The Little Child Shall Lead Them

"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and 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." Isiah 11

"In the above quote, Isaiah paints a prophetic picture of the coming of the Christ Child who came to bring peace to the world. What has happened to that picture in today's world? Isaiah's words seem almost preposterous! What was Isaiah thinking?

As I pondered these words, the thought that struck me was the peacefulness of the animals that are usually predators of one another, and the peacefulness and fearlessness of the little child in the midst of danger. Imagine, the child playing over the hole of the asp, or putting a hand over the adder's den!! A child is so innocent and accepting that there is no fear of danger. Could you imagine yourself doing something as dangerous as that and being at peace? What a gift to be so open and accepting!

This childhood innocence or peacefulness is lost in many ways throughout life. One way is through fear: fear of being hurt by others or fear of hurting them. The child learns to behave in a way to protect him/herself from being hurt or rejected. Is this the kind of life that Isaiah is prophesying for our world? In my life, where have I learned to fear? How does it control me? In what ways has it hindered me or blocked me from doing certain things? When I am at peace within myself, then I can bring Isaiah's vision of peacefulness to those around me and

"...they will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain."

"This Christmas, may you be blessed with a deep inner peace where: "the little child shall lead them"

Patricia Donovan, SSA

There's a New Kid in Town

The popular modern carol by Kathy Matea, joyfully proclaims the sacred message of the coming of the Christ Child, in contemporary, and somewhat playful language. "There's a new kid in town. And he's lying in a manger down the road." But it does grab our attention. This is no ordinary "kid"! This is the one of whose coming the prophets and the angels sang in poetic phrases centuries before: "

...they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more..." Micah 4:3

Since the birth of that gentle babe, that first Christmas night so long ago, our world has yearned for the peace of which the choirs of angels sang, and filled the heavens with the strains of "Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth". Today, as never before, in the midst of terrorism and wars, our hearts yearn for the gift of the peace of that Christ Child.

In our work at Bountyfull, we feel that we are personally challenged to share that prophetic mission of the Christ Child in our own lives and to do our part to bring peace to our war-torn world. I know world wide wars are out of my grasp, and beyond my power to solve. All I can do is to turn them, prayerfully and hopefully, over to the power of the Lord, to bring his peace among nations. But when I begin to translate those words of the prophet Micah personally in my own life, they have so much more meaning for me. I am challenged to face the warring factions within my own being. I become conscious of how, in so many ways, and completely unknown to me, I have raised the sword of anger against another person, or pointed the spears of my piercing words and phrases at the heart of those who have harmed me. It is a real challenge for me to beat the sword of my anger, however slight it may be, into ploughshares, to take the cutting sharp edges out of my relationships with others, and turn those edges into gentle tools to till the soil of their being and mine. Do I take my biting anger, my resentment or rage and turn it into pruning hooks to heal my aching heart?   

This Christmas, may the "New Kid" in town find a home in your heart and may you share his sacred message of Peace to our world.

Larry Mackey O.M.I.
Director

Shifting Sands

"...Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell - and great was its fall!"   

Who would be silly enough to build their house on sand?

Yet when I relate Jesus' story to my own life, it has a strangely familiar ring. As a child, I perceived that I was wrong and that everybody else must be right, developing skills to keep everybody else happy. As time passed, I built my house on sand, by honing these skills and carrying them into adult life. This sand felt soft and comfortable beneath my feet, until it started to shift.

How do I hear these words of his and act on them, like the wise man? I begin building my house on rock, by letting go of my childhood perceptions and trusting instead, the words gently placed in my heart.

May Christ's peace and presence bless you this Christmas.

Kathy