Wednesday Word from Rev. Grace: Holy Week 2022
Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
We hear these words from Isaiah 53 on Good Friday. They describe the "Suffering Servant," a despised and rejected figure who becomes a vehicle of salvation. Jewish tradition has at times understood the servant to be a metaphor for their whole history. They have been despised and persecuted and rejected as a people but still have maintained a covenant with God which brings blessing to the world. Christians over time came to see the Suffering Servant as a description of Jesus, who carried the suffering of the world on his outstretched arms that all might be saved. By his bruises we are healed.
The translation we will read uses slightly different language. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases. Illnesses physical, mental, cultural, and social. The sickness we battle within and inflict on one another. Jesus has carried it all.
In preparing for Holy Week, the image of Jesus bearing our grief and carrying our sorrows has loomed in my mind, so I plan to reflect on grief in sermons over these holy days. In Jesus, we see God's response to the sorrows of this world, sorrows over which the love of God in Christ will rise.
Join us on this Holy Week journey. May walking with Jesus to the cross fill you with the hope of Easter.
Blessings,
Grace
Tags: Holy Week 2022 / Voices / Learn / Worship / News
