For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
Without any announcement, one day he just arrived
No-one really knows where he came from…
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
…and he’s like, humble, ordinary
he’s a man of the people
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
consistent in his kindness, filled with compassion
His authority shall grow continually,
He has great influence among those who follow him
and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom.
and brings a measure of peace in this world filled with violence – all we can really hope for!
He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness
His Way is gentle – an invitation to follow him
from this time onwards and for evermore.
but without force, without violence,
without a qualification
not everyone is convinced he’s the real thing
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
and the patient, Patient
God of all Creation
loves His gentle Way - and waits…
a bruised reed he will not break
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench
i often expend much energy and care looking after something when it’s new and blemish-free. somehow i think if i really try hard i will be able to protect my new cell phone from it’s first scratch.
and then there’s the awful feeling when it slips from my hands for the first time and surrenders to it’s first scrape across the tar…
somehow i never feel quite the same about it again. more recently i have got better. i actually relax a lot more once the first scratch has been sustained.
it’s similar with something that is broken or nearing it’s end. the peacock feather is valued till it get’s a crease - and somehow then, it’s not longer worth holding. it’s blemished. and the insect that has suffered a blow, writhing on it’s back on the stoep. so easy to just put it out of it’s misery.
it takes a special kind of spirit to see the bruised, bent, nearly broken reed and not just swing one’s arm down to chop it off at the point of weakness. it’s a precarious patient process - tipping the candle with a short wick so as to drain the wax without snuffing the flame.
this is a value i must claim
on monday i invited people to look back and remember this past year under four headings:
the triumph - the victory, the goal reached, the great achievement…
the ache - the pain, the loss, the bereavement…
the hunger - helpful or hurtful, the healthy longing, the harmful addiction…
the growing clarity - in the light of the above, finish the sentence: One thing that is becoming increasingly clear to me is that…
take a few minutes to reflect and write something under each of these “headings”