Reeds & Wicks
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Today, I am inviting you along with me on my Lectio Divina meditations. I love discovering, connecting, and through the process of writing, uncovering God’s message to me. It is, then, my joy to share the message. I tend to think whatever is revealed to me is a truth for all. For a little background on this passage, it is the first of four beautiful poems about a mysterious servant called by God - it could be Isaiah, the Messiah, or the collective people of God.
Today, the phrases that stood out to me were -
A bruised reed he shall not break
A smoldering wick he shall not quench…
A bruised reed he shall not break:
As we have made St. Brigid’s crosses for the wedding, we have prepared a lot of reeds. First, we gathered them. We went into fields, collecting arm fulls of tall grasses - undiscerning, indiscriminately - just gathering. Then, we inspected them. For this purpose, they needed to be 8” long and whole.
While doing this activity, this verse came to mind. If we used a bruised reed for a cross, it could splinter and break. The Lord isn’t calling you to a ministry where you will be splintered or broken. If you are feeling that, then spend time discerning that feeling. It may be that the ministry isn’t the right fit - but it could also be your heart. Examine the load of your life. Examine your ‘why’ behind your yes. When I have felt overburdened, it’s because I was using service as a filler. I don’t think it’s wrong or bad - that’s just why I felt over-extended. God wasn’t calling me to overextend; I was choosing it…and the load of my yes was causing this reed to bruise.
To prepare the reeds for their service, we soaked them. They were going to be bent, folded and held together. They needed to be prepared before they would be able serve their purpose and be of use.
A smoldering wick he shall not quench:
I love these two examples because they show how gentle God is with His people and those He calls into service (which is all of us). He does not quench the wick smoldering - barely putting forth a flame. He sends his minister to tend it - to call forth life and usefulness.
For a long time, I thought the purpose of my life was to be used by God. My value to God was in my usefulness to Him. So, my value was measured in ministries, time, “output” - or rather, productivity. Things that are useful, though…are not typically treasured. They are typically regarded as objects - beings acted upon - rather than subjects - beings that exert power and choice.
We objectify humans when we take away their humanity - their divine right to choice - to freewill. When our freewill impinges on another’s - that is sin. When our pursuit of life takes away another’s - sin; when our pursuit of liberty brings chains to another - sin.
God created us to be subjects - not objects.
He isn’t interested in using us - and discarding us when are no longer useful. Our worth to Him isn’t measured in how bruised our reed is, or that we’ve worked ourselves to a smoldering wick. He is interested in us.
In ministry, He calls us to Him. To find Him, to be united with Him, to work alongside Him - it’s all relational. He has created us in a unique way - for Himself and for each other. He calls us not be useful - but fruitful. We can only bear fruit when empowered by the Holy Spirit and connected to the vine.
The times I have been burdened and heavy laden - I usually am working off power reserves - not the grid. Those are signals to me that I need to rest. Stop and rest. That doesn’t mean dropping every commitment - but stopping to abide with Jesus.
Today, I awoke from this dream - and it was ‘strangely’ correlated to this passage:
God was speaking to a group of us, gathered to be sent out. As he delivered these last lines to us, a thought entered my heart that if I was in a group this big - was I really special? was I needed? …or, was I just an option for ministry - not a key to a specific lock?
And God immediately went to my heart: we are keys for some. There are people in the world who need us, specifically. We are options for others - a part of the process. Pray to encounter those to whom you are a specific match. Those are your people. Those are the people we are essential for.
Marriage is an example. We are essential keys to our spouse’s experience of Jesus on earth and God’s fullness in heaven. We are keys for them. They are keys for us. Without Dan, I would not be experiencing the fullness of God that I am today.
The same will be true for Nigel and I. We are called to each other by God for the victory of justice, to be lights - opening the eyes of the blind, those confined by darkness and fear. Love does powerful things.
