I’m trying to picture the Jordan River with reeds growing profusely along the shores.  Reeds, tall, slender plants, are commonly found in marshy or wetland areas.   In Biblical times the reeds were used in the construction of baskets, mats and even boats.  I’m told some even punched holes in a reed to make a musical instrument.  There was just one problem.  If the reed was bruised or bent, it was not useful for anything and it was tossed aside.

In Matthew 12:20, Matthew uses the metaphor of the bruised reed.  He applies it to Jesus, as the fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 42, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight . . . A bruised reed he will not break. and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out..”

I’d like to share a story with you of a woman named Eva. Her husband had committed suicide, and she was suffering from this devastating loss. Her pastor asked if she would be one of the women speakers in church one Sunday. She wanted to say yes but, in her despair, she couldn’t think of anything to say. God came through for Eva and inspired her to write words which would comfort others. As she wrote, she also found the comfort of God’s Spirit. She knew with all certainty that unlike the reeds tossed aside along the Jordan River, God does not throw us out.

Yes, I too am a bruised reed in a world filled with bruised reeds.  We each have our own hurts and sorrows.  We each need to be lifted up.  Thanks be to Jesus, that he has come for ones just like us.  With thanks that we are lifted up, let’s do our compassionate best to lift up others as well. As God’s servants, we can work gently to care for the weak, to comfort the hurting, and to bring justice without breaking or crushing others.

You may enjoy her song, tune composed by Vic Zarley, “A Bruised Reed.”

Judy