LISTENING

Read the text below, preferably aloud. As you hear the word, “listen with the ear of your heart” for a word or short phrase that God has for you this day.

Isaiah 53:3-7

He was despised and rejected by others;

  a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;

and as one from whom others hide their faces

  he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities

  and carried our diseases;

yet we accounted him stricken,

  struck down by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

  crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

  and by his bruises we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

  we have all turned to our own way,

and the Lord has laid on him

  the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

  yet he did not open his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

  and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

  so he did not open his mouth.

COMMENTS

This selection from the prophet Isaiah has great meaning for Jews and Christians alike. From early on the “Suffering Servant” was identified by Christians as a prophecy of Christ. The passage seems to hinge on the word “but” in the ninth line above. The person described suffers great afflictions and is ignored but that suffering has meaning.

Whether or not the prophet Isaiah had a clear image of Christ in mind, Jesus’ passion does follow this pattern. Christians believe that the Son of God suffered but that suffering is of the greatest importance. The actual value of suffering may be debated by philosophers and theologians, but what is clear is that Christ was willing to endure it for the sake of humanity. To fulfill his mission, Christ was willing to give himself completely, suffering all for us without complaint.

As important as the word “but” is in this passage, the phrase that really stands out to me on a spiritual level is “we held him of no account”. As I try to allow the words of the passage to flow slowly through my consciousness, this phrase rises to the surface.

Tomorrow’s step, “Meditating”, is about seeking to understand what God might be saying through the words that call to us. For now, simply ask yourself what word grabbed your attention, and let this word stay with you today.

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

MEDITATING

Ruminate on the word you were drawn to in yesterday’s scripture passage (Isaiah 53:3-7). What does the word or phrase you have chosen mean to you today?

COMMENTS

When I listen to this scripture passage, I am drawn to the phrase “we held him of no account”. I cannot imagine that those who saw Jesus’ affliction fully knew in their hearts what they were doing, who they were witnessing. They did not see Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffering. Instead they saw someone suffering who, in their eyes, was of “no account”.

Why am I drawn to this phrase? I feel the reason rising almost against my will: am I guilty of this too? Gazing backwards through time, I have perspective; I know the one suffering was Jesus, and I profess Jesus to be of great account. I want to pray, “Not I, Lord! When have I ever seen you and held you to be of no account?”

I begin to see where my thoughts are headed, perhaps why this phrase stood out to me in the first place. Like those in Matthew 25, I am forgetting the connection between Jesus and the “least of these” people. When I don’t pay attention to someone who is suffering, whether a neighbor losing their home or an earthquake victim half a world away, I am not paying attention to Jesus.

Whose suffering am I overlooking? Which sufferers are, to me, of “no account”?

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

SEEING

Return to God’s word for the purpose of “hearing and seeing” Christ in the text. Fix your gaze on the illumination below. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart and enable you to see what God wants you to see. Be open to images, thoughts, impressions, and feelings that come into your awareness.

COMMENTS

Yesterday I was left wondering whose suffering I ignore. As my eyes wander over this dark Illumination, I am drawn instantly to the figure in the middle. A malnourished human form, perhaps a child, surrounded by what looks to be bars and chain-link fencing.

Of course I know that there is suffering the world, terrible suffering. The suffering in Japan is but one example that brings this reality home. Does it matter? “Yes” is the first word of my answer…”but” is the second. How quickly the answers fill my mind:

“But…that’s just how the world is.”

“But…that’s a larger socioeconomic issue, and we have to look at the entire system.”

“But…I can only do so much for those so far away, I have to focus on what I can change.”

But nothing. The answers to the problem are very important, yet right now this Illumination is calling me simply to see suffering for what it is, and to question whether or not it matters. I find my response to be much more sincere, much more meaningful, if I just stop it short. Does it matter? “Yes.”

The child in the Illumination is facing away from me. If I use my imagination, I can see myself entering the abstract scene, passing beyond the child and turning around to see him or her face to face. Looking into the eyes of the suffering child, there is no longer any “but”.

I hold you to be of great account, child, and I will not hide my face from you behind my reasons.

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

SEEING (continued)

Return to God’s word for the purpose of “hearing and seeing” Christ in the text. Fix your gaze on the illumination below. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart and enable you to see what God wants you to see. Be open to images, thoughts, impressions, and feelings that come into your awareness.

COMMENTS

The figure in the Illumination stands above a bloodied sacrificial lamb. This is an unpleasant image to focus on, and I can feel my mind trying to ignore it. Jesus is called the Lamb of God, a title that loses some of its peaceful connotation when we remember that he is also the “sacrificial lamb”. Jesus’ ministry was full of wonder and joy, but his mission was also characterized by raw suffering.

It strikes me that those suffering the most in the world may relate more quickly to Christ’s suffering. Would their eyes scan this Illumination, as mine do, in search of some safe haven of peaceful imagery? Or would they look at the blood, the darkness, and the pain, and understand more than I that Jesus too was ignored in his suffering. I don’t think I can really relate to what others are suffering if I am unwilling to enter into the darkness.

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

PRAYING

Pray to God, allowing for the transformation of your being and feelings. Give to God what you have found in your heart.

COMMENTS

Lord…there is so much suffering in the world. So much I cannot respond to, so much that if I felt it all I would drown. How are you calling me to respond to hunger, to affliction, to oppression? Surely you’re not asking me to go through life with the weight of all of the world’s suffering on my shoulders, are you?

I think what amazes me the most, Jesus, about your life and death, is that you did take on the weight of the world’s suffering. You went to the extreme of suffering a terrible death. I know others have suffered and died, perhaps more painfully. How many of them would have chosen it? How could you have chosen it? Why would you give yourself completely, to a people who so often refuse you? A people who so often refuses to see the suffering in their neighbors’ eyes?

Lord, this Lenten season help me to at least do that…to see not just your suffering on the cross, but to see also the suffering in my neighbor’s eyes. Help me to not hide my face from it, but rather to hold the suffering of others to be of great account.

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

CONTEMPLATING

Notice the transforming presence of God within you. Let go of words and images. Surrender all that is stirring, even if only briefly, and rest for a few minutes in God’s embrace.

COMMENTS

Spending a few minutes just “being” with God is a powerful but challenging experience. When I first learned visio divina, I was taken aback by the instruction to let go of words and images. I felt that things should be moving in a progression — I heard the scripture, meditated on imagery, and came to some realizations about my faith and the world. Letting go of my words and ideas, even if only for a moment, seemed like taking a step backwards. I want to develop my reflections, to carry them further!

So often I fall into thinking that my spirituality somehow depends entirely on my intellect and insight: “If I don’t figure out what God is trying to say to me, it’ll be gone forever!” It’s important to discern God’s movement in our lives, but God can also work changes in my heart without me having to understand and put them into words. Listening to God in prayer is not a comprehension test.

There will be time later to apply my mind to what I have heard and seen. For now, I try to simply let my side of the dialogue slip away, not worrying about my next thought, idea, or question for God, but instead focusing–and resting–on God’s presence in the moment.

BECOMING CHRIST-LIKE

God’s word. Allow it to transform you. Notice how your faith is being deepened and your way of life motivated. What challenge is posed to you?

COMMENTS

If I’m really honest with myself, I don’t want my way of life to be transformed. “I’m quite comfortable with my current challenges, thank you.” This week the scripture passage and Illumination have been pushing me in the direction of recognizing my tendency to overlook suffering. Not wanting to change is doing precisely that.

I don’t know what exactly I’m called to do with that. I can give of my time and money to help relieve some of the world’s suffering. I can commit to not turning my face away from the suffering I see directly. I can be more aware of my own habit of ignoring the needs of others and offer prayers on their behalf. Instead of focusing on why these ways won’t solve everything (it’s so easy to add a “but…” to each of these ideas), I can focus on simply doing what I can.

Perhaps most importantly, I can remember that when I hide my face from the sufferers I deem to be “of no account”, I am hiding my face from Christ.

-Taylor Morgan

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

SEEING

Return to God’s word for the purpose of “hearing and seeing” Christ in the text. Fix your gaze on the illumination. Ask God to open the eyes of your heart and enable you to see what God wants you to see.

COMMENTS

To me, this image is smoke, fire, blood, and suffering. Perhaps that is appropriate for the passage, yet the contrast is still striking. How am I to find God’s love in this text, or in this illumination?

The child, facing away, appears to stare through prison bars, and chain link fencing spreads off into the distance. He or she is surrounded on all sides by suffering, and even the words of the prophet Isaiah form a barrier. It is almost as if the child is being pressed in, closed off, by the entire illumination.

Looking for hope, I see that if the child is facing away; his or her view is of the gold cross. The cross hovers like a vision, and is fragmented — is that what it would look like if seen through prison bars? Perhaps those who are suffering do not see the cross in the same way that I do.

Yet still it is the cross, not the smoke or fencing or blood, that seems to draw the child’s gaze. The right arm reaches out slowly towards it. God did not build the prison bars, erect the chain link fencing, or light the fires that smolder in the background. Those are the work of humankind. Here, God is present only as the glimmer of hope and resurrection.

Why would the artists choose to portray an abused, innocent child in this suffering servant passage? Perhaps to make it stand out all the more starkly that Jesus, too, was innocent. Perhaps this is still an illumination of Jesus atoning for our sins, as he suffers inside of the trembling child. Or, perhaps they wanted to turn our focus away from Christ’s innocent suffering 2,000 years ago and towards the innocents suffering today.

-Taylor 

© Suffering Servant, Donald Jackson, 2005. The Saint John’s Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, © 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.