Isaiah 42
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare;
before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13 The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.
Monday 19th December
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
If ever there was a passage of Scripture which disallowed the idea that the gospel was designed simply to help us to live more comfortable and secure lives, this is it. While these verses are often thought to be speaking of Jesus as God’s anointed servant, many scholars think it refers to the people of Israel – in other words, the people of God. This is the way God’s people should be working in the world. As Christians we can understand these words as speaking of Jesus, for we recognise characteristics of his in the description of the servant’s way of doing things. But they also may be seen as describing the way his followers should live and work (see, for example, Galatians 6:16, which speaks of the new creation as the “Israel of God”). So what is this passage saying that God’s servant(s) should be doing? What do you notice? The task is to bring justice to the nations – in other words, the whole world. That’s a tall order! What part do you think you can play in this?
As we noted last week, justice is a tricky concept – we may have different views of what it entails. But these verses assure us that God’s servant is appointed and anointed for that task. We can understand a little of how this works by thinking about a title that is given to Jesus – he is the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24). He is the one who knows how best to work in this world – and, as these verses suggest, it is quite different to any way that people seeking power will do. He does not draw attention to himself. He does not exercise his power in a way that will harm others. He does not trample on the weak. Pray for his wisdom as we, his followers, try to bring justice into a broken world.
Tuesday 20th December
5 This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
The task outlined in the first verses can be a bit daunting – and so indeed it is! The people of God should not be stepping out to “save the world” confidently and under their own steam to impose their ideas on others. What does justice mean in your context? We know from the words of the prophets that the kind of justice that is in mind here is to give all people lives of dignity and safety. That means that the vulnerable are safe, and that there is no place for corruption and oppression. The previous verses show how this is to be done – without harming those who are weak and vulnerable. Justice is caring for the vulnerable but it is also having the right checks and balances on those who are in power, so that they do not become victims of their own pride and greed.
These verses, written against the backdrop of the exile, may of course be taken to refer to the political powers of Israel and Babylonia. But corruption and greed can creep into any family, organisation or church. Bullying and power struggles can taint everyone’s lives. Are we willing to examine ourselves and our own circle and see where we are tempted to “lord it” over others and pursue our own ambition at the expense of others? Praise God that he does not leave us to our own devices in this task – he rather gives us what we need for that. The idea here is one of a journey in which we walk together – and God will take us by the hand , guiding us as we walk on that journey. Praise God for that!
Wednesday 21st December
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
So what is it that God’s people are called to be? First, to be a covenant for the people. What do you think this means? A covenant is a relationship freely entered into so perhaps it means that we are to work for changed relationships with those around us. Second, we are to be a light to the Gentiles, which reminds us of Jesus’ command that our light shine for all to see. Walter Brueggemann notes that the way the “servant” works is in direct contrast to the way that the Babylonians worked – they would trample on anyone in order to expand their terrain and exercise power. The servant of God does not work in this way. What does it mean for us to be different? It seems that our work is not so much to set our faces against the values that are around us but to model new ones in order to bring about changed relationships. Is there a way that you can do this in your circumstances today?
God’s covenant with his people will result in opening eyes that are blind, freeing captives from prison and releasing people who are living in darkness. Can you think of someone or a group of people whom these images bring to mind? Is there someone you long to see realise the truth or be blind no longer? Is there someone who needs to be freed from some sort of captivity? Pray for those people who are coming to mind.
Thursday 22nd December
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”
We have been thinking about the responsibility that we have as the people of God to
bring his justice into the world. In the gospels this is expressed in different language – we are to live under God’s rule and so bring change into the world. However, we need to remember that if we live under the rule of God we are in effect putting ourselves in exile. We are saying, to use Stanley Hauerwas’ phrase, that we are “resident aliens” in this world. We really do not belong here. We follow another ruler and our values are completely different to those of everyone else around us. Have you ever had a sense of being in exile? How did it feel? What were the difficulties? It’s not easy – but we are, in effect, residents in a completely different culture to that of everyone else. What are the temptations in such a situation?
One temptation is to become so self-absorbed with our own needs that we lose sight of the bigger picture. In order to work against this, God reminds his people of what their lives are all about. This focus is on God, the one who “makes all things new”, as the ruler of their lives, even in exile. What difference does it make in our everyday lives when we see ourselves as living under God’s rule? What challenges does it bring for you in your situation? These verses point us away from ourselves and towards God himself. “I am the Lord!” There is no one besides Him! He is the one who is over all! Praise God that he is sovereign.
Friday 23rd December
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
you islands, and all who live in them.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns raise their voices;
let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13 The Lord will march out like a champion,
like a warrior he will stir up his zeal;
with a shout he will raise the battle cry
and will triumph over his enemies.
The words in this passage were spoken to God’s people in a time of exile – when things could not have been any worse. Everything they have known and valued had been taken from them, and they were under foreign rule. Many people had been taken away to a completely different country, and any security, power and influence they ever had was stripped away from them. As Walter Brueggemann points out, in such times, we are inclined to turn inwards and become self-absorbed, thinking only of our own needs. Isaiah, however, will not allow this. The responsibility of the people of God is to bring justice to the world, ensuring that the weak and vulnerable are not exploited – not to sink into self-absorption. Do you ever find yourself tempted to do that?
Sometimes as Christians we can be tempted to become insular. It can be very easy to become preoccupied with our own concerns. In fact, at Christmas, this can be even more of a temptation. But these verses remind us of the great privilege of God’s call in our lives, and of the ultimate aim of seeing the world join in his praise. That is why this passage ends with a litany of praise to God, which sees the “nations” joining in. Let’s pray, this Christmas, that we will be able to see his “bigger picture” and bring his love and hope to the world.
Saturday 24th December
John 1:1- 5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Sunday 25th December
John 1: 9-14
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas and good year to come.
Marion Carson
Chaplain
