“Baby Jesus and Baby New Year Grow up Fast!”
Isaiah 42:1-9
After all the celebrations of Christmas and the New Year, all of the talk of babies and fresh starts and hope and new beginnings, we are immediately confronted with God’s true purpose of establishing justice in the world. God’s servant (the Gospels see Jesus in this role) brings teaching, light, sight, and freedom. Christmas, as glorious and wonder-filled as it is, is a beginning point for our faith story, not its end (In either sense of “end” – terminal point or goal). The gifts have been given, the decorations enjoyed, the resolutions made. Now we listen to God’s teaching, learn about God’s justice, and live as those who bring the light of vision and freedom. God’s justice is not about retribution, it’s about restoration. Restoration of relationships, of humanity, of possibility. The world needs this more than ever, it seems. If we won’t speak for, listen to, and act in solidarity with those who are pushed to the margins, those whose humanity is being doubted, denied, or denigrated, who, for Christ’s sake, will? This text is about God’s servant. We serve the one who serves God when we serve those who have been denied access to the things God intends for all people – learning, breath, sight, freedom, and light.