OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS

The Old Testament lesson and the psalm inaugurate the Advent season with a powerful symbol of salvation: Zion.  Isaiah 2:1-5 provides a utopian vision of Zion as an end-time reality, while the pilgrimage hymn in Psalm 122 encourages us to claim this salvation in our present lives through worship. Taken together these Old Testament texts provide a strong commentary on Advent. They underscore how Advent points us to a future reality that reaches backwards and embraces us in worship, even while we journey toward its consummation.

Isaiah 2:1-5 - "Zion as God's Goal for Creation"
Setting.  The imagery of a mountain is central to  Isaiah 2:1-5. The word mountain  is specifically mentioned three times (vv. 2-3), and once it is contrasted to hills (v. 2). A quick look at the…