Thoughts for the Day

Here is 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 or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice....
Thus says God, the Lord...

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.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As we have seen before, Isaiah wrote 5 Servant Songs - prophecies about what God's Servant (the Messiah), will be like. This reading is particularly apt in Advent as we look forward to Christmas and the coming of the Christ-child. The Jews had wandered away from God, but Isaiah saw a time when God would send his Servant to rescue them and bring them back to Himself. As Christians we believe this is a description of Jesus who came to reunite all people with God.

Todays readings is Servant Son No. 1, and it emphasises justice. The description of the perfect Servant is a message for us, showing us how we should live our live as God's people. It's a hard task. Just picking out a few things, we are to:

• be concerned with justice for all.
• be concerned with forwarding God's work gently, but persistently.
• be concerned with patiently teaching others about God.
• be concerned with caring for the needy.

You might want to take one of these and pray about it and how it might affect your life now and in the future.

Lord God,
who sent Your servant, Jesus,
to rescue us, Your people,
and bring us back to You,
may we learn from Him,
how to continue His work in the world
and to take Your good news to all people.
Amen.