I have placed two fragments of Isaiah’s Suffering Servant with a poem reflection here. The first is the second part of that which I posted on Monday, Isaiah 50: 7-9. The second song is from Isaiah 42: 1-7. Like I had on Monday, I will post the scripture passage and follow it with the poem reflection.
SONG 2: Is 50: 7-9
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
POEM REFLECTION
Like stones, rebukes are hurled at me
From the mouths of those oppose me,
Their vitriolic words hang in the air
Like a poisoned cloud.
Yet, I remain unharmed, no sign
Of their mark appears on me.
It is You, I AM, who is my help,
Who at my right side shields me from harm.
They dare not confront me,
Nor attempt to wrong me,
For You stand with me in all things.
SONG 3: Is 42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
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.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
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.
POEM REFLECTION
You are not my servant,
Rather, you are my beloved,
The one who is as close to me as breath,
Whose very presence bestows life.
It is in you that I have placed
The breath of the Universe,
With all its secrets and wisdom;
So that justice will reign over the chaos,
A justice that will reign
Not by force of might,
But through the compassion of your words
Which will bring light of the stars
To shine in lives starved by Darkness.
As with a wave of my hand,
I placed the stars in the heavens,
And brought forth life and crops
From the nothingness of soil,
My breath stirring within
Stilled bodies, life.
So will I form and shape you
Into my image, my beloved;
The broken, stony hearts
Of my people, will, by your words,
Be transformed Into hearts of flesh.
You will breathe into them
The light of my wisdom,
Which will free their blinded eyes
From the darkness of injustice,
And open the doors
of their self-imposed prisons,
from their cells of darkness and sin.
(both poems (c) 2022, Robert C Wagner. All rights reserved.)
