Planet Earth, Zootopia, and God’s Holy Mountain

Planet Earth and Zootopia help to begin a conversation about Isaiah and God's Holy Mountain.

Have you ever watched the documentary series Planet Earth? I recall with glee the first time I watched these at my friend’s home right after college. I was completely blown away! Right there captured in high definition were intense and intimate images from all over the globe that were so remarkable it was hard to believe these events actually happened on planet earth and not some production studio or on some other planet altogether. I have tried to watch this series again with my wife, but if the episode features predator stalking prey we run into a problem.

 

This natural drama stands out as one of the beautiful aspects of this series. A shark ripping a seal ten feet out of the ocean as the predator clamps down its rows of teeth around the prey defies physics. An owl silently swooping in to scoop up a mouse that the bird spotted from hundreds of yards away lifts me out of my seat. However, the one scene even I concede gets my stomach turning features cheetahs chasing down a limping baby gazelle. As usual, my wife stands correct (but don’t tell her I said that). 

“Out in the open field the cheetah’s speed is only matched by one creature,” Lord David Attenborough might say. “Cheetahs will work together as a team to corner the herd of gazelle, then as the predator forces its prey to make a decision, one of the weaker members of the flock will be separated from its mates. At first the young gazelle will dart away from the big cats, but eventually the pack of predators outmatch the prey.” It’s these moments that while extraordinary to watch give us soft-hearted folks nightmares, as we empathize with the adolescent gazelle, even in this circle of life.

“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 10:6-10)

In seminary class in which we talked about what God is like we read this passage from Isaiah as a descriptor of what the Kingdom of God will be like. As we read it I remember thinking about Planet Earth and the shark, the owl, and the cheetah. I slowly raised my hand to ask, “What if Isaiah has it wrong? I mean, isn’t the wolf the most wolf-like when it’s stalking the lamb? Are not leopards, lions, bears, and snakes made to be hunters?” I may empathize with the gazelle, but how do we separate the pinnacle essence of a creature from the creature? The professor turned it back upon me and the class. We spent an hour wondering about what is the highest order of a cheetah or a fox? 

This summer I got another glimpse of an answer to my question when the youth went on our work week and watched the movie Zootopia, a film by Disney. In this animated world made up of talking animals predators have given up their hunting ways and live in peace with prey. Yet, as the plot unfolds following a bunny breaking into the ranks of the Zootopia Police Force a mysterious crime spree happens in which predators actually attack prey. I will not give away the ending of the movie, as it is well worth watching, but while watching this movie I saw the way that animals (including humans) interact differently. I still may not have an answer for my question from seminary, but I caught an image of hope. 

Something more exists for all of us. The cheetah is called to something more even than when he is hunting down the gazelle. The same may be said for the owl or the shark. Yes, we may appreciate what animals do when they hunt in this world, but all of creation is called to something even more than we may be able to imagine. God calls each of us to dwell on God’s holy mountain where we no longer hurt or destroy. Instead, we will be so filled by the knowledge of the Lord that we cannot help but bow to the divine in the other as that other bows to respect the divine within us. 

We are in the season of Advent when we hope that this Kingdom of God will come, not just in the future, but right now! And in this time, we are called to slow down enough to remember God’s ultimate reality. The best is yet to come as the Cursillo community reminds us. We are each called to listen to how God is calling us to be a part of God’s Holy Mountain. 

How will we defy even our greatest human instincts to dream with God, like a lion lying down with a lamb? How will we allow the Holy Spirit to so dwell within us that we cannot help but see God’s Holy Spirit tying all of us together? How will we live our lives so connected to the Christ living within ourselves that we see in all other creatures the Christ that dwells in them? Slow down this Advent season, dream with God, and seek to create God’s Holy Mountain right here and right now!