Isaiah 42:1-4

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 smoldering 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 law the islands will put their hope."

The Incarnation tells us so much about who God is. In his omnipotence, God could have appeared as a fully grown adult male. He could have shown up as magnificent king, or a powerful military general. Yet God came as a child. For nine months, God waited in the womb. He learned to walk and talk and eat from his mother. He lived 30 years in anonymity before beginning his ministry. We walk around shouting and raising our voices in the streets, yet God continually shows us a different way. We hear his still small voice in the cave with Elijah. We see him sleeping through a storm as his disciples go nuts and shout him awake. We watch Jesus withdraw to solitary places to wait and pray. But why does God act like this? Because we are bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. We are fragile and breakable souls, and so God’s justice comes quietly and gently. God is faithful in his gentle love to us – “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)” Yet we are constantly faced with the pressure to get into shouting matches and heated debates. We see that the ones with the power are the ones with the loudest volume. How do we live by the Spirit that “will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth”? Lord, may we reach out to the broken and hurting ones in our lives. May we greet others, not with shouts of judgment, but with soft voices of love and mercy. May we live a gospel so powerful and faithful that the islands can put their hope in it.

“Thou shalt know Him when He comes,

Not by any din of drums,

Nor by the manner of his airs,

Nor by anything he wears…

But His coming known shall be

By the holy harmony

Which His coming makes in thee.”