The Preacher's Lectionary Notebook - When God’s Chosen Steps into the Light
The First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord (Year A)
Here in Isaiah, themes of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord reveals God’s quiet work in the world. The prophet refers us to the Servant whom God called, “my chosen one, in whom my soul delights.” This servant is not announced with grandeur, but with gentle authority, a humility that will work justice on behalf of the nations, without harshness or even with yelling. It’s an image of leadership and mission antithetical to what humans expect—an individual who heals, restores, and guides rather than one who conquers and dominates.
The vision of opening up blind eyes and releasing captives reminds us of the hope of Epiphany, the light from God breaking into the eye of all nations. The magi travelling from faraway lands, following a star, echo the nations that Isaiah talks about — the blind seeing, the oppressed finding freedom, the world being opened into God’s plans. Epiphany is exactly this revealing of God’s glory, first hinted at by Isaiah himself. God’s chosen one shall be a light for the nations, not of Israel alone, and this light shall extend across the barriers, calling all to come to the ways of God.
In reflecting on the Baptism of Jesus, Isaiah 42:1-9 adds an extra layer of significance. A voice from heaven speaking from above at Jesus’ baptism echoes the words of Isaiah: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In an instant, the prediction has now fulfilled the reality of the prophecy. Jesus comes into the waters not to fight but as a tender servant like the gentle servant that Isaiah spoke to, embodying justice and compassion. The Spirit comes into his life and recognizes him as God’s instrument of renewal and hope. It is a revelation, like Epiphany itself, but also a commissioning—the mission of the Servant is about to occur in human history.
Isaiah describes a covenant made for the people, a light given to the nations, and a God who will never lose his grip, or grow faint and discouraged. All can be seen as the launching pad of Jesus’ public ministry. The baptismal scene emphasizes the divine delight of the Servant and the fact that the very one we have been blessed to bring justice and healing upon has been identified, named, and empowered by God.
Something deeply comforting is also found in the tone of Isaiah 42. The Servant is subtle but dogged, subdued although potent. Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord show two such paradoxes of the work of God: God’s work doesn’t always look flashy, it looks differently, but it changes lives and saves nations. The Servant’s work is incremental and unstoppable, much as the light disclosed at Epiphany traverses the darkness and as Jesus’ baptism represents the breaking of God’s kingdom in modest but transformational forms.
The passage is a reminder that God’s plans are quite often quiet and unfold in one who is selected not for show, but for service. It encourages believers to see God’s hidden, but unstoppable, work in the world, to follow that light wherever it takes us and to participate in a justice which restores rather than one which preys upon us. Isaiah 42:1-9, Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord all share a common message—God finds joy in the Servant, the nations are made to join the light, and justice and hope are being quietly but emphatically shown.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
How does Isaiah’s vision of a gentle, non-dominating Servant challenge common assumptions about power, leadership, and justice in both religious and public life?
In what ways do Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord expand the idea of God’s work beyond a single people to include the nations, and how might that shape contemporary Christian identity and mission?
What does it mean to participate in the Servant’s work of bringing light and justice today, especially when that work unfolds quietly rather than through dramatic or visible success?