Reflection
Monday of Holy Week by Fr. Udoekpo Michael Ufok @shsst
Readings:
Isaiah 42:1-7; Ps27:1, 2, 3, 13-14, John 12:1-12
Do Not
Be Afraid! Lessons from God's Servant
(1) In today’s first reading, Isaiah 42: 1-7, we hear from
one of the 4 songs of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. Although many
commentators will never stop debating on who the servant is, in our faith
community we have no iota of doubt this Servant of God is the type of Christ of
today’s Gospel, betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and persecuted because he raised Lazarus
from the death. He is the Christ of the Palm Sunday we celebrated yesterday and
of the coming Good Friday. The Servant is the Christ of the Holy Week and of
the coming Easter!
(2) In this Isaiah’s passage we hear God speaking and
calling this servant in anticipation. God does several things for the servant:
God upholds him, chooses him, delights in him, and endows him with God’s own
spirit. He is given a mission to “bring forth justice to the nations” (42:1),
to “faithfully bring forth justice” (v.3), to labor until he has established
justice in the earth” (v.4). This special calling and this mission of justice
are typically associated with kings, endowing this servant with a royal
character, as we saw him riding on a donkey yesterday into Jerusalem. But
unlike earthly king, who has a very public and high-profile presence, this
servant will minister quietly with humility; not crying out in the streets (v.
2) and gently, not breaking a bruised reed, not quenching a flickering wick (v.
3). But he will experience hardship or even resistance because God avows that
the servant will not grow faint or be crushed. In all these, we are told in verse
4, that the servant is called to teach the nations (v. 4b).
(3) The question for us, nations (dioceses, priests,
religious, seminarians and lay faithful) is in this time of pandemic what have
we to learn from the Suffering Servant of God, the Christ of Palm Sunday. What has he to teach Us?
(4)Yesterday in that long passion narrative we
saw how the servant of God was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, falsely accused,
plotted against (John 11:45-53), arrested (Matt 26:47-56), interrogated by
Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin (Matt 26:57-58), tried by Pilate (Matt
27:1-14), denied by Peter (Matt 26:59-66), mocked, and executed (Matt
27:15-56). How do you feel when someone betrays you or accuses you falsely? This
is what Christ endured so that we could learn that we can resist evil with
hope, prayer, and dialogue rather than violence. We learn this week of the
danger of indifference, as displayed by Pilate, and of rushing to condemn one
another without facts and evidence. It is a teaching week and moment
for global leaders who deny their citizens justice, and neglect provision of
basic needs: water, electricity, food and nourishment, housings, medicines
and hospitals, especially in third world countries.
(5) As we all know many of our brothers
and sisters all over the world have been afflicted by corona virus. Many have
lost their loved ones and jobs. Many are burdened with anxieties and blood
pressure raised, not due to their own fault! The question again remains, how do
we cope with the ongoing threats of pandemic in the light of Christ?
(6) Our answer could be found in what Pope
Francis said yesterday in his Palm Sunday Homily. The Holy Father said, “ in
the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs
upon our hearts, Jesus (the suffering servant of God) says to each us: ‘Courage,
open your hearts to my love. You will feel the consolation of God who sustains
you.”
(7) In other words, we are invited each day
never to give up, but to keep learning from Jesus how to love, how to be
humble, how to suffer, and how to endure persecution, affliction, danger,
illnesses, pandemic, the loss of our loved ones, and all forms of injustices
with hope for salvation. Do not be afraid!
