Friday December 11

Scripture

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11

Hymn - Creator of the Starry Height

To thee, O Holy One, we pray,
our Judge in that tremendous day,
ward off, while yet we dwell below,
the weapons of our crafty foe.

Meditation

In the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God’s reign, the primal need to fear predators is erased - in fact, predators become so safe that children of prey and predators can eat and sleep and play together. Not only will lambs, kids, calves and human babies be safe around wolves, bears, lions, leopards and snakes, but it seems that even human beings will no longer pose a threat to other animals and their environments - redemption for all indeed!