Tasty morsels

Every day, when I take my dog for a walk, I carry a stick and I keep watch for coyotes and other critters that might find my dog a tasty meal on a hungry, cold evening. We have had several encounters with coyotes and, in my neighborhood, a handful of pets have been lost to the coyotes who roam our arroyo looking for something to fill their empty bellies. No coyote has ever really threatened us, but I am still cautious.

In the seventh lesson from our Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols, taken from Isaiah 65.17-25, we hear of a new heaven and new earth where all of creation lives peaceably, including polar bears and huskies in the photo to the right, as well as coyotes and domestic pets in the hills of Oak Park. In this new creation, there will be no more crying or suffering, people will live long lives and will find fulfillment and joy in their work. Wolves, lambs and lions will eat together (vegetarian, of course) and the serpent, symbolic of our sin in this case, will no longer have power. This peaceable kingdom, the new heaven and new earth Isaiah proclaims, is symbolic for the peace in our hearts when we know and experience Emmanuel, the God who is with us.