Good Morning Friends,
Blink your eyes and in one week Easter may seem to have come and gone. But that is not the way to experience the greatest event in all of history. As for church staff they will be rejoicing in the offer of Jesus. “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” And for the lot of Florida laity, we too will shift gears as the tourist season winds down. But today’s text is still ramping up for next Sunday, so forgive me for getting ahead of the storyline but do know it is my conviction that Easter is best celebrated as a season like Advent, Christmas, and Lent, not just a one-day event long ago. But the challenge for me is that I have worshipped many Easter weeks in all sorts of ways and am seeking something to breathe life into what should never become routine or limited by any time. Still there is a story to tell and in today’s lectionary we have an appropriate text from John that begins the close of Jesus’ public ministry and sets the stage for Jesus’ death and Judas’ betrayal. It is the story of the anointing of Jesus and is best told by reading all the Synoptic narratives which we will not do today. But I will point out that it includes a rather shocking depiction of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet instead of head and of wiping his feet with her tears and hair. But I will leave that for another devotional. Instead, this morning the focus is on a passage from Isaiah 42 that is really a book end for the passage Jesus read to start his ministry in Isaiah 61. These Suffering Servant songs are most appropriate for Passion week, and they lead us to ask, How Can We Be All In, Glorifying The Suffering Servant Beyond This Passover?
Scripture: 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.
Isaiah 42:1-7 (NRSV)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Isaiah 61: 1-2 (NRSV)
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.
John 12:1-11 (NRSV)
Message: There are at least four special texts in Isaiah, called “Suffering Servant Songs,” that lay out the meaning and mission of this Servant: Isaiah 42: 1-4; 49: 1-6; 50: 4-9; 52:13 – 53: 12. They are read in Churches during Holy Week and perhaps some sung to new tunes. The suffering servant songs are very important in understanding Jesus because they are the scriptural basis for Jesus’ own understanding of himself and his mission and understanding why the Kingdom has not fully come after his death and resurrection. When Jesus read and reflected on these texts, and when he shares a related text in announcing his own ministry in his hometown, I imagine he found his own identity and how, as well as why, he would execute his Father’s plan. They were, I believe, his guides. A study of these texts will help to reveal to us why Jesus behaved the way he did, as the Word made flesh, and especially when it comes to Christ’s passion. So, God the Father in the sovereignty of Holy character called Jesus to sing a new song and that song is of a suffering servant that is promised in todays’ lectionary reading from Isaiah. It is one of the clearest statements in the Old Testament delineating Christ’s role in his earthly ministry. It is supposed to make us feel comfort and encouragement in a plan that God has designed. It is interesting for it to be paired with the story of Mary of Bethany as today’s reading. The readings together help us to see that as Christians we have a corporate personality and Body that is founded on the belief that the essence of God is contained in each of us and that in a way, we belong to each other in Christ. This reality is not in our physical sight and yet it undergirds our union with God the Suffering Servant…with Jesus the crucified Christ. So, it is understandable that we find it easy to be distracted by a thousand voices calling in our world. That is why it is crucial that Christians be focused on serving Jesus in intentional ways that honor something greater than us. Mary’s story of celebration and worship points to this purpose for us to glorify God with intention. It takes place in the home of Lazarus. At his home with his sisters and the disciples there was quite a celebration. Martha is serving, Lazarus is reclining with Jesus. Mary has worship and adoration on her mind. All of this is in the shadow of the cross … “Six days before Passover…” Maybe Mary of Bethany has some grasp of the impending death of Jesus. Maybe Mary has prepared for the death of Jesus by buying this perfume and setting it aside or maybe it was for her dowery. Maybe she thought that since it was intended for Jesus all along, and it was better to demonstrate love and worship for him now, rather than after he had died. Maybe it was intended that she should save this costly perfume for the day of Jesus’ burial. Maybe she wanted to remove the sink of Lazarus’ death. But however, she thought, she acted with love for those around her. But here in this prelude to the passion all the stops are pulled out. It is about now…not the sweet by and by. Picture in your mind what is going on here and, in our lives now. The Bethany story was quite a scene of celebration, and we can have one too if we are generous. Lazarus was back from the dead! Martha was doing what she loved to do most. Jesus was in the home of people he loved. There is much to learn here. Judas is positioning his betrayal raising the tension. But first we have to decide what our intention is going to be. First, we have to realize that love’s actions carry on to places and people far and wide. Friends we are connected through Christ in a way that blesses others. We are connected in a lectionary reading. We are connected by a message about home. And here we learn that when we give a gift to God it may not be available for us to use for ourselves. Nevertheless, it is best to live with a generous spirit of intentional devotion because the sum is more than the total of its parts. There is always more and sometimes surprisingly so even in the silence of our singing. For Jesus is always with us.
And So, the early Christian identified Jesus as the Suffering Servant who will redeem God’s people from their sins…taking shame and turning it into something that honors God. And we too need to experience Jesus as the Messiah in this way, realizing the costly price of being all in like Jesus…like Mary. In fact, associating Christ’s death with the redemption of sins, is based on the concept of the Suffering Servant. Of course, there has always been disagreement over whether Isaiah is referring to the Nation of Israel as the Suffering Servant or whether the servant is an individual, in either case the servant is thought of in Messianic terms. Maybe it is not either or, but and both. When the two converge I imagine we will experience this season in a new way with a new song. Until then we have the sounds of this season if we listen. We are to listen to the sounds of the season in our mind. And yes, to glorify God in the full spectrum of human experience and emotions is a challenge this year, but that is exactly what today’s scripture calls us to do in a testimony of songs eventually to be sung of the events of Holy Week. For this week we have both the heavy burden and the rest… We have the burden of not being together singing and we have the rest of our voices in the reality that our salvation depends on Jesus. So, as we read about the close of Jesus’ public ministry and the experience of life breathed into something that had ended. The stage is set for Jesus’ betrayal, death, and resurrection. We have the drama to take our emotions a full 360. And typically, the sounds of this special Passover are woven into the sing of hosannas, laments, and hallelujahs. For our minds seek to hear the fulfillment of scripture, for in hearing the clip clock of a colt and the breaking of an alabaster jar of perfume our minds join in the story. But this year, the sound is beginning to be turned back on. For many what started as a Silent Night has turned into a year where there was silence as well as screams. So, this year, this Holy week, we have to use our minds to make sense of what has happened. We need to hear the tear of flesh as whips lash out with a crack and the sound of nails being hammered through flesh into wood to reinforce the horror of the time before us as well as what we have experienced. We imagine Mary anointing Jesus as worship as we imagine we hear her hair wipe his feet. We consider Lazarus being raised in the sounds of celebration as a testimony and hear Martha, working and serving so others might put their attention to Jesus. Everything is jumbled together in our memory, but the silence of lament is battling the potential of praise and that leads us to pray for Jesus to sort out our senses even as we hope to glorify Jesus in the sound of silence and solos this Holy Week in the hopes of a resurrection Day for us all.
Pray God hear us. Pray God help us. Pray we realize that how we love and what we love makes a difference. Pray we realize that sin destroys. Pray we are thankful that God knew from the beginning that we would yield to the tempter and was prepared to love us anyway. Pray we appreciate the plan of redemption and love both individually and collectively. Pray we appreciate the Servant’s purpose of glorifying God and restoring justice. Pray we realize that God chooses and empowers servants to endure the shame of others and then be lifted in honor. Pray we become as instruments of peace in God’s plan. Pray we too serve to Glorify God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 