[0410L] Lesson for Holy Monday

Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.  He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.  Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.  I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.  See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

In this Old Testament lesson for Holy Monday, the prophet Isaiah gives us a beautiful vision of the suffering servant of God.  As Christians, it is our belief that this prophesy is pointing forward to none other than Jesus.  Thus it is for this reason that we hear this reading as we are drawing near to the commemoration of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In his passion, we find Christ fulfilling this prophesy by embodying this word of God on how the servant of God suffers not for himself but for the sake of the whole people of God.  But we do well to recall that Christ is not the only suffering servant of God.  We who are the Church, who are called to embody the Christ in word and deed, are called to be the suffering servant in our own day and generation.  As we draw near to the crucifixion, therefore, we do well to remember also all who have suffered in the past as well as those who do so in our present day and generation.  The clearest image of these ones is the martyrs, both those whose suffering is seen in death and in life.  For us, as members of our diocese, we would do well to remember our brothers and sisters in South Sudan, especially those of our sister Diocese of Kajo-Keji, who are in the midst of great suffering, but whose faithfulness to the Gospel and devotion to the crucified and risen Christ remains strong.

The Rev’d Father Timothy Alleman, Rector

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