A bruised reed he will not break - Isaiah 42

God is sometimes - perhaps far too often - portrayed as a harsh judge, watching our every move and waiting to punish our mistakes. God IS holy - but he is also gracious and compassionate. God IS transcendent and mighty - but he is also immanent, with us, intimate. When we place too much emphasis on one of these paradoxical axes of God's character at the expense of its contrast, we get a distorted picture of God.
The first servant song, found in Isaiah 42, gives us a picture of the 'Servant of God' who is tender, and gentle. 'A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.' Jesus is that servant - the one who looks beyond the damage to the infinite worth of a human being, the one who brings God's compassion and mercy, his holiness and judgment, his power and his intimacy, together in human flesh.
We are all bruised. This world knocks us around. Jesus looks past the pain to the preciousness - and brings healing and forgiveness.
This sermon was preached at Sunday Night at St John's on Sunday January 12, 2014.

It can be used with the Prezi zooming visuals found at this link.

Enjoy!