Gentle, Resilient Strength
- davidwperk
- Jan 6
- 5 min read
Devotional Reflection, Monday, January 6, 2025
The Feast of the Epiphany
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel:
18‘Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 20He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. 21And in his name the Gentiles will hope.’
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings: (BCP, 242)
AM Psalm 46, 97 ; PM Psalm 96, 100
Isa. 49:1-7; Rev. 21:22-27; Matt. 12:14-21
David's Reflections
Carl Sandburg, the North Carolina native and poet, once wrote about Jesus this way:
"Jesus had a way of talking soft and outside of a few bankers and higher-ups among the con men of Jerusalem everybody liked to have this Jesus around because he never made any fake passes and everything he said went and he helped the sick and gave the people hope.
"This Jesus was good to look at, smelled good, listened good. He threw out something fresh and beautiful from the skin of his body and the touch of his hands wherever he passed along.” #
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Epiphany--Jesus' appearing in the world after his birth. At the heart of the focus in Epiphany are events like the coming of the Magi, Jesus' baptism, his public preaching, his first miracle in Cana of Galilee (John 2).
Today's Daily Office says something about the nature of Jesus' public appearing and ministry. The religious leaders were plotting against his life; Jesus withdrew, possibly to defuse the conflict. Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 at this point (the only Gospel to do so), a text about the Suffering Servant. That text emphasizes one of the Servant's qualities, gentle, nonoppressive, resilient strength.
Unlike a new monarch, the Servant will not send heralds into the streets announcing his policies and decrees. "He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will his voice be heard in the streets." Also, unlike a monarch, the Servant will not exercise power in a way that crushes the weak or oppresses the powerless. "He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick."
Jesus would not wrangle with the Pharisees in a competitive fashion. He would proclaim God’s message of salvation and live into that proclamation and trust the power of God’s reign. He would continue his own humble, gentle ministry in such a way that salvation would extend to Israel and even beyond to the Gentiles.
Carl Sandburg's lines capture something of the essence of this text. On a personal level, how will Jesus respond to the places in our lives that are like a bruised reed and a smoking wick, the places of powerlessness and brokenness? How will he respond to our errant viewpoints and to those places where we resist his call? With this text to inform our expectations, we can expect Jesus to respond with gentleness, an unrelenting gentleness that will not leave us as we are but will not crush us or intimidate us into a response.
His is a name in which we can have hope—the bearer of gentle, resilient strength flowing from his presence into our souls and being embodied in our behaviors.
# Carl Sandburg, “To a Contemporary Bunkshooter,” The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg, revised, expanded edition. (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979) pp. 29-32.
The Collect of the Day, Second Sunday after Christmas Day
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, you Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 214)
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany.
Collect of the Feast of the Epiphany
O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Protection
O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 124)
A Collect for Early Evening
Almighty, everlasting God, let our prayer in your sight be as incense, the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. Give us grace to behold you, present in your Word and Sacraments, and to recognize you in the lives of those around us. Stir up in us the flame of that love which burned in the heart of your Son as he bore his passion, and let it burn in us to eternal life and to the ages of ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 280)
The Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 12:14-21
12:14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. 15When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, 16and he ordered them not to make him known. 17This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18‘Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. 20He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory. 21And in his name the Gentiles will hope.’
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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