Stealth justice

 This week's verses are Isaiah 42:1-4:

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
“He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
“A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
“He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

 Those of you who are chronic Bible-readers may recognize these verses from where they are quoted in Matthew's gospel. They describe the sort of low-profile infiltration God sometimes chooses when he wants to come to us without distracting from the message. Think of the "still, small voice" he spoke to Elijah with, or the random "travelers" who visited Abraham and Sarah.

In these verses, God is telling Isaiah about Jesus' future arrival. God's soul delights in Jesus, and God upholds him and places his spirit on him. He is the way God has chosen to seed justice in our midst, not just to the Jews, but to all people everywhere. He will bring justice to the nations, not just Israel, because he is for all of us. This is already revolutionary for the Old Testament.

But how does God produce this promised justice? Does he appear in the heavens and speak out to everyone at once in some booming cosmic voice? Does he send a plague to kill all of the evildoers? Does he give us more laws on top of the other ones we can't even manage to follow correctly? No! He shows up as a completely unremarkable man who could disappear in any crowd, and does normal things for most of his life. Unlike most of us, he had no urge to raise his voice or engage in PR to attract followers. He was simply just.

But even in his justice he is not distracted. Even the tiniest things, like blowing out a candle or clearing away debris, are not in his mission. He is here for justice, to be justice for us.

It says that he won't be disheartened or crushed until he has established justice in the earth. That is very unlike us. He is unstoppable.

It says the "coastlands" wait expectantly, but other translations, instead of "coastlands" say the "islands." The image is that of the very farthest and most remote places. He's not just coming to Jerusalem and calling it done. What Jesus has done is for all people.

These are aspects of God's character that are not always mentioned. His justice can sometimes be invisible, even if we are expectantly waiting for it. He can sometimes be hard to spot. His voice can be hard to hear. Sometimes it seems like he is overlooking even the simplest interventions. And yet God delights in being this character, and it is how he appears to us sometimes to usher in his plan for us.

These verses also speak to us. If we are not flashy, or loud, or prolific, can we still be God's messenger to others? Can he still delight in us? Will he still protect us and provide for us? The answer to all of those questions is "yes." His spirit can still rest on any of us and all of us who turn to him. In fact, the more ordinary you are, the more likely it is that he can use you to bring his stealth justice to the world that waits for it unawares.