2014 Narrative Lectionary—Isaiah 42
I. Introduction
I don’t know about you, but this time of the year when it gets dark earlier and earlier is hard on me. It has an unconscious effect on my attitude starting around 4 pm. As the light of the day fades so does some degree of hopefulness, and despairgets a toehold.
Imagine what it isto be grieving the death of a loved one during these darkening days. Not only dofamily gatherings during the holidays accentuate one’s grief, but even the growing darkness adds to the weight one is already carrying.
II.
Opening
If that describes you in any way, then this is exactly the right time to hear these words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken to a people who no longer had any reason to hope; to a people taken into exile into Babylon having suffered a devastating defeat. They had lost loved ones, they had lost their homes, and now they were in a foreign country to live out their days as slaves. To those people who had no reason for hope came this promise of the coming of one who is described as the Lord’s Servant.
A dimly burning wick
Here is my Servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights…
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.
Whoever this servant was to be, his mission is to a people who are hurting. These verses have spoken to me more than once. Every one of us makes faithless choices that leaveus feeling like a bruised reed. Every one of us hastimes when ourfaith in God is practically non-existent, like a dimly burning wick,andwedon’t even think of praying, or can’t pray. But the tenderness of this Servant doesn’t condemn us when we are broken but heals us!
The Servant
In the course of eleven chapters, Isaiah talks about the Servant four times but never gives a clue who this servant was. But we know. Centuries later the first Christiansread the fourth of the Servant Songs and knew exactly the identity of the Servant:
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our ownway,
and theLordhas laid on him
the iniquity of us all.(Isaiah 53:5-6)
Closing
Jesus is the Servant of God foretold, the one who would come and not break the bruised reed or extinguish the dimly burning wick. He would come and unceasingly bring God’s vision to reality.
III. The work of the Servant
Opening
This is the kind of Messiah that was coming into the world that first Christmas. Some people were going to have difficulty adjusting their expectations; others would marvel at the way God chose to be with us. But one thing was clear: the Servant would set things back right.
He will bring forth justice to the nations.(vs. 1)
He will faithfully bring forth justice.(vs. 3)
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth. (vs. 4)
The Servant’s way
The Servant was not going to claim a political kingship to impose his will upon the people of the world. Though at times don’t we kind of wish he would? You know, just make us behave better… Dish out some immediate consequences when bad people choose to hurt others… Think of the impact that an occasional well-timed lightning bolt could make!
But the gentleness of the Servant, which we desire when it comes to us, applies across the board. The Servant’s method was not going to involve lightning bolts. The Servant’s way was no doubt was going to take longer, but like the unceasing waters of the Colorado River carving out the Grand Canyon, the Servant’s way was going to get the job done.
We are invited into the Servant’s work
You and I who are baptized into Christ now share in his work and ministry. The Scriptures call us the body of Christ and that means the Father’s words to him are the Fathers words to us:
I am theLord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.(vss. 6-7)
We have been called. We have been given the task of the Servant. And that task has been described by no one better than St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, harmony;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
Closing
Those are our marching orders as the story continues to unfold. We don’t know exactly what’s up ahead, but whenever we look at the gentleness and love of the Servant whose birth we soon celebrate, we know and trust what God has in mind for us. And we want to be a part of it.
IV. Conclusion
This season of the year with its growing darkness is no match for the pure hope God has breathed into our world in the birth of Jesus. May the songs of the season become the song of our hearts. And may that song find expression in the work of our hands and in the words of our mouths. Amen.