Isaiah paints an idealized portrait of what it will be like when God’s kingdom comes. He uses images from the agricultural world that he knows: abundant rain for the crops, wheat ready for harvest, livestock pasturing in the field, draft animals at work. What do you imagine Isaiah would use as images for God’s kingdom for our industrialized, urban world: electric cars to save the environment, grocery shelves with healthy food, TV shows worth watching, an internet that is fast and reliable??? One thing that both the agricultural and the modern world need is God’s guidance: a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it.” During Advent let us spend some time quieting ourselves down so that we can hear more clearly what God is asking of us amidst the clatter of today.