“Something just doesn’t add up”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – April 2, 2023
Isaiah 50:4-9a (Forward, p. 63) CEV p. 745
Among Jewish scholars prior to the coming of Jesus there was a tremendous debate over this and similar ‘Suffering Servant’ passages. One of the chief aspects of the debate was over who the servant was referring to, whether that was the prophet himself, or some other unnamed, unidentified person, or Israel itself. Certainly, the last few verses did seem to fit Israel in some regards. It had indeed been subject to suffering and abuse, by foreign nations, on numerous occasions. But, then, there were some things that just ‘don’t add up’. Nowhere in Israel’s history is there an indication that it willingly submitted to this nasty treatment, and certainly there isn’t this same confidence in God’s presence and assistance. Just the opposite: often Israel despaired and questioned where God was in all this.
And, as for the opening verses, verses 4-5, where the Lord’s servant is pictured as faithfully seeking God’s will and words, they don’t seem to apply to Israel at all:
“The Lord God gives me the right words to encourage the weary. Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching; he made me willing to listen and not rebel or run away”:
At face value, this does not seem like Israel at all, though it could well apply to either Isaiah or one of the other prophets.
But there is one other thing that ‘just does not add up’, it is the conviction of the servant that during all the suffering he endures, he will never be put to shame:
“I let them beat my back and pull out my beard. I didn’t turn aside when they insulted me and spit in my face. But the Lord God keeps me from being disgraced. So I refuse to give up, because I know God will never let me down” (verses 6-7);
This is rather interesting, and rather significant coming from someone from the Middle Eastern world. Pulling out one’s beard and being spit upon in the face were both considered to be highly insulting, a source of enormous shame and disgrace for the victim. So, to say that this treatment on his person will not ultimately end up this way is rather surprising. How can this be, we might well wonder?
The servant is convinced that God, his protector, is nearby and will help him, and never let him down. Surely Israel could never have said that during much of its trials.
But there is one person of whom this passage does apply, namely Jesus Christ. He was faithful to God in everything, both in listening carefully to what God said and taught, and in always having the right word, the correct word, to help those who needed encouragement. And furthermore, He submitted willingly and cheerfully to the suffering that was God’s will for Him.
Here it is that the final thing that ‘just doesn’t add up’ is finally resolved. While His suffering and death seemed to all and sundry to be to His shame and disgrace, seemed to be the utmost in humiliation, in His resurrection He overturned it all. He showed Himself to be vindicated, to be declared innocent. God had indeed proved Himself to be there for Him, and to be faithful and helpful in all things, even in the midst of terrible suffering, pain and death.
And so it is for us: God is here for us no matter what. He is our protector and friend and will never let us down. And so, like Jesus, we can trust in Him and depend upon Him even when things seem dark and gloomy and even when we feel harried, shamed or despised. After all, Jesus has been there before us, and shows us that it does indeed ‘work.’ It may not seem to ‘add up’ just now, but will, eventually, if we but trust in Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word” (verse 4a).
“Let’s face it, many of us, clergy and lay, will be weary by the time we get through Holy Week. The services of this week, starting with Palm Sunday, require much preparation, and, if I’m honest, I am guilty of having felt smug when I ‘pull it off.’ As a new priest, especially, I was guilty of having looked down my nose at those who would skip Holy Week but show up on Easter.
“Now that I’m 22 years into my ordination as a priest, I have a lot more compassion—for myself, for busy altar guilds and choirs, and for those who ‘just’ show up on Easter. Being a former thespian, I love the drama of Palm Sunday that sets us off on our journey toward Jerusalem, but I also try to remember to sustain my weary self with God’s Word and to try to sustain others who are weary with a word of encouragement. Jesus must have been wearied by the time he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The whiplash of hosanna to crucify can weary us in our liturgy. We are all in need of the Lord’s sustaining Word.”
Moving Forward: “Offer words of encouragement this week.”