Bible reading: Isaiah 42:1-9.

Message.

I wonder what pictures come into your mind when you hear the word “servant”? Perhaps it’s some teenage skivvy working in a great house, up before dawn to set the fires going and sleeping in a cramped, cold attic bedroom. Perhaps it’s a parlourmaid, dressed in a black dress and a white pinafore, meekly bringing tea and cakes to the mistress of the house and her friends. Perhaps it’s a rather lordly butler – who today we might give the title of “house manager” – standing in the shadows to ensure that all runs smoothly during a great dinner party. Perhaps it’s a “man’s man”, like Bertie Wooster’s Jeeves, a confidante as much as an employee (and quite possibly more intelligent). At the other end of the social scale, a servant might simply be a maid-of-all-work who worked alone in a middle-class household. Many of those images of servants are largely outdated today (or are they? – the rich still have their staff); but we may also think of Civil Servants, ranging from humble clerks to high-ranking officials at the heart of Government – presumably their calling is to serve the nation and its people.

The Bible’s book of Isaiah speaks of a mysterious servant of Yahweh (the Hebrew name for God), called to lead nations, suffering profound abuse, and finally being vindicated and rewarded. We read about this servant in four passages towards the end of the book, often known as the “Servant Songs”, although this title was only coined by a German academic in 1892. But who is this servant – a chosen one and a light to the nations, upheld by God and a delight to him? To the passage’s original readers, living in limbo after their country had been overrun by invaders, their elite carried off to Babylon, their capital city and temple destroyed, the Servant represented Israel and its future restoration to glory – or, quite possibly, the hoped-for Messiah who would come to make their nation great again (and yes, I used that phrase on purpose).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

However Christians have always taken these songs as prophecies of Jesus, for two reasons. First, the songs have an individual flavour to them, they seem to be about a person rather than a nation. More importantly the New Testament, indeed our Lord himself, specifically applies the songs to Jesus. He, of course, lived several centuries after Isaiah, with Israel now under Roman, rather than Babylonian, rule and desperately waiting for their Messiah – a strong military leader who would take the nation back to its glory days. However this song paints the very different picture of a Messiah who is meek and quiet; while the final servant song of chapter 53 describes the humiliation that he will endure: “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”. That certainly wasn’t in the popular Jewish script!

What I want us to think about this morning is the Servant’s mission or aim, as it’s described in this chapter. And there’s one word which immediately jumps out at me: it’s the word “justice”, which comes three times in the first four verses. For justice is a recurring concern of Israel’s prophets. It is mentioned at significant moments by the four writing prophets of the 8^th century BC: Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah; we may well recall Martin Luther King quoting Amos’ yearning for justice to “flow down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream”. We might have expected God’s Servant to offer freedom, healing or salvation but, although these do get a look-in later, his primary task is clearly to establish justice in the land. That, to me, suggests that injustice was just as rife in ancient Israel as it is in our world.

It’s very obvious, as one reads through the Old Testament that justice was of primary importance to God. Here are a few random quotes. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people” – that’s from Proverbs 14. And Proverbs 6 lists seven things that God detests: “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community”. We also read that “The Lord hates people who use dishonest scales and weights” – in fact Deuteronomy goes further and links honest trade to national blessing: “Use true and honest weights and measures, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you”.

Corruption didn’t just exist in the market-place: there were also problems in the legal system. We can sense this from the complaint in Psalm 94: “You [that is, God] have nothing to do with corrupt judges, who make injustice legal, who plot against good people and sentence the innocent to death”, and from Proverbs: “It is wrong for judges to be prejudiced. If they pronounce a guilty person innocent, they will be cursed and hated by everyone … Prejudice is wrong. But some judges will do wrong to get even the smallest bribe”. Poor people clearly didn’t have much chance of winning a court case against someone who was rich.

There’s still more. The author of Ecclesiastes, who always saw the gloomy side of life, wrote: “I saw something else under the sun: in the place of judgment and justice, there was wickedness I saw the tears of the oppressed; power was on the side of their oppressors, and they have no comforter” The prophet Ezekiel went even further, comparing the nation’s leaders to lions roaring over the animals they have killed, stealing all the money and property they could, even committing murder in order to get rich. The wealthy were cheating, robbing, mistreating the poor and taking advantage of foreigners. And the priests, Ezekiel said, were no better, breaking God’s law and showing no respect for holy things. All this was being covered up by false prophets who had hidden these sins “like workers covering a wall with whitewash”.

Now these writings don’t all come from the same period in ancient Israel’s history, but they do show us that injustice was a constant problem. Although there were laws which sought to combat corruption and dishonesty, these they to have been ineffectual. As always, the key issues were power and greed, from the merchants’ petty (or not so petty) thieving to the shameless abuse of the legal system by those with the means to buy and bully their way out of trouble. The rich got richer at the expense of the majority: the oppressed and voiceless poor.

It was this woeful situation that God’s Servant (no, I haven’t forgotten him) was called to rectify. But how would he do that? We might imagine him coming in with great energy, seeking to stamp his authority on everyone through sheer force of character. I’m sure that’s what many politicians would try to do today, but this isn’t God’s method. His way is much gentler: a quiet determination, born of a deeply simmering rage against injustice in all its forms, inspires him to work quietly, patiently and persistently, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit. “He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets”, says God. “He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth”. Although God does say to the Servant, “I have given you power to see that justice is done on earth”, his work will be done slowly, persistently and with loving care. Aren’t these qualities we see in the life and ministry of Jesus? I think they are.

One organisation which embodies these values is Christian Aid. Set up to help refugees across Europe in the wake of World War 2, and known for providing emergency relief after disasters, it now sees one of its prime aims as establishing justice in the world and giving dignity to poor people. It says, “We are passionate about justice and we stand together with the most vulnerable and excluded to build a fairer world. Together with people living in poverty, we amplify our voices to boldly speak truth to power, and to challenge systems and structures that oppress people”. They will fight for the rights of people who cannot challenge corrupt landowners and legal systems, they will seek to uphold women who are abused simply because of their gender, they will work to combat climate change knowing that its effects are felt most keenly by poorer communities, they will support minority ethnic people who are being dominated by their governments, they will do all they can to help farmers and get a fair return for their crops and goods. There must have been many occasions when Christian Aid’s staff have been tempted to say, “We’re achieving so little, so why do we bother?” – yet they’ve kept going for 80 years and show no signs of giving up. Surely they are modelling the life of God’s Servant.

Christian Aid works in many countries around the world. But we all know that there is injustice here in Britain too. We can think of the contrast between the oligarchs with multiple mansions, and folk living in mouldy housing who must pay exorbitant rent to rogue landlords; or between bosses and bankers who seem to receive huge bonuses for doing nothing, and people on casual contracts who have no guarantee of work tomorrow. We know of the heath contrasts between different areas (and that’s before thinking of those who can afford to go private and jump the NHS waiting lists). This pans out in life expectancy: the average in Monmouthshire is 68.7 years but in Blaenau Gwent it’s only 55.6. And, of course, the rich can hire top barristers to argue their court cases, while the poor rely on Legal Aid lawyers – if they’re lucky.

I’m probably labouring the point; but the greatest inequality in Britain today is surely over wealth – and it’s getting worse rather than better. Did you know that the richest 10% of households hold nearly half of our nation’s wealth, while the poorest 50% of household –half of us – hold less than 10% of it? Or that in 2022 incomes for the poorest 14 million people fell by 7.5%, whilst those for the richest fifth increased by the same percentage? Things were becoming more equitable during the 1950s and 60s, but that all changed in the 1980s, with the gap between the top and the bottom earners steadily growing. If we as Christians believe that all people are equally valuable, then this isn’t just a matter of equality – it’s one of justice. It must horrify God.

I know I’ve gone on at length – but so did those Old Testament prophets. I know, too, that I’m speaking from a place of comfort and security, which isn’t true for all of you and certainly not true for many people living around this church building. The question we must ask ourselves is how we can act as God’s servants and bring about justice for our neighbours and our world. Faced with the power of businesses and banks, and with the bureaucracy of Council and Government, we may think that we can do nothing. Yet we must remember that the work of justice is not only for famous people or public figures: it’s work for us all. There may not be much we can do as individuals, but that is no excuse for inaction. For acts of justice can be large or small, but all are significant and, gathered together, they may have a remarkable effect. God’s Servant in Isaiah, who we believe is Jesus. was called to work for justice. We are his followers; we must do the same.