A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice. – Isaiah 42:3

Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2023): Isaiah 42

I have a decorative, grass-like plant in my front yard. The grass stands tall but is also very delicate and has a feathering effect on the top of the plant. A couple of months ago, a storm came through the area, and after the storm, I noticed that the stalks on a few of the strands were broken. Instead of standing with the pride waving in the wind, these stalks, still attached to the stem and roots further down, pointed to ward the ground. The problem was that because the stalks were broken, there was no hope they would ever stand straight and point toward the sky again.

In response to the storm, it was time to take some scissors and cut the plant's stem. We made the cut just below the break, allowing what was left to stand with their siblings, but they would no longer have the feather-like top they had boasted before the storm. The broken stalks had reminded watchers that some of the grass was no longer healthy, but that was no longer obvious to passers-by once the stem was cut.

We like to do this in other areas of our lives. We know there is truth in the statement that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And the solution to having a strong chain is to remove and replace any weak links. We do the same thing with our lives, spurning or eliminating the weak from our midst. And there is some logic in our moves. I was surprised when an older pastor told me that a church has to be careful with how many "weak" people we allow to attend because these people will limit the growth opportunities available for the organization. While I understand the comment from the point of view of organizational health, I have never been able to bring myself to remove people simply because they required extra attention and grace.

Whatever you believe we should do with the weak among us, Jesus didn't hesitate to care for the vulnerable. In fact, he argued that these were the precise people for whom Jesus had come. After all, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Matthew 9:12). Isaiah's prophecy indicated that the Messiah would be someone who would care for those who were weak and bruised. He would take time with those who were hurting; in the ministry of Jesus, an example of this care might be the woman at the well in John 4 who came to the well at noon so she wouldn't have to interact with the people who wanted nothing more than increase her pain. Jesus met with her, gently moving her to a place where she could begin healing. And maybe if we are becoming more like Christ, part of that means that we will take on the gentle character of Jesus, who would not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43