Have you ever spent time dwelling within the story of the Passion Week (Holy Week)? Perhaps you too have struggled to make sense of the story of Jesus’ betrayal, trial and death. If you have, welcome to the club of pilgrims of the faith! Our sacred story, when thought about deeply, is deeply disturbing! Perhaps that is why many prefer the Christmas story!
Today, the prophecy foretells parts of Jesus’ last day dwelling among us. Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12. What images strike you in this reading? Can you read this without seeing Jesus’ journey? The ancient people knew a suffering servant would come though there must have been much pondering about what this would mean. Even the disciples struggled with it, when they rebuked Jesus for talking about his suffering that would come!
The suffering servant is a powerful image. The God who stooped from the heavens, to the earth to turn the world right-side up, falls victim to the violence of humanity. What does that say about God? Perhaps that in the midst of the worst of what we can do, God is not defeated! No…God is resurrecting new life! The age-old question of why God doesn’t stop our warring ways has plagued countless generations. Perhaps that is the power of our will—we can choose to live in the upside down world, or in the right-siding world of God. I wonder, which world are you working to help create? Perhaps a deeper look at our presumptions is in order to discover which world we are working for!