Our Lenten Journey with Jesus to Jerusalem,
the Cross, and Beyond
Celebration of The Liturgies For The Lenten Season
The reading from Isaiah for the sixth Sunday of the Lenten season is part of four songs that are contained within the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures adopted by the Catholic Church also known as the Suffering Servant Songs. Even though they are part of the Book of Isaiah they were written by an unknown author some time during the 6th Century BCE, more than six hundred years before Christ. They can be found in that midsection of Isaiah known as Deutero Isaiah (second Isaiah chapters 33-66) not written by the Prophet but by an unknown author during the Babylonian captivity. They can be found in that part of the Bible as follows; Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-11, and 52:13-53:12.
The four songs are poems written about a certain but un-named servant of Yahweh. The servant is chosen by God to lead the nations and he is ultimately horribly treated by those people. However, in the end, the servant was greatly rewarded for the troubles he endured in leading the people during the great Babylonian captivity back to the land given to them by God. To us Christians, this person who suffered greatly at the hands of his adversaries is Jesus the Christ. As the person in this song, we see how the figure was treated horribly but was eventually victorious for having endured the harsh treatment of his enemies. That figure in the suffering servant song which will be read this Sunday at mass is a prefiguring of what Jesus would have to undergo in order to free us from the power of sin and death. Just like the individual in the first reading for this Sunday’s Lenten celebration, Jesus would allow himself to be treated harshly by his enemies out of love for us and his heavenly Father. He would experience the harsh reality of evil thrown at him in the following manner: the lack of commitment on the part of Peter, James, and John to support him while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane; the betrayal of Judas for thirty pieces of silver; the thrice denial by Peter of never having known Jesus at all at his trial; the trial itself that Jesus had to endure; the torture Jesus experienced at the hands of the Pretorium guards in his face being buffeted by blows and slaps a number of times, scourging at the pillar; and the humiliating crucifixion on the cross. All of this experienced by Jesus, Christianity’s quintessential “Suffering Servant”, was what God the Father had willed for his son to undergo for the redemption of all of creation. It was humankind that caused the rupture between God and creation that Saint Augustine would eventually call Original Sin. Out of immense love for all of us Jesus was more than willing to suffer and die so, that, all of us could be free from the power of sin and death and be able to live to the fullest of our potential now, and in the life to come.
Paul’s Letter to the Philippians gave rise to high praise in the very early days of the Church to the Christ event. Paul describes Jesus as one in the form of God who humbled himself by taking on our human form, body, and soul, and going to a sacrificial death to exemplify the deep and unconditional love God has for us. This early Christian hymn, which circulated throughout all of the known Christian communities of the mid-first century CE and landed in this letter of Paul’s shows how we recognize Jesus as Christ and Lord who brings God’s glory into our ordinary world. God would highly exalt his son Jesus for accepting the death he endured for all of us by dying on a cross. Because of that great act of love displayed by Jesus, he was greatly exalted by God the Father; “…and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.
Luke’s passion is very much shaped by tradition. The Jewish Passover preparations and meal are unique as Jesus instructs his disciples on the importance of service for the future mission he would commission them to undertake on his behalf. At the Mount of Olives, Jesus’ prayer is framed by warnings against temptation, and his arrest in betrayal and violence, even as he heals the high priest’s injured slave. Peter’s later denials, where he fails to identify with Jesus when challenged, are told before the account of Jesus’ suffering. The assault during the arrest is met with healing, and Peter’s betrayal is met with forgiveness and repentance.
At the trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus accepts that he is the Christ, the Son of Man who will come as the final judge, and the Son of God. The Roman trial follows, set around a visit to Herod. Jesus emerges as king and is eventually handed over to death by Pilate, who, nonetheless, declares him innocent. Finally, with words of compassion and warning, Luke describes Jesus’ road to the cross.
Jesus is crucified between two criminals; he forgives his crucifiers, and he welcomes repentant sinners from every way of life. While he eventually commends his spirit into his Father’s hands as he breathes his last breath of life, the Roman centurion announces what many have known all along: “This man was innocent beyond doubt.” All return home, beating their breasts in grief and ripe for repentance.
Questions for Meditation:
- Have you ever thought of uniting your own suffering as a disciple to that of Jesus’? In what ways can that be done?
- What does Paul’s hymn reveal about Jesus’ suffering and death?
- How does Luke’s passion narrative show Jesus as both prophet and savior?
*Sources used for this piece: “At Home With The Word for 2022;” Published by Liturgy Training Publications;
Chicago, Illinois.
Written by Bob Sugrue