Stay In The Light

A Reflection on the First Reading for January 12th, 2019:
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 42.1-4, 6-7

Thus says the Lord:
“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 faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

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I can see Isaiah flinging his arms wide and shouting these words to a people whose faith ebbs and flows; longing for THE ONE who will rescue them. But, as they listen they are not hearing what they want to hear. They are not hearing about a mighty warrior, but rather someone who 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.” Wait a minute! This isn’t the one we’re waiting for! Then, to make matters worse, Isaiah tells them that they have a part to play in the restoration. You, Israel, are “a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Today, these words are for us, the followers of Jesus. We are to be light to the world. We are to open the eyes that are blind. There are times when my light is dim, not strong enough for even me, let alone others. That’s because I slip away from the Source of the light. It’s hard sometimes to focus on Jesus if things are not going my way, especially at Christmas when memories flood back and douse the light, when forgiveness gets stuck in my throat like a bone. If I try to swallow it, it will choke me so I have no choice but to release it and when I do, the light grows stronger.

Love and Joy are what the world needs to see in us Christians. Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness and self control are the attributes of the Holy Spirit and WE HAVE these within us, just waiting to be released. But in so many ways, we refuse to open the gifts. We leave them wrapped up and stowed away, for fear that if we open them we will have to change. So here’s the thing we need to know: the people who live in darkness NEED TO SEE THE LIGHT. They need to see Christians living joyfully and with peace in the midst of suffering and pain and bad hair days and broken relationships and all the other messy things of life—not just when things are going well. And when they see this, they will ask, “How do you do it, how can you be joyful with all this bad stuff?” And we will answer, “I make Jesus my centre, my focus.” Like Peter, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we don’t sink. It doesn’t mean we are always happy and upbeat. Joy is deeper than happiness and the peace Jesus gives is not the peace of the world; dependent on our circumstances. But joy is a fragile thing and the enemy is bent on destroying it. Stay in the Light. And, as Father James Mallon says, “If you have the Joy of Christ in your heart, please notify your face!”


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​Judy Savoy

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