The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah uses powerful imagery to tell the story of the suffering servant. We view the writer's words in a prophetic context, allowing them to frame for us the setting of those last humiliating hours that Jesus endured along the way to, and then upon, the cross. The New Century Version translates the third verse in a most interesting manner. "He was hated and rejected by people. He had much pain and suffering. People would not even look at him. He was hated, and we didn't even notice him." We didn't even notice him...I would think that people noticed Jesus as he stumbled through the streets of Jerusalem on his way to crucifixion. How could you not notice a man beaten and bloodied with a crowd following along, taunting him every step of the way? And yet, though he was seen, he was not understood. As the life was literally draining out from him, the taunts from the crowd proved this point. "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is God's Chosen One, the Christ."
We see, but do we really understand? Jesus tells a story of judgment in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew that speaks not only to seeing, but also to understanding. In the story, the King calls the people on his right to receive blessing for they have fed the hungry, sated the thirsty, cared for the lonely, and welcomed the stranger. They also clothed the naked, took care of the sick, and visited the captive in prison. Then he condemns those on his left who have seen the same needs, yet done nothing to meet those needs. They ask him, "When did we see these things and not help you?", to which the King replies, "...anything you refused to do for even the least of my people here, you refused to do for me." It would seem once more to be a case of seeing, but not understanding.
Along this Lenten road, we pass many who are hurting, struggling, seeking someone to care for "even the least of my people here." We know the message of Christ and walk the familiar road toward the cross, but do we understand its claim upon us to be the presence of Christ in a hurting world? Christ passes among us in the pain and suffering of the world we encounter...do we even notice Him?
Jim Abernathy
No comments:
Post a Comment