Scripture:
Reflection:
It is Holy Week. We have entered the most profound time in the church year. We began yesterday with Palm Sunday by reliving both our high hopes with cries of “Hosanna” and the horror of the passion with cries of “crucify him!” These holy days invite us to pay special attention to the readings offered to us during this time that leads up to the Triduum, or the three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
It is not hard to see in today’s reading from the Prophet Isaiah references to Jesus. That is why they are offered to us for prayer and reflection. Jesus is God’s servant, the anointed one who brings justice to the nations through gentleness and healing. So if we are called to be disciples of Jesus, called to imitate him in our lives, then perhaps we too might hear God speaking about us through Isaiah.
I will use my name, but I invite you to say your own name in praying these verses:
“Bob, you are my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit.”
“Bob, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.”
We do not walk through this week as spectators. We engage the story of our Lord’s passion and resurrection as our own story. We learn how we can be a light to the world, open the eyes of the blind, or bring out prisoners from their darkness. Perhaps this week you can ask yourself, “How do I feel called to live as a disciple of Jesus and the beloved of God?”
Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.