Fuel for Justice

read ISAIAH 9:2-7
FROM THE ARTIST
LAUREN WRIGHT PITTMAN

“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God...” These musical attributes
wash over us each Christmas season. Why aren’t we more familiar
with the imagery at the beginning of this passage? It is imagery
from a prophet speaking to a people defeated, oppressed, and living
in the shadow of Assyria’s military might—a “land of deep darkness”
(Is. 9:2). It is a bold, particular, contextual hope punctuated by
broken yokes, splintered rods, and burning materials of war.
The boots and garments of warriors are burned as fuel. These violent
elements are set ablaze and physically transformed into warmth,
light, and fuel for justice. I think this text calls for action and a shift
in our identity. We are no longer to be defined by violence. We are
called to be people who make peace—those who tear down systems
of oppression. We are to transform the things of war into light. What
exists in your world that needs to be set on fire? What darkness,
violence, or negative energy can you transfer into fuel for peace?
In this drawing, light radiates from the broken ends of the rod
which previously weighed down this woman’s shoulders. The fleeting
darkness of violence encircles this first mandorla of light, but the
flames which consume the weapons of war cannot be contained
by the darkness. In traditional Christian art, the mandorla, or
a pointed oval, usually frames the entire body of Christ. In this
instance, the mandorla frames the inbreaking of light—the point
at which oppressive substance is destroyed. This is an image of
Christ breaking into the world—Christ lives and breathes through
our participation in dismantling injustice. This image stands parallel
to the familiar image of a child born with authority resting on his
shoulders—the Prince of Peace. We need to hold these images together in tension and in harmony to find the gravity of this
prophecy and our role in it.

In quiet contemplation, print out and color in the image below, reflecting
on how the imagery illuminates what you find in the scripture and
artist’s statement. Conclude with a silent or spoken prayer to God.