Longing for peace, justice, and restoration.
Fond of harmony and unity in our days, here we are!
After a very severe winter with snow, gardeners lose hope, watching the beautiful flowers disappear and giving way to stumps. Stumps are invisible, but the one who plants them knows that they are there. The spring comes and shoots start sprouting from the stumps. Now everyone can see flowers when they start to blossom. What a mystery.
The prophet Isaiah gives us these images of shoots, stumps, roots, and buds. It is clear that there is destruction that caused the tree to fall. Otherwise, there would be no stump if there had never been a tree. It takes a careful reading to understand this prophecy. While this passage instills hope in us, we can be carried away by the situations around us. Wars here and there, injustice, hatred of all kinds, to name but a few. In the midst of all these troubles, there is always a stump, a glimmer of hope.
Now let us set aside this metaphor for a little bit. Who would have all the wonderful character traits named in this passage but Jesus? Not only is Jesus presented as the one who is going to restore the corrupt and broken kingdom, but we also see Him as the source of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah continues with what can be thought of as a fairy tale. Predators become friends with their prey. This unimaginable peace and harmony are extended to the animal world as well. This is the perfect world we are all longing for. But again, looking around us what our eyes see may not concur.
Nevertheless, no matter what we may see now, there will always be an "on that day" for us. The idealistic world that we just heard about becomes reality when we let go of any doubt and turn our hope button on high volume. Now is a favorable time to listen carefully to God's Word so that we do not miss Jesus telling us: "Frediane, Mary, Jane, Henry, Jacob, Rose, Bob, (add your name here), blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”
Frediane Nzosaba is married to Aime Nzosaba. They are blessed with three beautiful girls whom they are raising in the Catholic faith. The family is gifted in so many ways but mostly in hospitality and service. We love being part of the Holy Family community.