Covenant in Plain Sight: A Poem for Monday of Holy Week Based on Isaiah 42:1-9

In the still of night, we hold our breath, believing
One chosen, anointed will come, receiving
All our hopes; He will not break what in its weakness
Already is at the point of breaking, bruised and bleeding
A soft voice, blowing gently over ruins
He will lift a tender sound and settle in with truth
Never faltering or discouraged,
Establishing the one thing we need most
And do not know how to seek: justice —
Will flow from crowded cities and remote islands,
Creation will embrace the One who created
Heaven will touch where humans walk,
Angels tread where people spread their deepest dreams,
Dancing hand in hand with God
Searching for a light, a seed that roots in freedom
Opened eyes, captives freed, release
Only God will be the shine and we will see
What we have never seen before
A covenant divine, in plain sight.

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Valerie Bridgeman Davis, Ph.D., Biblical Studies (Hebrew Bible), teaches preaching and worship at Memphis Theological Seminary. Dr. Bridgeman Davis is a consultant for the 21st Century Africana Worship Resource Project.