Monday of Holy Week

April 3, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 42:1-9

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 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. –Isaiah 42:1-4

I thought of the mentally ill in our country when I read a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; we seem more aware of the disease and, in many ways, do not know how to address it.  Mental illness is not unlike colds or the flu. We all have experienced it at some level—depression after losing a loved one or anxiety after being laid off from work and not quickly finding new employment. Many do not recognize these as illnesses at all. More serious, more challenging mental illnesses threaten the person’s well-being.  When I was a child, the severely mentally ill were hospitalized and kept away from the public. Some of those facilities were horrible, and eventually, more restrictions were put on caring for the mentally ill. I fear much work remains to heal those who suffer from mental illness.

While physical illnesses may not result in the stigma that mental illness carries, the provision of health services in the USA is appallingly behind that of much of the world. The cause is simple to identify and almost impossible to cure—greed. Our healthcare system is driven by layers of profit that have become more important than the care we provide one another.

Isaiah is saying that God’s servant has the patience and heart to heal the sick and demand and produce the justice all people desire. We are the conduits of that justice today.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to bring healing through justice to all people.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.