Over the Fence – Isaiah 65:17-25

A text – Isaiah 65:17-25

¹⁷ For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy and its people as a delight.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old person who does not live out a lifetime, for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat, for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord— and their descendants as well.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent—its food shall be dust!  They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

A reflection:

Here is a vision from Isaiah of the Kingdom of God. This kingdom already exists, right next to ours, and from time to time we get a glimpse, over the fence, as it were, into the Reign of God. We don’t have to wait for our own death in order to cross over into it. Isaiah shows it to us: he says that children won’t die and old people will live out all their days, people will build houses and plant vineyards and then live in the houses and eat their fruit forever. And God will answer before we even call out for help. Wild animals won’t devour our little sheep (or us) anymore – they’ll be domesticated!

God is creating such a world for those who believe in God right now, every day. This kind of world is what awaits God’s beloved children. What might our lives be like if we could imagine such a world? Why should we bother to paint this mental picture? Maybe because when we know this is what God has ready for us – this new Creation of a world – we will rest assured in God’s promise to bring us there. We no longer need to feel insecure. We will trust in God for this coming new Creation. Then we will trust in God for other things, like the well-ness of our souls. We look to God as the source of goodness, abundant life, wholeness. We won’t expect to find it in this world, but we know God shares it with us once in awhile as a glimpse into the Kingdom where we will live this vision out fully.

God knows what we need even before we come to tell God about it. God has already created it for us. We live in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection, Luther says, a time and place where we can rest knowing God has created everything anyone would need, forever. This is not a dream. This is the Kingdom of God, already, so near we can almost see it, even now. Right over the fence.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for being our Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter. Thank you for still creating your kingdom so near to us. Help us to remember that you are right there, near enough to us that we can experience you sometimes right next door.  Amen.