Holy Week is here once again- the week which culminates in the celebration of Jesus' Passion, Death, and Resurrection. But what has fascinated me in recent years is the Scripture Readings that the Church gives us in the first three days of Holy Week, culminating with the first reading at the Commemoration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday. 4 Passages from the Book of Isaiah, commonly referred to as the "Servant Songs" or the "Suffering Servant Songs," Each containing remarkable parallels to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
It is important to note from the beginning that these passages did not speak about the events of Jesus' to the Jews who would have heard them in the midst of the Exile in Babylon. They most likely would have been interpreted very differently. However, when the early Church read these passages, they spoke volumes.
So as we journey through Holy Week, how can these readings speak to us? Let's take the First Servant Song.
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Upon reading the passage, the themes of mercy and justice come to the fore. The Servant has been chosen by God for a task, and has been given the Spirit of God to accomplish this task. But what is remarkable is that he is to accomplish this task "not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street." He is to be careful not to break the bruised reed, or to quench the smoldering wick, until the Justice of God has been established upon earth. The servant is called to open the eyes of the blind, and to free prisoners who are confined, and also to free those who live in darkness. The servant is to be a light to the nations.
So how does all of this apply to Christ? In looking at Christ's ministry, we can see him carrying out several of the actions described. He proclaimed the Justice of God by calling people to repentance. He did not break the bruised or quench the smoldering, as is seen by his compassion towards those whom the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders castigated and condemned as sinners. And yet, in that merciful compassion, he still called those people to repentance. He healed the blind, freed those who lived in darkness by driving out demons, healing paralysis, and even raising people from the dead. He even became a "light to the nations" by preaching the message of repentance to the Gentiles- a ministry which the early church continued to do, so that the Gospel could spread to all nations.
But what about suffering- if these indeed are the "suffering servant" songs? The theme of suffering is important, although it doesn't seem to be prevalent in this song. That is why it is important to read all of the songs in order, to see the full picture in order to relate everything that is said to Christ. And that is what I plan to do over this Holy Week- so stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of this Blog series!
May God Bless you during this Holy Week!
