Light in the Darkness: Love
Isaiah 50:1-11
1 This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors
did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2 When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.” 4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. 5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me? Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?
Let the one who walks in the dark who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. 11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fire and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment.
We only have to look at the news for a moment to realise that there are many parts of the world where love is in short supply. We see it in the wars that get reported on regularly as well as in the wars that the news channels have forgotten about. We see it in the growing gaps between rich and poor as people prioritise their wants over other people’s needs. We see it in the increasingly polarised and unpleasant nature of our political discourse both in this country and around the world. It would seem that wherever you look, love is at a premium.
However, while many might agree on the problem, it is a lot harder to get people to agree on the solution. In a general sense, I imagine most people would say it’d be good to have more love in the world. However, it gets a lot harder when it comes to deciding who should go first. It’s one thing to respond to love with even more love and this is good but it’s also quite easy. But it’s a lot harder to set the tone and lead with love even when everyone around you is doing something else. However, that is the example we are set in this passage.
In verse 6, the author of our passage says that he gave his back to those who struck him and his cheeks to those who pull out his beard. It says he did not hide his face from insults and spitting. For many today, this seems weird. We’re taught that we should respond in kind and give as good as we get. This is not what this passage teaches. It teaches that we’re not to fight fire with fire. Instead, we’re to lead with love even when others aren’t. The reason for this is given in the next few verses. It says the Lord God will help me and, a little later on, that it is God who vindicates us.
You see, as followers of Jesus, we don’t take our lead from others, we take it from God. We live and act as he would have us live because it is him that loves us, sustains us and takes care of us. This is the key to living a life of love. If we focus on the world around us, we’ll become like it. However, if we focus on God, we’ll become more like him and will start to make a difference in the world regardless of whether people like it or not.
This advent, we are surrounded by people and things that want to draw our attention and focus towards the things of the world. However, I want to encourage all of us to resist that temptation and to instead focus on God in order that we might know his love for ourselves and also share the love of God with others regardless of how they respond
Richard Barber
