Go Gently Now! Isaiah 42:1-4

Reflection by Peter Hanson, Lead Pastor

The “suffering servant” that Isaiah describes is an example of power in the midst of vulnerability. It is a power that does not scream or shout—a power which exists in contrast with the violence executed by the empires of the day. Isaiah offers a vision of the world in which people in the midst of brokenness, in spite of brokenness, and maybe even because of the brokenness, will be a light to the nations. 

A few years back, CtK’s Advent theme was based on a line from Leonard Cohen’s song, “Anthem”: 
                                 “Ring the bells that still may ring. 
                                   Forget your perfect offering
                                  There is a crack, a crack in everything. 
                                  That’s how the light gets in.” 

The light of God’s grace and power works exactly there where we are broken, where we are most fragile. When we feel helpless and out of control, we can “go gently,” learning from the example of the suffering servant. There is always so much that’s out of our control—and so much more we can’t control these days. Still, we can decide to be compassionate, to care for others, to gently go (even virtually!) where we can meet the needs of others. May our brokenness, our fragility, our vulnerability be an asset, not a liability, in such a task!
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We pray: God of compassion, your light shines in and through us. Help us to go gently, despite our own flaws and failures, to be a light—your light!—to the people around us. Amen.