ADVENT: DAY 11 

“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.”—Isaiah 35:3-7 

After months of heat and dry earth, the rainy season is finally starting to arrive in spurts around here. It is not enough yet, but those of us in the Copperbelt can honestly say that we are blessed. In other parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa there is a protracted drought that is putting crops and thus livelihoods on the line. The ground is indeed thirsty. 

In my very small corner of the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation campus, I am actually experiencing the swamp, which is keeping away the packs of dogs that like to run through my yard. I very recently moved to this newly constructed home, which is at the bottom of a rather steep incline. We are only now beginning the process of tilling the soil and planting the grass. When the spurts of rain have been coming, they have been coming with awesome force. Even ten minutes of this sustained rain means a breaking forth of the water into the mud pit that has become my front yard. Just like the burning sand becoming a pool, the path leading to my door has become a veritable quicksand trap—already guilty of swallowing some shoes and sandals. So, while much of the rest of southern Africa is longing for springs of water, I am using stepping stones and planks of wood to enter and exit my home. 

What has amazed me most about the growth of my swamp has been the explosion of sound at night. For, along with the rain has come wildlife in search of any pooling water. As I sit on my porch at night, frogs, crickets, songbirds, raptors, lizards, and swarms of flying insects bless me with their choruses. As if this weren’t enough, the rains have also caused the dust and smog of Kitwe to settle. I can finally see the stars in the heavens (sometimes falling) and the fireflies in front of my face. I can breathe clean, cool air. Because the days are so often stiflingly hot and muggy, I need these sacred evenings on the porch. 

It is no mistake that the author of this portion of Isaiah melds the healing of people with the watering of the earth. The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing. Waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. We are fused with this earth and cannot be separated from it. Our lives are intertwined with the life of the wilderness, the desert, the burning sand, the thirsty ground. 

Although I have ability and body privilege, I am blind and deaf to much that I need to see and hear, I constrain my body from acting to its full potential, and I do not speak up enough. With each passing sacred evening on the porch I feel the watering of the earth opening me up to sensing anew that which I must sense in order to fulfill God’s call upon me. 

May you also commune with Creation this Advent and come to a fuller knowledge of how the Incarnation means that God is alive in all the earth. May we all ponder if are willing to destroy 

this Incarnation as we obliterate Creation. May we remember our original purpose as caretakers of this planet. 

On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.  On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.’”—Isaiah 19:23-24

There is not much I can add to this, friends.  Isaiah prophesies that the lands now containing Egypt and other parts of North Africa, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, and other parts of the Middle East, will all be blessed by God.  The peoples therein will freely move about in each other’s lands, and they will be a blessing in the midst of the earth.

Today we see genocide, colonialism, State violence, despotism, terror, and religious fundamentalism on the part of leaders in these places.  Some of the worst atrocities in human history are being committed by the Israeli government, the Syrian government, and the Islamic State.  Western governments add their own arsenals to the mix, murdering thousands under the guise of protection and aid.  These modern nation states seem to be at war with each other perpetually.  The consequence of all of this is massive loss of human life, culture, and hope.

And yet, Isaiah prophesies.  I see hope in this prophecy because I see hope in the people who stood up and said, wrote, painted, and sang, “Ash-shab yurid isqat an-niazam—The people want the fall of the regime!”  I see hope in this prophecy because I see hope in Israeli and Palestinian citizens who challenge their governments and choose seek peace with each other no matter what.  I see hope in this prophecy because I see hope in the resilience of communities that have been under constant warfare for decades.  I see hope in this prophecy because I see hope in the people of these lands, who survive and thrive in spite of the horrors inflicted by the powers that be.  I see hope in this prophecy because I see hope in a God who would become incarnate as the Prince of Peace.  

It would be hard for anyone to say that this prophecy has come to pass.   The power of the people will prevail, though.  Let us pray AND act for the fulfillment of this prophecy with every resource and creative idea that we have.  Let us challenge the complicity of our own contexts so that the way may be made clear for the people whose power must prevail!