PHOTO: Mary van Balen Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Is 47,1-7
Today’s first reading eloquently describes the one sent by God to bring justice to the world. The images of gentleness come to mind when I watch a candle holding on to a wavering flame or carefully remove a bent flower stem and preserve the bloom by placing its shortened stalk into a tiny vase of water.
Isaiah does not reveal a blustery savior but one who is self effacing. Verses 6-7 describe the God who sent the Servant in an equally compassionate way: This is the One who created the earth, filled it with crops, and inspirited the people who populate it. This is a God concerned about the poor, the imprisoned, the sick. This is our God, pained by injustice.
As I read this passage today, I lingered over the line “I have grasped you by the hand…” Our God does not send us out alone to bring peace and light to the world. The Compassionate One does not make anyone a “covenant” and then leave him or her alone to do the job.
No. God grasps us by the hand and shows us the way. God walks with us.
That brings comfort to my soul. In the midst of a world at war with itself, a nation considering “quenching embers” and “bruising reeds” with budget cuts that increase injustice to the vulnerable among us,a time of fear and doubt, I will cling to the hand that grasps my own.
Jesus did that, becoming Covenant to us all. But after his death and resurrection, he made us part of that covenant; his work became our work; his call, our call.
I have no delusions about my abilities to do my part. But with God reaching out and holding on to me, even when I falter, even when weakness and fear make my fingers loosen, God’s grip is firm. Compassion will not let go.
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