said to Angie, “There sure are a lot of really good people involved in this food pantry, aren’t there?”
“It gives me HOPE.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
We are not going to end hunger through the Red Bank Community Food Pantry, but Hope is alive in us as we seek to do our part.
And that fact brings hope, not only to us, but also to those who receive what we have to offer.
It’s been said that “hope travels.”
When one person gets it, a string of others catch it.
And that is what has always happened in the Church—from Pentecost all the way through the Great Awakenings and Revivals.
1st Peter 1:3-5 says: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
By grace through faith in Christ, you and I enter into THE LIVING HOPE.
And we are given a taste from the Tree of Life.
And because of this we can live in HOPE here and now as we await the “not yet,” when Christ comes again.
Remember when Jesus said in Luke, “the kingdom of God is within you?”
During Advent, we especially remember that we are living between two times: we celebrate the coming of Christ in the manger and we also look forward to the time when Christ will come again, bringing with Him a new heaven and new earth—a restored Eden, if you will.
And when that occurs, Isaiah tells us that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
The Hebrew term for “knowledge” means more than information; it is the full entering into and experiencing of what is known.
There will be a day when we, and all of creation, will have a full entering into and experiencing of—a full knowledge of God.
And there will be no more need for bloodshed.
There will be no more competition, no more anger, no more war.
In the meantime, with the Kingdom living within us, we are able to have an inner hope and peace—even in the midst of the chaos of the world.
And I have found this to work best when we put our faith into action.
When it “takes on flesh” so to speak.
Jesus said that the most important things are to love God and love neighbor.
And it is love that motivates us to action.
We are called to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, cloth the needy, look after the sick and visit those in prison.
Jesus said, “Whenever you do this, you do it for me.”
And whenever we do this, our faith grows as does our love.
Like a green sprig growing out of a stump we are to provide nourishment for the Jesus Who lives within us.
And within our own lives, faith in action helps provide a “Peaceable Kingdom” for our souls.
I want you to think with me for a moment:
In what areas of your life do you feel weak?
Is it a low self-esteem?
Is it an inability to forgive yourself?
Where do you not have peace?
What area or areas of your life remain unconverted by Christ?
What about you hasn’t yet been transformed?
And then think about in what areas of your life you are prone to aggression and even violence?
Is there something that sparks anger in you?
Do you have lingering prejudices?
Are you afraid?
Can you give these things to Christ?
Advent is a good time for us to re-examine our old assumptions and ourselves.
The Kingdom of God is a complete reversal of this world.
How might this reversal affect our lives, and thus the lives of others here and now?
How might our own lives be remade—so that the wolf and the lamb within us can live together in a new kind of harmony?
Our own lives can become “Peaceable Kingdoms” through the transformational power of Jesus Christ.
As many of you know, my mother, who is 93 years old, is becoming weak and probably does not have much time left on this earth.
An old friend of hers was visiting her this week.
What you have to know about my mother is that she does not discriminate in any way when it comes to whom she befriends.
And there is no length to which she will not go for someone.
And this friend has had a lot of problems over the years.
She would call my mom at all hours of the day and talk to her for hours and hours.
And my mother would listen.
She would ask for all kinds of favors and my mom would come through, no matter how inconvenient it might be.
My mother even tried to run the cash register at this friend’s pizza joint when she was short of help…
…this did not go so well, as my mom did not know how to run a cash register.
In any event, my mother is probably the best friend this woman has ever had.
A number of years ago, she said to me: “Your mother is not like a lot of people.
Your mother has Jesus in her.”
I’ll never forget that.
What better compliment could a person receive…
…to be described as “having Jesus in them”?
People who have Jesus in them bring “Hope” to a world which has so little of it.
And whether folks realize it or not, that HOPE is none other than “the shoot…from the stump of Jesse…the Branch [that bears] fruit”---Jesus Christ Who was born in a barn; crucified, Resurrected and will come again to usher in God’s Peaceable Kingdom once and for all.
And for all who accept Him now, He offers new life, transformed life, peace and hope for our troubled souls.
Praise God!
Amen.
