Reflection From

Fr. John

October 20, 2024

We hear this week from the fifty-third chapter in the book of Isaiah in the First Reading. It is one of the many Old Testament prophecies that speaks about the coming of the Messiah. Of the many prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah is one of the clearest prophecies that links Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Every year at the Good Friday service, we read Isaiah 53 in its entirety to remind us that Christ died for us.

This Scripture passage is important because unlike the prevailing viewpoint at the time, Jesus Christ came not to liberate the Jewish people from the Romans, but to save them from their sins. Jesus didn’t come as a political hero or military Savior. He came to suffer and give Himself in love as atonement for our sins. As Isaiah mentions, “My servant, the just one, shall justify the many, their iniquity he shall bear.” (Isaiah 53:11) Jesus handed Himself over for our sake and bore our sinfulness to the Cross.

St. Peter mentions, “When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) It is hard to imagine this kind of love. The kind of love that would give itself totally for the sake of another, completely selfless.

When we think of superhero movies, we often think of the hero as the one who victoriously defeated the enemy. This week in the Gospel, Jesus is showing us that the greatest superhero didn’t carry a cloak, but the Cross. Jesus’ victory wasn’t a triumphant march, but a gradual surrendering of His life in love. As Jesus gave Himself for our sake, so too, we are called to give ourselves in love for the sake of others.

This is not an easy lesson for Jesus’ disciples to grasp. James and John come to Jesus asking Him to sit at His right and at His left. Jesus replies to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" (Mark 10:38) As the disciples struggled with this lesson, so too do we. We can often view success and failure only from a material perspective. James and John wanted a share in Christ’s power and His Glory, but didn’t realize that this came through His Passion and Death. Christ came as a servant not as a conqueror. He teaches us that true love is expressed in service. In response to their desire to sit at His right and His left, Jesus tells His apostles, “Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” (Mark 10:43-44)

Father John

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