Please read the passage before the commentary.
“In days to come.” Isaiah sees all nations as streaming towards Jerusalem to the house of the Lord. This is a vision we all share and long for.
In a sense this vision is happening now, and, in another sense, it is not yet. It is like those Christmas presents you bought Black Friday: they are, even though not yet wrapped, and the intended recipients do not yet have them.
Somehow the Church sees this vision of Isaiah fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. In another sense it will not be fulfilled until the second coming of Christ. It is here but it is not seen completely. It is here just as the Christmas presents bought on Black Friday are here but are not seen.
The celebration of Christmas is like a sacrament, a sign of something hidden and something happening at the same time. The coming of Christ brings together all nations, and they are streaming towards the mysterious Jerusalem, which is the house of the Lord.
Then we will see guns and bombs turned into combines, tractors, and instruments of mass transportation. The Lord has promised to make all of us one in an era of great and lasting peace. This will be at the end of the world, but it is possible even now.
We have the power to abolish war in Ukraine, in Gaza, and I all the other places mired in war, armed conflict and terror. We can bring Republican and Democrat together for the peace of the country.
The celebration of Christmas is like a sacrament, a sign of something hidden and yet present at the same time. The coming of Christ unites all nations as they steam their way to the mystical Jerusalem, the house of the Lord.
As we establish peace with others around us in our families, our neighbors, our communities, we are hastening the day of Isaiah’s vision for Ukraine, Gaza and Congress. prophetic word. As we live in peace within our small world, we make more peace within the whole world. Our gifts of peace here are signs propelling the fulfilment of Isaiah’s vision and the establishment of the Lord’s house the highest mountain to which all are streaming.