"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 bring forth justice." [Isaiah 42:1-3]
Did you ever see a kid step on a bug just because he could?
Have you ever been the one who yanked a flower out of the soil where it was struggling to blossom, or snapped a limb off of a tree for no other reason than that it was there?
I suspect if each of us is honest, we've been there before. We've seen it, and we've been the ones breaking things, squishing things, or even killing things, just because we can. Not because they were in our way or harming us, not because they posed a threat to us or anybody else, and not even because of fear--but because we had the power and whatever happened to be in our target sights had no power to stop us. And, not to be too harsh on ourselves, realizing that we have power over some things in our world is probably one of those steps in our mental development as human beings. You learn that you have the ability to affect your environment, and sometimes little children figure that out by breaking or stomping on things in that environment. You just hope that before long, each of us learns to outgrow that kind of gratuitous destruction.
But to be honest, I'm not sure that we always really do arrive at the realization that gentleness is a mark of maturity--not raw power. The ability to crush, break, or step on things isn't really a sign of greatness, but we don't always realize that. We still do fall for the childish thinking that raw power is a mark of strength, rather than the ability to temper and harness power in ways that nurture life rather than destroying it. One of the sad lessons of history is how often crowds rally in support of the strongman, the authoritarian, the dictator, and the bully, all because they fool the people into confusing recklessness with strength, and gentleness with weakness.
God, of course, is not fooled by those demagogues, and never has been. We sometimes forget this, too, and think that whoever has the most sheer raw power at any given moment must have God's endorsement [although I'll bet Goliath, Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar would all beg to differ]. If we've been actually listening to the voices in the Scriptures, though, we'll hear that God has always chosen to work in gentleness and kindness rather than domination and cruelty. In fact, the prophets were convinced that such compassionate love would be the telltale sign of the Messiah.
I love the way this passage from Isaiah 42 puts it--in speaking of God's chosen "servant," the prophet says, "a bruised reed he will not break," and "a dimly burning wick he will not quench," and yet he will bring about justice for all peoples. God's chosen one--whom we often name "the Messiah" or "the Christ"--doesn't resort to sheer displays of domination or cruelty in order to get things done. He isn't even the sort of person to snap a bent stalk off of a plant or snuff out a weak flame. He wouldn't even step on a bug "just because he can." He doesn't need to shout obnoxiously or rile people up to get their attention. And he doesn't need to pick on someone smaller to make everybody else in the schoolyard afraid.
Those kinds of tactics, however, are exactly how empires operate--from Pharaoh insisting on the enslaved Hebrews making more and more bricks without straw, to Rome crucifying whomever it saw as a potential troublemaker, just to set an example of what they could do to you, to every empire and superpower since. Bullies flex their imperial muscle like that because they think it makes them look strong... when in actuality it makes them look childish. God's chosen one knows that and doesn't have to resort to saber-rattling, angry yelling, or shows of brute force to do God's work.
We are constantly reminded of the brutish--and childish--things people are willing to do if they think it will make them look great or put them on top. The day's news keeps giving us disappointingly fresh examples of that tired way of doing things. But the prophet's witness to one who doesn't snuff out fragile flames or break what is bruised offers us an alternative to the bullying we are so used to settling for. Today, it is worth asking, "Where have I allowed myself to think it was OK to step on someone else to get ahead? Where have I let myself believe that sometimes you have to flex muscle and intimidate others in order to get your way? Where have I let the voices around me persuade me into believing that gentleness is weakness, or that domination is strength?" And maybe we might find the way of Jesus, God's chosen one, to be just the antidote we didn't know we needed.
Perhaps we'll recognize that our whole lives are made possible because the Almighty God doesn't just step on beings that are smaller [or troublesome] just because God "can."
And perhaps we'll come to see the true strength that comes in love that is kind, rather than power that is cruel.
O Gentle One, where we are bruised and dim breath life and strength into us again, so that we may grow and shine... and walk in the ways of your Chosen One, Jesus.
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