Sharing Love, Seeking Justice: Monday in Holy Week
April 14, 2025
Welcome to our 2025 series of Holy Week devotionals, a gift from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, eight days of devotions leading to the Feast of the Resurrection.
Monday in Holy Week
Not Yet Today
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.
He will not cry out or lift up his voice
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,[a]
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them. Isaiah 42:1-9, NRSV
Not yet today. Or so it appears. Nor was it for Jesus in his day, according to tradition. On this day, Jesus overturned the temple, cursed the fig tree and was questioned about his authority. We look around today, and scarcely find hope that justice is improving, let alone advancing. Daily, governmental policies around the world bruise reeds by the thousands. Failure of basic human kindness to one another snuff out more dim wicks than can be counted. And yet, Isaiah’s vision for the age of justice prevails: the Creator who spread out the earth will take the “servant” by the hand and establish justice to the far ends of the earth. Through God’s servant “Israel,” to God’s son Jesus, the Christ, and now to us, the church, as Christ’s Spirit-filled agents of hope, grace, and love, the vision of justice prevails. God will not stop until justice is fully realized. God will not stop until all sing a new song of praise to the Lord from one end of the earth to another!
Not yet today. But we are still working, still growing, still praying, and still faithful servants of God. As we begin this Holy Week looking forward to the resurrection, we look not with eyes that only see what is broken. No. We see that justice has already come in some measure, that justice is still coming day-by-day, and that justice will yet come in all its perfection. May our daily actions be infused with the hope of Isaiah’s prophecy and in its affirmation in and through Christ. Today, may we listen to Christ’s Spirit’s call on our lives to be agents of that justice whenever and however we are called. May our ears be attuned to hear the cries of the bruised reeds and the smoldering wick in our circle of influence. May our eyes be opened to truly see them. May our minds be ready to gain wisdom about how to serve them. And may our hands be ready to act in their behalf.
Not yet today. But by faith, we know that God is at work to bring justice to reign in all its fullness!
– Charles M. Rix
Interim Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs
Prayer:
God who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who give breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
call us into righteousness,
take us by the hand,
give us as a covenant to all people,
that we may open blind eyes
and bring prisoners from the dungeons and darkness.
Show us your new things, not yet today,
but by faith may we declare them.