Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Tuesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33.36-38)

One of the great questions in Bible studies is who is the “servant” of today’s first reading.  He also appears prominently in three other passages in what is often called “Second Isaiah.” Except for the possible nomenclature “Israel” that appears in today’s passage, the Servant is never named.  Some say the Suffering Servant is indeed the people of Israel.  But if so, others ask, how can the same person be said to “restore the survivors of Israel”?  Others say that the servant is the prophet himself.  This also seems strange.  How might the “light to the nations” never named?

Christians have had no trouble identifying the “Servant of the Lord.” They would ask, who else could it be but the Lord Jesus?  Through Jesus’ blood, God has forgiven the sins of the world.  He suffered insult and violence, as the other passages claim, to bring the nations together.

This week above all we honor Jesus for his sacrifice.  He allowed himself to be treated like a lamb that was slaughtered to win for us freedom from sin and death.

Monday, April 3, 2023

 Monday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11)

One of the features of Holy Week is the use of the four “Servant Songs” from the second part of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  They are read at mass today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as yesterday. The Songs describe one whose suffering brings vicarious justice to Israel.  Because he is never named, interpreters have given him various identities like Jeremiah or even corporate Israel.  Christians have little difficulty in seeing him as an archetype of Jesus.

Today’s “Song” features the gentleness and the luminosity of the Servant.  He is so sensitive that he does not raise his voice when he teaches.  Gently and persuasively, he gives light without creating heat.  That light enables those blinded by pride to see the truth, those imprisoned by prejudice to find goodness in enemies, and those confined to the dungeon of ignorance to learn the glory of God.

In today’s gospel Mary, the sister of Lazarus, exhibits a particular sensitivity to Jesus as the Suffering Servant.  She anoints him before his impending death that she is somehow able to perceive. 

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Tuesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33.36-38)

On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of Holy Week one of the four Servant Songs of Isaiah is read during the liturgy.  These passages point to a personage whose suffering saves Israel from its sins.  The servant acts like the firefighters of 9-11 who gave their lives rescuing trapped victims in the burning Trade Center. In today’s reading the Servant himself outlines the accomplishment of his efforts.  He says that not only have they brought Israel back to the Lord but are seen as a model for all nations.

The Suffering Servant is never named in Isaiah.  Some have thought him to be Moses or the prophet Jeremiah. Most Old Testament scholars today identify the servant as the collective people of Israel who have suffered atrocities like the Holocaust.  Nevertheless, Christians from the beginning have heard the Servant Songs as prophetic testimony to Jesus.  Although limiting his mission to Israel, Jesus’ suffering and death have redeemed the sins of the world.

The Servant Songs help us to link Christians with Jews and all peoples. God brought about human salvation through the people of Israel.  They gave birth and context to His Son whose life and teachings model human perfection.  Even more impressively, his gift of self in the brutal crucifixion manifested God’s love for the world.  Most critically, his resurrection unleashed the Holy Spirit to renew the world in that love.

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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Wednesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25)

Few passages of Scripture give better context for appreciating Jesus’ passion than the four so-called Servant Songs from the Book of the prophet Isaiah.  These passages are read in the mass every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday of Holy Week.  They are the work of an unnamed prophet who is called “Second Isaiah” because his writings are attached to those of the great prophet of Judah.  Second Isaiah lived in Babylon with other exiled Jews.  He recognized a call to preach to the people about the wonderful deliverance God was to work on their behalf. 

The Servant Songs comprise an especially noted part of Second Isaiah’s writings.  They tell of a completely new kind of Messiah.  No longer is he a conqueror of armies; rather, he wins the esteem of the world by bearing evil patiently.  In today’s reading the Suffering Servant is pictured as being beaten and humiliated without cursing or striking back.  Who exactly is the Suffering Servant?  Second-Isaiah does not identify him.  Jews are likely to see him as their own nation that has suffered discrimination for centuries.  Christians have from the beginning seen the Suffering Servant as a prefiguring of Jesus.

What Second Isaiah says of the Suffering Servant and what Jesus validates in his being betrayed by a disciple and subsequent ordeal we, his followers, should take to heart.  We are called to make a presumption against the use of force to accomplish our ends.  We are also called to sacrifice our time and energy for the good of others.  Such actions reflect the guiding light to the nations, Jesus himself.  He is the one whom, at least in part, the world will come to acknowledge as Lord.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Wednesday of Holy Week

(Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25)

Humiliation seldom sinks lower than to have another spit in one’s face.  Spittle may transmit disease.  More than that, spitting is a universal sign of contempt.  One account of a particularly gruesome display of hatred tells of prison gang members spitting razor blades to cut up the opponent’s face even before a fight begins. 

In the first reading today the Suffering Servant speaks of giving his face to being spit upon.  Conscious of this reference, Mark’s passion narrative underscores how both Jews and Romans spit on Jesus.  Jesus is seen as the incarnation of the Suffering Servant whose identity is left obscure in Isaiah’s prophecy.

There are four “Suffering Servant Songs.”  Each gives the portrait of the righteous man who takes upon himself the sins of the world.  He not only speaks words of comfort to the oppressed; he also listens to their cries.  He establishes justice but not with a sword that will bring grief to a wife or parents.  Indeed, he heals others’ defects by bearing the penalties incurred by their sins.  Who but Jesus has fulfilled this character description completely?