“I, the Lord, have called you . . . to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

— Isaiah 42:6-7

Sometimes we use the term “blinding light” to say that a light is so bright that if you look directly at it, you could damage your eyesight. Here the Bible talks about the opposite effect—when light heals. We read that God’s servant will give sight to people who are blind.

We begin to see here that God’s light—shining through his chosen servant—heals, frees, and releases people who were thought to be beyond help and hope. God even declares that his light is for the Gentiles—people whom Israel thought were outside of God’s care and concern. Through this prophetic word, God seeks to “unblind” the social and spiritual imagination of his people.

By extending the benefits of God’s redemptive work far beyond the borders of Israel’s imagination, God’s faithful servant disrupts Israel’s comfortable, self-focused peace. Instead, God invites them to see that his mission is intended to welcome all people into his peace.

As we move closer to Christmas, we too are invited into this “unblinding light” of God’s chosen servant, Jesus. Do we see God’s redemptive work as being just for us and for people like us? Or will we come to recognize that God’s love in Jesus Christ is intended to give light and peace to people we never imagined would be included in God’s family?

Remove our blindness, Lord, that we may delight in seeing how wide and merciful your love is in Jesus Christ. Amen.