Isaiah 2, 5-10

Dear congregation,

A glimpse of the end of the world – in many Christian circles, terrible and frightening things are spoken of, when speaking about the last days. The Book of Revelation is often referred to and misused for this purpose.

A glimpse of the end of the world – as far as no human being can see – religious men endowed with authority use this glimpse again and again to stir up fear.

The view of the end – filled with fear, both in terms of the end of the world and the end of one's own life. Today we read from the Book of Isaiah. He writes of a completely different view of the end of the world:

I read the sermon text                                                                                                             

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 

3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lordfrom Jerusalem. 

4 He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 

5 O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.

In this section, the image that emerges from the end, from the last days, is a friendly, peaceful, bright image. And equally remarkable for some Christians who claim that there is a great divide between the Old and New Testaments: 

The New and Old Testaments are very much in agreement in our text readings today: In the weekly verse, which comes from the Epistle to the Ephesians, people are called upon to “live as children of light!”  And Isaiah, in today's sermon text, encourages his Jewish fellow citizens: “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

Not only are the two formulations remarkably similar, but the reasoning is also remarkably similar: God is light. God shines through in the dark world. God illuminates everyday life, and those who live in this light can then also walk in the light.

An aside: At the end of every church service, the blessing is given: You are blessed with the words: “May God let his face shine upon you.”

This refers to blessed people, people who are aware of the light that illuminates them. It is not just the moon and stars at night and the sun during the day. No, it is God himself—who gives them the strength to grow and develop. 

Gerhard Tersteegen incorporated this idea into verse 6 of the well-known hymn: God is present: 

"You (God) permeate everything; let your most beautiful light, Lord, touch my face. Like delicate flowers willingly unfolding and quietly basking in the sun, let me so quietly and joyfully catch your rays and let you work."

Both the New and Old Testaments tell us in many ways: God's light is at work. God's light changes the way we see our own lives and the whole world. In God's light, people see light. God's light helps them find their way. God's light shines and guides the feet of individuals and entire peoples on the path to peace. Walk as children of light! Make people's lives bright. Give them the hope that you have experienced through God.

So far, so good—but this stands in stark contrast to other images that we also see. Our lives are not such that we sit in God's sunshine day in and day out, praying and singing hymns of praise. 

In stark contrast to the light of God, we see other images. Dark images of death and destruction: war. War. And war again. 

A stark contrast: being blessed here in church at the end of the service and being inspired by God's presence, or being confronted with the dark side of this world.

Some people find it difficult to recognize God. It seems as if the heavenly light has been hidden behind large dark clouds, resulting in hellish torment. 

Every sermon essentially attempts to overcome this stark contrast. In our church services, we bring the world into God's presence and wish for it to be transformed here.

To this end, we read the Bible so that we do not stray into contradiction, but continue to follow the light of God. 

Let us take a closer look at today's passage, which contains a very prominent image:

2In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house will be established as the highest of the mountains, exalted above the hills.

In this passage, the last days are a time when what is unimaginable in the present time will be achieved. It is tragic to note that for Isaiah's contemporaries, as for us today, this idea is almost fantastical and unrealistic. Jerusalem higher than all mountains, not in a geographical sense, but as a beacon of peace for the world.  Then as now, many people are greatly tempted to dismiss this image as naive, unrealistic, abstract art, or a pipe dream.

No one can be blamed for this: resignation. Hopelessness. The growing conviction that peace will not come to this earth.

At the same time—amidst resignation, amidst the logic of war, in which there is no provision for peace—the Bible continues to tell of these hopeful artists who are able to create images that allow the soul to breathe freely. And these artists, called prophets, receive their colors and ideas in the presence of God. 

That is an art. It is an art of living and an art of faith: while people shoot at each other in war trenches, while bombs destroy cities, kill people, and force families to flee, in such times, not to be completely overwhelmed by such dark images, but to continue to look for and seek the light: that is an attitude that can grow in the light of God. 

Isaiah can imagine further, and this vision is a gift from God: 

“3And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

Isaiah sees a movement: in today's language, an educational movement. He sees people setting out on a journey to learn something they have not learned before: the learning goal, the skill to be acquired: living together peacefully.

People should learn to rethink: no longer making swords, but plowshares. No longer spears, but pruning knives.  This is what it says:

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

The EKD's peace commissioner, Friedrich Kramer, comes from the former GDR. There, the image from Isaiah of “swords being beaten into plowshares” was a symbol of the peaceful peace movement that contributed to the fall of the wall between East and West Germany. 

Many peace-loving Christians in the former GDR accepted serious disadvantages when they followed Jesus and trusted in him: Blessed are the peacemakers, and they urged: Beat your swords into plowshares. 

Pastor Friedrich Kramer stands in this tradition and continues to courageously advocate the view that it is possible to learn peace.

Learn peace! Impossible.

Our confirmation students already find it impossible to memorize the Ten Commandments. When did you last decide to learn something new? Who among you feels too old to learn something new?

Isn't it precisely the privilege of older people that they have already learned so much—is that enough learning? Are their convictions then set in stone? Or are their brains and souls ready to rethink?

Do we expect others to learn? Or are we simply unwilling to do so because it makes us uncomfortable?

Isaiah believes that everyone still has something to learn when it comes to peace.

Learning about peace never ends because conflicts never end. Learning about peace remains a movement. And it is amazing what peace research and peace education contribute to this. Conflict research and peace research are well on their way—and continue in the midst of war.

But it is work: Isaiah leaves no doubt about that:

The tools are being reforged: swords are being turned into plowshares: they remain tools. The peace that Isaiah sees is not a land of milk and honey where there is nothing left to do. Peace is hard work—and it remains so. Every year, the land is plowed anew if something is to grow. Peace is not something you learn once, but throughout your life.

Spears are turned into pruning knives: these are the tools needed in the vineyard: Israel is this vineyard. The people of God understand us as a vineyard in which God is at work. Good fruit in the vineyard is the basis for delicious wines that delight the human heart.

Good fruit in God's vineyard among people who listen to God's instructions are peace and justice: the basis for a delicious life in which people can develop freely.

5Come now, you of the house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!

Someone must make the first move: Isaiah says: don't wait for others to make peace. Do it yourself: Come now, let us!

Thus, in every worship service, we go out into the world blessed, illuminated by the goodness, grace, and peace of God, sent into the world—

Come now, you of the house of the Johannesgemeinde, let us walk in the light of the Lord and learn peace!

Amen