The Peaceable Kingdom
Sermon
Don't Forget The Child
Sermons For Advent And Christmas
Object:
Edward Hicks was a rough-and-tumble carriage maker who lived in Pennsylvania in the early 1800s. His younger years were spent in wild living, hard drinking, and bar room brawls. But at age 23, Hicks had a dramatic conversion. Troubled, he stumbled into a Quaker meeting. And the peace and quiet intrigued him. He gave up drinking and brawling and became a Quaker. Soon afterward Edward Hicks received a call to preach.
Quaker preachers are not paid. For years Hicks traveled from town to town, preaching at small meetings. He supported himself by painting signs. Eventually, he quit preaching and took up painting full time. In the end, unschooled, untrained, unsettled Edward Hicks became the leading folk artist in America in the early 1800s.
His most popular painting was The Peaceable Kingdom. Hicks painted it as many as 100 times. This one image seemed to capture and compel him. Each rendition was slightly different, of course. But a child, an ox, and a lamb appear in each one. They live at peace with wild beasts: lions, and tigers, and bears.
Someone once said, "When the lion lies down with the lamb, only the lion gets to sleep well!" Someone else said, "That picture is great, as long as you replace the lamb every day!" Actually, the most dangerous figure in the picture is not the wolf or the lion, but the baby. Wolves and lions have a lot more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. But in Edward Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom, there was neither predator nor prey.
Hicks' painting is more than engaging art. It's a political/religious statement. William Penn of Pennsylvania always appears in every painting. Penn is often off in the distance, negotiating a peace treaty with Native Americans.
William Penn was Edward Hicks' hero. Hicks believed the path of pacifism and religious tolerance -- the way of William Penn -- would create Philadelphia, a city of brotherly love on earth. If only we would live like William Penn, thought Edward Hicks, then certainly the Peaceable Kingdom could be established here.
But perfect peace wasn't established by William Penn. Penn was a good Governor. But he only governed Pennsylvania for two years before he sailed back to England, returning only once. His deputies governed Pennsylvania poorly in Penn's absence. Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love," became stressed with dissention and strife. William Penn could not usher the Peaceable Kingdom in.
Twenty-five hundred years before Edward Hicks picked up a brush, people in Jerusalem also dreamed of a Peaceable Kingdom. Their hopes rested on the slim shoulders of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he ascended to the throne.
At his coronation, Isaiah, the court prophet, offered the moving vision we heard this morning. Isaiah saw this idealistic, young King -- who may have been his student -- as filled with the Spirit of God. Hezekiah would know and do what was right. The poor would be treated fairly. The wicked would be punished. Peace would break out between nations -- and in all of nature, too. If only Hezekiah would listen to God's Word, reasoned Isaiah, then surely the Peaceable Kingdom would come.
Hezekiah was a good king. He was a religious reformer. He tore down the high places where idols were worshiped. He was often in repentance, fasting, and prayer (see 2 Kings 18-20).
Still, Hezekiah took risks that enraged his powerful enemies and endangered his nation. Judah was invaded several times during his reign. The Peaceable Kingdom did not come in by Hezekiah.
Recently a new theme park, The Animal Kingdom, was opened at Disney World in Orlando. The Animal Kingdom hosts over 1,000 different animals from 300 species. There are 2.3 million carefully cultivated plants.
At the center of The Animal Kingdom is The Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is fourteen stories tall. Its trunk is fifty feet wide. It has 8,000 fake branches with 100,000 fake leaves sewed to them. Its canopy stretches 160 feet across the sky.
Disney describes The Tree of Life like this: "A powerful symbol representing the interconnected nature of all living things ... Carved into the gnarled roots, enormous trunk and uplifted branches are the twisting, turning shapes of more than 300 animal(s) ... "
Disney continues, "Every guest is invited to stroll The Tree of Life Garden through the root system of The Tree of Life. This soft landscape is filled with otters, flamingos ... lemurs, tortoises, and colorful ducks, storks, cranes and cockatoos." Or, the guest may enter a theater built into the roots of The Tree of Life. It's currently showing the movie, "It's Tough to Be a Bug."
Near The Tree of Life, "safaris," jeeps pulling little open cars, venture into the "wilds" of Orlando. Cheetahs, Nile crocodiles, elephants, hippopotami, and black and white rhinoceri can be viewed -- in safety, of course. The Tree of Life, with its surrounding garden, and human beings and animals in harmony: it sounds a bit like the Garden of Eden, complete with computer-controlled artificial mist that rises up on cue!
But, for all its clever engineering and special effects, Disney's Animal Kingdom is not the Peaceable Kingdom either. Before the park opened, thirty of the imported animals died. They couldn't adjust to the climate. Even now some of the animals hide most of the day from the sun -- and from the tourists. The jeeps sometimes run over the smaller creatures. One wonders if air pollution affects the animals. Even the magic of Disney and all the wonders of technology can't create a Peaceable Kingdom on earth.
Yet that image of a Peaceable Kingdom persists deep within us. Maybe that's why Edward Hicks painted that one image, again and again. Maybe that's why we respond so well to Hicks' painting. Maybe that's why we look with hope and expectation to new religious and political leaders. Maybe that's why millions will pay billions to see an artificial Eden in Orlando.
Our vision of a Peaceable Kingdom is a yearning for Paradise Lost. That image of a Garden of Eden, where all things work well, is deep in our souls. We know it's not here yet. The poor (some of them) get welfare but do not fare well. Human society is still filled with injustice and strife. Wolves still eat lambs. And we human beings continue to make a mess of nature.
Still, we long for the Peaceable Kingdom. When will it come?
The Kingdom will come in its fullness when Christ comes again. Jesus is the "shoot" that grows out of the stump of Jesse. Jesus is the One the Spirit of God rests upon. Jesus lived his whole life in "the fear of the Lord," in obedience. Jesus lifted up the poor and put down the oppressors. Jesus is the Little Child whose gentle ways will lead us. Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the Lamb of God (John 1:36). Even the sharp contrasts of nature come together in him.
The Kingdom of God is coming with Christ. But the Kingdom of God is already here! Every time Edward Hicks painted his painting, every time William Penn preached peace, every time King Hezekiah judged fairly, a bit of the Kingdom was established. Every time we use technology wisely, every time we reach out to the poor, every time we stand up for justice, a bit of the Kingdom comes. Every time we are guided by the Spirit of God, every time someone fights to save a wolf or a lion, every time we join in communion, a bit of the Kingdom is among us.
The Peaceable Kingdom is God's dream for creation. God, in God's goodness, has allowed us to share that dream. Longing for it and looking for it and working for it is good. That's part of what we do at Advent. We look back. We look around us. We look forward. We pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
One day -- may it be soon -- there will be a Leader who judges fairly, stands up to oppression, and redeems the poor. One day -- may it be soon -- the wolf will lie down with the lamb. One day -- may it be soon -- a little Child will lead all of creation.
Christ has come. Christ is here now. Christ will come again: our Advent song!
Quaker preachers are not paid. For years Hicks traveled from town to town, preaching at small meetings. He supported himself by painting signs. Eventually, he quit preaching and took up painting full time. In the end, unschooled, untrained, unsettled Edward Hicks became the leading folk artist in America in the early 1800s.
His most popular painting was The Peaceable Kingdom. Hicks painted it as many as 100 times. This one image seemed to capture and compel him. Each rendition was slightly different, of course. But a child, an ox, and a lamb appear in each one. They live at peace with wild beasts: lions, and tigers, and bears.
Someone once said, "When the lion lies down with the lamb, only the lion gets to sleep well!" Someone else said, "That picture is great, as long as you replace the lamb every day!" Actually, the most dangerous figure in the picture is not the wolf or the lion, but the baby. Wolves and lions have a lot more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. But in Edward Hicks' Peaceable Kingdom, there was neither predator nor prey.
Hicks' painting is more than engaging art. It's a political/religious statement. William Penn of Pennsylvania always appears in every painting. Penn is often off in the distance, negotiating a peace treaty with Native Americans.
William Penn was Edward Hicks' hero. Hicks believed the path of pacifism and religious tolerance -- the way of William Penn -- would create Philadelphia, a city of brotherly love on earth. If only we would live like William Penn, thought Edward Hicks, then certainly the Peaceable Kingdom could be established here.
But perfect peace wasn't established by William Penn. Penn was a good Governor. But he only governed Pennsylvania for two years before he sailed back to England, returning only once. His deputies governed Pennsylvania poorly in Penn's absence. Philadelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love," became stressed with dissention and strife. William Penn could not usher the Peaceable Kingdom in.
Twenty-five hundred years before Edward Hicks picked up a brush, people in Jerusalem also dreamed of a Peaceable Kingdom. Their hopes rested on the slim shoulders of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was only 25 years old when he ascended to the throne.
At his coronation, Isaiah, the court prophet, offered the moving vision we heard this morning. Isaiah saw this idealistic, young King -- who may have been his student -- as filled with the Spirit of God. Hezekiah would know and do what was right. The poor would be treated fairly. The wicked would be punished. Peace would break out between nations -- and in all of nature, too. If only Hezekiah would listen to God's Word, reasoned Isaiah, then surely the Peaceable Kingdom would come.
Hezekiah was a good king. He was a religious reformer. He tore down the high places where idols were worshiped. He was often in repentance, fasting, and prayer (see 2 Kings 18-20).
Still, Hezekiah took risks that enraged his powerful enemies and endangered his nation. Judah was invaded several times during his reign. The Peaceable Kingdom did not come in by Hezekiah.
Recently a new theme park, The Animal Kingdom, was opened at Disney World in Orlando. The Animal Kingdom hosts over 1,000 different animals from 300 species. There are 2.3 million carefully cultivated plants.
At the center of The Animal Kingdom is The Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is fourteen stories tall. Its trunk is fifty feet wide. It has 8,000 fake branches with 100,000 fake leaves sewed to them. Its canopy stretches 160 feet across the sky.
Disney describes The Tree of Life like this: "A powerful symbol representing the interconnected nature of all living things ... Carved into the gnarled roots, enormous trunk and uplifted branches are the twisting, turning shapes of more than 300 animal(s) ... "
Disney continues, "Every guest is invited to stroll The Tree of Life Garden through the root system of The Tree of Life. This soft landscape is filled with otters, flamingos ... lemurs, tortoises, and colorful ducks, storks, cranes and cockatoos." Or, the guest may enter a theater built into the roots of The Tree of Life. It's currently showing the movie, "It's Tough to Be a Bug."
Near The Tree of Life, "safaris," jeeps pulling little open cars, venture into the "wilds" of Orlando. Cheetahs, Nile crocodiles, elephants, hippopotami, and black and white rhinoceri can be viewed -- in safety, of course. The Tree of Life, with its surrounding garden, and human beings and animals in harmony: it sounds a bit like the Garden of Eden, complete with computer-controlled artificial mist that rises up on cue!
But, for all its clever engineering and special effects, Disney's Animal Kingdom is not the Peaceable Kingdom either. Before the park opened, thirty of the imported animals died. They couldn't adjust to the climate. Even now some of the animals hide most of the day from the sun -- and from the tourists. The jeeps sometimes run over the smaller creatures. One wonders if air pollution affects the animals. Even the magic of Disney and all the wonders of technology can't create a Peaceable Kingdom on earth.
Yet that image of a Peaceable Kingdom persists deep within us. Maybe that's why Edward Hicks painted that one image, again and again. Maybe that's why we respond so well to Hicks' painting. Maybe that's why we look with hope and expectation to new religious and political leaders. Maybe that's why millions will pay billions to see an artificial Eden in Orlando.
Our vision of a Peaceable Kingdom is a yearning for Paradise Lost. That image of a Garden of Eden, where all things work well, is deep in our souls. We know it's not here yet. The poor (some of them) get welfare but do not fare well. Human society is still filled with injustice and strife. Wolves still eat lambs. And we human beings continue to make a mess of nature.
Still, we long for the Peaceable Kingdom. When will it come?
The Kingdom will come in its fullness when Christ comes again. Jesus is the "shoot" that grows out of the stump of Jesse. Jesus is the One the Spirit of God rests upon. Jesus lived his whole life in "the fear of the Lord," in obedience. Jesus lifted up the poor and put down the oppressors. Jesus is the Little Child whose gentle ways will lead us. Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) and the Lamb of God (John 1:36). Even the sharp contrasts of nature come together in him.
The Kingdom of God is coming with Christ. But the Kingdom of God is already here! Every time Edward Hicks painted his painting, every time William Penn preached peace, every time King Hezekiah judged fairly, a bit of the Kingdom was established. Every time we use technology wisely, every time we reach out to the poor, every time we stand up for justice, a bit of the Kingdom comes. Every time we are guided by the Spirit of God, every time someone fights to save a wolf or a lion, every time we join in communion, a bit of the Kingdom is among us.
The Peaceable Kingdom is God's dream for creation. God, in God's goodness, has allowed us to share that dream. Longing for it and looking for it and working for it is good. That's part of what we do at Advent. We look back. We look around us. We look forward. We pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
One day -- may it be soon -- there will be a Leader who judges fairly, stands up to oppression, and redeems the poor. One day -- may it be soon -- the wolf will lie down with the lamb. One day -- may it be soon -- a little Child will lead all of creation.
Christ has come. Christ is here now. Christ will come again: our Advent song!
