Peace requires Justice for the Poor

By Msgr. John Wynand Katende

Posted on: Thursday, 4th December 2025

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. A small child will lead them.” (Isaiah 11:1)

The Christian season of Advent is underway. It is observed as time of waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus. During Advent we are presented with God’s vision of a new world; a world at peace. This vision is, however, so old that some people think it will never become real.

Prophet Isaiah describes an ideal world where the wolf lives with the lamb, where the child puts his hand in the cobra’s lair without fear, where justice blooms like a new dew. In its historical context, this saying is part of a description of an earthly paradise that will follow the restoration of Israel after its destruction in a series of wars.

Isiah might have chosen the wolf to illustrate his message, owing to a number of reasons. Wolves have negative qualities, such as being deceptive and harmful to people. Positively, the wolf symbolizes both communal harmony and personal autonomy, the spirit of resourcefulness, and adaptability, even under the most dire circumstances. It represents qualities like loyalty, courage and spiritual depth. Wolves are complex, highly intelligent animals who are caring, playful, and above all devoted to family. The character of a wolf encourages us to work hard and never to give up.

At a human level, Isaiah’s vision carries a political, ecological, ethical and spiritual prophecy that reveals to us that peace always begins with a small beginning; rooted in God. Peace has the face of the Messiah; filled with the Spirit of wisdom, intelligence, advice, strength.  Finally, peace has a requirement, which is justice for the little ones and rights for the poor. God Identifies with the Poor, How We Treat Them is How We Treat Him. Proverbs 14:31

Isaiah’s message speaks directly to our hearts. A country has no peace when justice falters. People have no peace when land is unscrupulously being grabbed, when forests are destroyed, when wetlands are being encroached on, when the weakest are not protected. Isaiah thus teaches us that peace is never a political decoration; it is a spiritual and moral commitment that pushes us to build with an open heart and not with opposing political, tribal/cultural or religious camps. 

Saint Paul in Romans 15:4-9, reminds us that division is contrary to the Gospel, and that Christ came to gather the nations; Jews as well as Gentiles. He offers us three pillars of peace. The first pillar is memory: “What was written has been for our instruction.” Therefore, he asks us neither to repeat past mistakes, nor fuel resentments. The second pillar of peace is patience. Peace cannot be decreed; it is woven over time. Thirdly, peace arises from hearts that are open to God and have experienced repentance and conversion.

In Matthew 3:1-12, John the Baptist lays down the conditions of possibilities for a peace that necessarily begins with a radical conversion. He denounces, without fear or favor, what prevents peace: hypocrisy, hidden violence, economic injustices, corruption, religious manipulation and the exploitation of the poor.

To truly realize peace, we are invited us convert our words, our relationships, our way of managing the land, the forests and the common goods. We should convert our way of treating the poor. We should seriously convert our relationship to power, to money and to truth.

We are, further, taught that peace is a fruit, born on a tree with roots. If the roots are rotted by selfishness, corruption, injustice, violence, discrimination and betrayal of the truth, then the fruit will be bitter. As Christians and as citizens, we build bridges, not walls. We seek the truth without hatred; refuse manipulation and promoting dialogue. Dialogue, as opposed to monologue, refers to one entity with all the information simply giving it to others without exploration and clarification of meaning through discussion.

Therefore, one must dare to promote transparency and mediation, respect for the common good and protection of the weak. In the sphere of the ecology, we should not destroy tomorrow with today’s carelessness. We are called to plant, protect, reforest, raise awareness and educate. Only then will Psalm 72:7 find its fulfillment: “Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace for ever”.