December 11 - Second Sunday of Advent - In Whom My Soul Delights
Isaiah 42:1-9
Deborah Laforet
In Whom My Soul Delights
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
“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.” (Isaiah 42:1)
Has anyone ever told you that their soul delights in you? What must that feel like, either to hear it said to you or to feel that for another? I imagine a parent with a new baby might feel this delight in their soul. I imagine a grandparent feels this delight in their soul for their grandchildren. Some feel it for their pets. Some feel it for a romantic partner or a much-loved friend.
This delight should not be a rare occurrence in our lives. We all should feel it as children, we should all feel it as adults, we should all feel it in the last moments of our lives. None of us want to feel like a burden, to feel that we have to earn the love of others, or to feel unnecessary and unneeded. We all want to feel like we are a delight to our loved ones. It’s when this is absent that people feel isolated and alone, unworthy and unseen. Some people struggle with these feelings their whole lives because no one has treated them like a delight to the soul.
I am not a very emotive person. I was raised in a household where there weren’t lots of hugs, or lots of sharing, or many words of encouragement. Because of this, I have had to learn how to express my feelings outwardly, and I know how important it is to hear someone say that are a beautiful person, that you are valued, that you are loved, and even, that you are a delight. So, when I feel these things, I try to express them so that others know how I feel, that they are beautiful, valued, loved, and a delight to my soul.
Our reading this morning starts with the words, “Here is my servant.” There are four passages in the book of Isaiah about this servant. Together, they are called the Servant Songs or the Songs of the Suffering Servant, this one being the first of the four. Many of these passages are read during Advent as people see them as prophesies of Jesus, that Jesus is that suffering servant, God’s chosen, the one in whom God delights.
It’s a beautiful and relevant way of interpreting these servant passages for Christians, to see this loving relationship between God and Jesus, but why stop there? After all, these passages are from the Hebrew scriptures. These are passages that are still used and valued in the Jewish faith, where the servant is not interpreted as Jesus. Who else might it be?
Margaret has just given us a description from this reading of that servant: This person 1) won’t cry out or lift up their voice, which I take to mean being boastful 2) won’t break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning wick, which I read as compassion, 3) and who will bring forth justice to the nations. This person will also 4) not grow faint or be crushed until justice has been established on the earth.
Now, these are some high qualifications but not impossible for the average person. They definitely apply to Jesus but also might apply to other well-known figures such as Mother Teresa, Father Richard Rohr, the Dalai Lama, Nadia Bolz-Weber, or to people in my own life, like the United Church moderator, some of my clergy colleagues, the people who work at places like Kerr Street Mission in Oakville or Wesley Ministries in Hamilton. I could also name people in this congregation. The description of this servant of God might describe any one of us: humble, compassionate, strong, courageous, justice-seeking, and determined.
Now, some of you might be wondering why these servant songs are sometimes called the Songs of the Suffering Servant. One of the reasons Christians connect these passages with Jesus, specifically in chapter 53 of Isaiah, is passages like the following:
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity,
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
9 They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out himself to death
and was numbered with the transgressors,
yet he bore the sin of many
and made intercession for the transgressors.
You can understand why Christians see these servant passages as a foretelling of Jesus, his ministry and his death. When we read these passages, we might be more hesitant about putting ourselves or our loved ones into this role of this servant. Does being humble, compassionate, strong, courageous, justice-seeking, and determined mean that we will suffer, that we will be despised and rejected, oppressed and afflicted? I don’t believe this is what it means, but we do know that it happens.
What I do know, what I feel in my heart and in my soul, is that God delights in us. We may feel unworthy of this delight, we may feel that we have done too much wrong, that we have done too little good, or that we just haven’t done enough, but whether you want it or not, whether you feel worthy of it or not, you are loved, you are valued, and you are a delight to this universe. You are made in the image of the divine, and this also means that you are divine, that like God, you need to value each person, love each person, delight in each person.
Today we lit the candle of joy. For some, joy means simply being happy or having a good day, but when we talk about joy in church, specifically during Advent, especially when we are reading from Isaiah, it’s a different understanding. It’s a deep down feeling that tells you that you are loved, that you are not alone, that the whole universe is connected to you. Even on bad days, even on those days you feel grief, or stress, or anxiety, you know, deep down inside, that you are a delight to the soul, and that is joyfulness. Like the servant in Isaiah, you are chosen, and God’s soul delights in you. Thanks be to God. Amen.