HE WILL NOT BREAK A BRUISED REED

HE WILL NOT BREAK A BRUISED REED

Sometimes when I am tired or not feeling well, I will say something out of grumpiness to one of my grandkids. Or when I have been helping to take care of Dad, I will get angry with him because I hadn't gotten more than 2 1/2 to 4 hours of sleep at a stretch. As quickly as I can, I will apologize and confess my sin to God.  I will do what I can to make it up to the person I love whom I have hurt.

In those moments I feel so ashamed of my self and I know that the Holy Spirit is lifting up a mirror to my face. In the mirror I do not see myself as if I was created in the image of God -- Love, Light, Life as we know Jesus is when we have given God in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal LOVE LIFE LIGHT to us.  

This is a description of God's Suffering Servant as was written down by the Prophet Isaiah 700 years before God became enfleshed, born as Jesus of Nazareth in what we call Isaiah Chapter 42, Verses 1-4:

"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 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.

He will not fail or be discouraged

till he has established justice in the earth;

and the coastlands wait for his law." [Isaiah 42:1-4 (RSV)]

The image of the wonderful man who serves God rings down over the centuries as people who suffer yearn for the peace, righteousness, justice, mercy, love and grace.  In the midst of hunger, cruelty, death, homelessness, oppression, illness, and slavery, they hope for rescue.  They hope for the power of God to break into the darkness, war, cruelty and suffering.  They long for liberation.  They hope to be able to have a roof over their heads.  They want to feed and clothe their starving children.  They want to be able to work at a profession they have always dreamed about.  They want to be free to live as God Who Is Love wants every human being to live.

Beyond the descriptions of the Chosen One of God, the Christ--the Messiah, God Incarnate as Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant, Redeemer and King of Kings, those of us who believe understand a reality.  The Fullness of God's Reign on Earth has been established, but there is still evil.  

It is like the time at the end of a war when bands of enemy soldiers have not heard the war is over and continue to kill, rape, rob and destroy.  Or maybe they have heard but continue to pillage and enslave because no one is there to forcibly stop them.

Because God came to live on Earth as Jesus, the Herald Angels declared that Peace which is wholeness--no sickness, no hunger, no subjugation, no imprisonment; all opportunities for each person to have homes, jobs that fulfill their dreams, food, clothing, the joy of living in loving communities with relatives and friends--had been established on Earth.  Then Jesus as a helpless baby boy; as a young Jewish boy learning the Torah, learning from his father, helping his mother and his neighbors, playing with his friends; as a young man coming to be called into the community of the men who were the teachers of the Law; as the anointed one of God coming to John the Baptist to initiate his ministry. 

Then Jesus went out into the wilderness by the power of the Holy Spirit to commune with His Father in Heaven.

At that point Jesus was challenged and tempted by the Evil One -- the Prosecutor. He defeated the Tempter, the Liar, the Enslaver.  

And then Jesus went back into the company of people to draw students to his side, to demonstrate exactly how much God the Creator loves each individual person on Earth from the past, in the present and forever and ever into the future.  

Jesus taught, performed miracles which were the signs that He came fro God His Father in Heaven.  Jesus suffered for the sins of all human beings beginning with the first human beings.  Through His life, His teaching, His suffering, His death and His resurrection, Jesus brought and continually brings redemption to all people, to all the creatures of the Earth, and He brings wholeness to all of Creation that has been damaged by the disobedience of the first human beings and by every other human being who has ever lived, who are living, and who will live here on Earth.

So beyond being made over into the image of God in Jesus Christ, just because there are still those marauding soldiers of evil, we must be prepared to fight.  We should believe in the Lord Jesus all make up the Body of Christ on Earth by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the Letter of St. Paul to the believers in Ephesus, he tells them that they need to have on the Armor of God:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, 

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 

and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; 

besides all these, 

taking the shield of faith, 

with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. 

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. 

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 

and also for me, that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." [Ephesians 6:10-20 (RSV)]

As we read that passage, we can understand that St. Paul is proclaiming that the ground on which we stand is no longer subject to the Evil One.  We are in Christ, clothed in His Grace with access to all of His power.  

We are able to wield the most powerful weapon -- the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  We belong to Jesus Christ and we have in the Armor of God just as Roman soldiers had on Armor before they went into battle.

We have placed protection over our most essential parts by covering our loins with truth.  We have on the breastplate of God's righteousness to cover our heart and our lungs and all our main organs in the middle part of our bodies. Our feet are not bare, but as shoes we move ahead or stand firm because the Gospel of Peace protects them.  And our minds and heads are protected by the helmet of salvation of God in Jesus Christ.

Our defensive weapon is the Shield of Faith that quenches the flaming arrows of the Evil One.  And we have learned how to use the offensive weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, because we speak the words of God in Jesus Christ by His authority.

In Rev Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie's book on Ephesians called "Let God Love You," he emphasizes that St. Paul makes clear to the Ephesians and to us that we have been charged with keeping the Holy Ground that has been won by Jesus Christ.  

We are blessed to be charged with proclaiming the Good News of God's Grace in Jesus Christ.  

We are honored to be Jesus' hands and feet, His voice, His eyes, His ears and His mouth.

If you know the Lord, you know all this.  I just wanted to remind you and to encourage you.

If you don't know the, Lord, I hope you will allow someone to introduce him to you.  God loves you and wants to take care of you and bless you.  All you need to do is to open the door to your heart.