When I was a kid I spent the summers on the Jersey Shore. My Dad built a summer house in Point Pleasant that eventually became our full time home and my brother now lives there on the same property in a new home. Back in the 60s and 70s this area of New Jersey was very rural. Dirt roads, open fields and small towns. We would spend all day on our bikes, building forts and exploring the woods. One of my pastimes was collecting ants. Strange, I know. But it was really interesting to dig up whole ant hills and place them in a clear jar. Within a pretty short period of time I would start to see coordinated tunnels being dug through the sand in the jar. You could see the ants cooperating to rebuild their home. It took some time to find individual hills/colonies. But when I was patient in finding them, the result was amazing.
However, if I instead got impatient and just placed a bunch of sand in the jar then added random, individual ants to it, I would not see any of the coordination and cooperation so apparent when whole colonies were placed in the jar. My assumption was that the colonies maintained the leadership, the queens I guess, in the jar. They, therefore, continued to be guided in their work. This was not the case with the random ant jars. In a sense, these were “lost” ants.
In today’s first reading from Isaiah we hear the prophet promising Israel that they will be restored to greatness. The Lord will provide abundant agricultural success and prosperity to the Kingdom. Isaiah relates this abundance in very concrete terms at first. Rich soils springing plenty of wheat and other grains. Fertile pastures for lambs, ox and asses to feed on. But then he describes streams of running water in lofty hills. Of the moon and sun shining more brightly than ever can be imagined. And all of this will happen in the face of the “great slaughter” when towers will fall. We get a sense that this strikes of the “end times”. The eschatological period. And God will bind up the wounds of His people and will heal the bruises left by His blows. In spite of Israel’s sins, God will continue to lead them as a shepherd leads the lost sheep. As Christ sent out the Twelve to lead the lost tribes of Israel home again. The “lost tribes”. Why do we hear Israel often described this way?
In the early parts of Isaiah’s 30th chapter, before today’s section, we learn that Assyria has captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel and led them away in captivity. Israel was made of up 10 of the 12 tribes while the other two made up the southern kingdom of Judah. Judah at first resisted the advances of Assyria because Judah’s King, Ahaz, aligned with the Assyrian king. But his successor, Hezekiah, feared Assyria and sought an allegiance with Egypt. Against Isaiah’s warnings about joining forces with a “heathen nation”. In the end, Egypt turned their backs on the alliance with Judah, leaving the southern kingdom vulnerable to Assyria’s attacks. Judah failed to trust the Lord and, rather than waiting and trusting in God’s promises, acted independently from God’s direction and His shepherding. The 10 tribes to the north remained lost forever becoming the “lost tribes of Israel”. And Judah? Except for the brief period during the Maccabean revolt against the Greeks, would never know independence again until the formation of the State of Israel in 1948.
We are now 1 week into Advent. The theme of Advent, in fact the meaning of the word itself, is “Wait”. We mainly are waiting for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, on Christmas. But we are also to take a lesson from Isaiah. He implores Judah to wait. To give God a chance to lead. To Shepherd the Kingdom of Judah against the Assyrians. But also he tells each one of us to wait. Wait for God to lead us and speak to us when making decisions about our lives. Have patience. Find a quiet place to go to and listen to the Lord speaking to you in thought, in conscience, in the words of friends and family. I think you will often find that the decision almost makes itself rather than being forced. If I could, I think I would tell my younger self to wait to find the ant hills and don’t rush to pick up the individual ants.
