Day 2
Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4 ESV
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
Story from the Blue Seats:
I firmly believe that the beginning of my social work journey was when I was eleven years old. A woman from our church had a relationship with an orphanage in Haiti, and a baby (Wesley) from the orphanage had been brought to the U.S. for a life saving surgery. She asked me to help watch him one day, and I was taught how to use a feeding tube and care for his other needs while the adults took care of other things.
Wesley couldn’t really cry, but he could smile- and his joy was contagious. His eyes sparkled in a way I had never seen, and I believed he would grow up to have a miraculous testimony. I imagined that someday I would be able to sit and talk with him about those early moments, and that his voice would become a powerful force for the Gospel in Haiti.
“Justice” can be difficult to understand when we face the “bruising” of this world, but the Gospel makes it clear- a bruised reed can still be used to make a basket. (In fact, if you ask a basket maker, they will probably tell you it’s an essential part of the process). Ultimate justice is what we wait for- we fight for it here on earth through our human abilities, but heaven is where our hope lies.
Wesley didn’t make it through his surgeries, but I still believe that someday I will sit with him in a place where we can proclaim the goodness of God together. We look forward to a day when things will be made whole- a field of bruised reeds crying “Holy” to the one who came as a baby- the one in whom our hope lies this Advent season.
