He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
—Isaiah 42.4
From a lectionary reading for Monday of Holy Week: Isaiah 42.1-9
Reflection for Monday, April 2 (Day 35 of Lent)
Today is one of those days that remind me how much the path through Lent resembles the path through Advent. Waiting, preparation, anticipation; the invitation to live both in the now and the not yet; the call to recognize God in the present even as we yearn for a time when God will appear in fullness and bring healing to all creation: these themes that draw us into the season of Christ’s birth draw us also into this season in which we enter into the story of his death and resurrection.
And here, in this passage from Isaiah that contains the first Servant Song, these themes are at full play. The God who fashioned all things—”who created the heavens and stretched them out,” this passage tells us, “who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it”—draws our vision toward a time when creation will be restored, when the servant will bring justice upon the earth, and even the coastlands will wait for his teaching. This passage, stunning in its beauty and in the way it evokes a hope that pervades the entire earth, puts me in mind of Paul’s words in Romans 8.22-25, where he writes of how the whole creation groans in labor pains, crying out for redemption.
For now, we wait. With hope. With longing. With a patience that is not passive but that enables us to perceive where God may be calling us to act for the healing of the world. “See, the former things have come to pass,” today’s passage from Isaiah tells us at its close, “and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” On this Holy Monday, what new thing do you yearn for? What will you do to help prepare a way for it to appear upon the earth?
Blessing for Holy Monday
May the path
that Christ walks
to bring justice
upon the earth,
to bring light
to those who sit
in darkness,
to bring out those
who live in bondage,
to bring new things
to all creation:
may this path
run through our life.
May we be
the road Christ takes.
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April 2, 2012 at 4:52 PM |
There is knowing and then there is learning. There is a vast difference between the two. Through suffering Christ learned. I who am unworthy to untie His sandals invite such into my life.
April 2, 2012 at 7:32 PM |
And I prayed,
“may I be the road you take
o Christ
on the way to justice…”
but You,
(always wanting more for me
than what I pray for),
raised me from the dirt
where I had lain myself down
and invited me
to walk with You
and let You
show me the way.
April 5, 2012 at 12:18 PM |
May we be
the road Christ takes
May we be
the way Christ makes
May we be
Christ’s life laid down
May we be
Christ’s victory crown