Isaiah 53:1-12
Learn. Grow. Love.
Breathe.
I have to remind myself to breathe sometimes. It’s one of the things I have noticed about myself as I have been working through my struggles with anxiety. I have to remind myself to breathe.
In our scripture for this week we find the words despised, rejected, stricken, afflicted, wounded, crushed, and oppressed. All words used to describe the experience of the one often referred to as the Suffering Servant. The Suffering Servant is presented as someone who, because of physical appearance, is outcast from community. In the midst of being outcast, the servant is forced to suffer attacks and oppression because of the prejudices and injustice of their community, and yet, our scripture says that the servant did not fight back.
Breathe.
The suffering servant is an image that I see so clearly. I see the suffering in my memories of the children that I played with and the people that I learned from during my trips to the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Communities that faced hunger and inadequate housing. I see the suffering in Lily’s experience this past week with a man she noticed sitting on a corner of the chick-fil-a parking lot. She looked over and he was watching her eat in her car with tears in his eyes. Lily ran back in and bought him a sandwich and learned that he had lost his home and hadn’t eaten in 3 days. I see the suffering in each news article about a young person who, weighed down by the injustice and cruelty of our world, finds suicide to be their only option. I see the suffering in people displaced by war, violence, and disease with nowhere to call home. Suffering takes so many forms and is so prevalent in our world today, that sometimes it becomes easy to overlook.
As I have sat with the suffering documented in our scripture and reflected on the suffering present in our world today, I found myself facing a personal, familiar struggle. Each time I have prepared a sermon in the past year and a half, I have come close to having panic attacks multiple times in the week leading up to the sermon. I agonize over wanting to make sure that I am saying the right words, wanting to relay the message that is needed in our time, in our space. I often type whole paragraphs just to erase them and start over. And as I did that this week, I found myself connecting with another aspect of this scripture on the suffering of a servant. I found myself connected to the one relaying the message. I found myself thinking about the mindset of the person who wrote down these words. The person who saw who acknowledged suffering and knew that they had to say something. And I wondered what their anxiety may have been. You see, acknowledging and confronting suffering, oppression, and rejection is not an easy task. It is a task that makes one especially vulnerable. Acknowledging suffering, and in this instance, acknowledging suffering to the ones who have caused the suffering, has a great chance of leaving the writer open to suffering themselves. That type of vulnerability is indeed anxiety ridden. But suffering is not something that can be ignored.
The writer of Isaiah 53 had to know that they put themselves at risk, but it was a risk that needed to be taken. I imagine that the writer of Isaiah 53 spent many hours trying to find the right words. Trying to find the best way to tell the people “Hey, we’ve done a bad thing here.” To fill them in on the role that they may have played in the suffering of another human being. I have often read this scripture or heard this scripture and saw it as one pushing the people to feel guilty, but now as I read it again and I think about the writer, I don’t think that there was an intention of placing guilt or blame on those that read these words. I believe this is something instead an invitation. An invitation to acknowledge the pain and heartache that has led to suffering and sometimes death, and it’s an invitation to change, because we have to be clear about something. Suffering demands change. Suffering demands change. It is contrary of the will and love of God to know of suffering and do nothing. Every time a life is mistreated, every time a life is oppressed, every time a life is torn down, change has to happen. Every time a life is attacked, and every time a life is taken change has to happen.
I believe that was in the mindset of the writer of Isaiah 53. They saw suffering take place and knew that their best course of action was to document it, share it, and hope that positive change would take place in the community. The work of the writer today is a great example of how we can respond to suffering in our own world.
We first have to learn. We have to learn. As the writer did by seeing the rejection and attacks against the suffering servant, we must also learn of the suffering that take place in our world. For help finding ways to learn about suffering I asked the youth during Sunday School. One answer they gave was to watch the news. Watching the news is a great way to learn about what is happening in our world and be confronted with the suffering that so many face. Another answer was to look on Social media, a great way to learn about suffering not only around the world but also in the lives of our friends, family, and community. Our youth also made a great point, when you learn of suffering you have to do more. Do research, go experience life alongside those that are suffering.
We must see and recognize the suffering that is present in our world. We must listen to the cries of those oppressed and in pain. There is hunger and sickness and hate in our world that cannot be ignored. When we hear the stories of suffering we cannot turn away. We have to be vigilant and observant to the suffering not only in other places of the world, but around us in our own communities and homes.
Once we have begun the process of learning, we must then allow ourselves to grow. We must look at ourselves and acknowledge our skills and our talents that we were created with. And ask the question of, “What can I do?” And in acknowledging what we are capable of, we must then use our skills to grow into agents of positive change. The youth shared this morning of their experiences using their talents in theater to go and perform for children’s homes or nursing homes. Some shared how they love to sing and brighten peoples days by offering their musical talents or they how work to tutor others who are struggling in school.
If you can teach, use your talents to help teach others to learn to advocate for themselves and those who cannot do so all while teaching math, science, history, or reading. If you have been blessed to be able to fix things, learn where things need to be fixed and lend a helping hand. If you have the ability to crochet or to knit, make a blanket for someone who might be cold or maybe just in need of comfort and acknowledgment. And if you are like the baker in our children’s moment story for today about sun bread, create smiles by baking something sweet and tasty for someone who is in the midst of suffering. And you might just brighten the whole day. Suffering often seems so daunting and in many ways it is. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t do something about it.
If we learn of what others are going through, and we grow into who God created us to be and use our skills for positive change, we can make a difference for others who are suffering. And there is one more thing that we are all capable of doing. We are capable of being present and sharing love. This week we might not have the ability to end war and bring peace throughout the entire world, we might not have the ability to end famine and disease for countless people. We can’t address every moment of suffering this week. But we can tell everyone that we meet, “I love you.” I went around the youth room this morning and I said, “I love you,” to every youth. Would you be surprised if I told you that every single youth lit up hearing those words. I don’t think it’s possible here “I love you” from someone and it not awaken a little joy. We can share words of love and actions of love and bring smiles to many faces. And in sharing love we will start the process of positive change.
I think that is what the writer of today’s scripture had in mind to do. Start the process of positive change. So let us be process starters today. Let us learn, grow, and love in ways that we haven’t before and maybe we can be positive change in the midst of suffering.
Amen.
Learn. Grow. Love.
Breathe.
I have to remind myself to breathe sometimes. It’s one of the things I have noticed about myself as I have been working through my struggles with anxiety. I have to remind myself to breathe.
In our scripture for this week we find the words despised, rejected, stricken, afflicted, wounded, crushed, and oppressed. All words used to describe the experience of the one often referred to as the Suffering Servant. The Suffering Servant is presented as someone who, because of physical appearance, is outcast from community. In the midst of being outcast, the servant is forced to suffer attacks and oppression because of the prejudices and injustice of their community, and yet, our scripture says that the servant did not fight back.
Breathe.
The suffering servant is an image that I see so clearly. I see the suffering in my memories of the children that I played with and the people that I learned from during my trips to the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Communities that faced hunger and inadequate housing. I see the suffering in Lily’s experience this past week with a man she noticed sitting on a corner of the chick-fil-a parking lot. She looked over and he was watching her eat in her car with tears in his eyes. Lily ran back in and bought him a sandwich and learned that he had lost his home and hadn’t eaten in 3 days. I see the suffering in each news article about a young person who, weighed down by the injustice and cruelty of our world, finds suicide to be their only option. I see the suffering in people displaced by war, violence, and disease with nowhere to call home. Suffering takes so many forms and is so prevalent in our world today, that sometimes it becomes easy to overlook.
As I have sat with the suffering documented in our scripture and reflected on the suffering present in our world today, I found myself facing a personal, familiar struggle. Each time I have prepared a sermon in the past year and a half, I have come close to having panic attacks multiple times in the week leading up to the sermon. I agonize over wanting to make sure that I am saying the right words, wanting to relay the message that is needed in our time, in our space. I often type whole paragraphs just to erase them and start over. And as I did that this week, I found myself connecting with another aspect of this scripture on the suffering of a servant. I found myself connected to the one relaying the message. I found myself thinking about the mindset of the person who wrote down these words. The person who saw who acknowledged suffering and knew that they had to say something. And I wondered what their anxiety may have been. You see, acknowledging and confronting suffering, oppression, and rejection is not an easy task. It is a task that makes one especially vulnerable. Acknowledging suffering, and in this instance, acknowledging suffering to the ones who have caused the suffering, has a great chance of leaving the writer open to suffering themselves. That type of vulnerability is indeed anxiety ridden. But suffering is not something that can be ignored.
The writer of Isaiah 53 had to know that they put themselves at risk, but it was a risk that needed to be taken. I imagine that the writer of Isaiah 53 spent many hours trying to find the right words. Trying to find the best way to tell the people “Hey, we’ve done a bad thing here.” To fill them in on the role that they may have played in the suffering of another human being. I have often read this scripture or heard this scripture and saw it as one pushing the people to feel guilty, but now as I read it again and I think about the writer, I don’t think that there was an intention of placing guilt or blame on those that read these words. I believe this is something instead an invitation. An invitation to acknowledge the pain and heartache that has led to suffering and sometimes death, and it’s an invitation to change, because we have to be clear about something. Suffering demands change. Suffering demands change. It is contrary of the will and love of God to know of suffering and do nothing. Every time a life is mistreated, every time a life is oppressed, every time a life is torn down, change has to happen. Every time a life is attacked, and every time a life is taken change has to happen.
I believe that was in the mindset of the writer of Isaiah 53. They saw suffering take place and knew that their best course of action was to document it, share it, and hope that positive change would take place in the community. The work of the writer today is a great example of how we can respond to suffering in our own world.
We first have to learn. We have to learn. As the writer did by seeing the rejection and attacks against the suffering servant, we must also learn of the suffering that take place in our world. For help finding ways to learn about suffering I asked the youth during Sunday School. One answer they gave was to watch the news. Watching the news is a great way to learn about what is happening in our world and be confronted with the suffering that so many face. Another answer was to look on Social media, a great way to learn about suffering not only around the world but also in the lives of our friends, family, and community. Our youth also made a great point, when you learn of suffering you have to do more. Do research, go experience life alongside those that are suffering.
We must see and recognize the suffering that is present in our world. We must listen to the cries of those oppressed and in pain. There is hunger and sickness and hate in our world that cannot be ignored. When we hear the stories of suffering we cannot turn away. We have to be vigilant and observant to the suffering not only in other places of the world, but around us in our own communities and homes.
Once we have begun the process of learning, we must then allow ourselves to grow. We must look at ourselves and acknowledge our skills and our talents that we were created with. And ask the question of, “What can I do?” And in acknowledging what we are capable of, we must then use our skills to grow into agents of positive change. The youth shared this morning of their experiences using their talents in theater to go and perform for children’s homes or nursing homes. Some shared how they love to sing and brighten peoples days by offering their musical talents or they how work to tutor others who are struggling in school.
If you can teach, use your talents to help teach others to learn to advocate for themselves and those who cannot do so all while teaching math, science, history, or reading. If you have been blessed to be able to fix things, learn where things need to be fixed and lend a helping hand. If you have the ability to crochet or to knit, make a blanket for someone who might be cold or maybe just in need of comfort and acknowledgment. And if you are like the baker in our children’s moment story for today about sun bread, create smiles by baking something sweet and tasty for someone who is in the midst of suffering. And you might just brighten the whole day. Suffering often seems so daunting and in many ways it is. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t do something about it.
If we learn of what others are going through, and we grow into who God created us to be and use our skills for positive change, we can make a difference for others who are suffering. And there is one more thing that we are all capable of doing. We are capable of being present and sharing love. This week we might not have the ability to end war and bring peace throughout the entire world, we might not have the ability to end famine and disease for countless people. We can’t address every moment of suffering this week. But we can tell everyone that we meet, “I love you.” I went around the youth room this morning and I said, “I love you,” to every youth. Would you be surprised if I told you that every single youth lit up hearing those words. I don’t think it’s possible here “I love you” from someone and it not awaken a little joy. We can share words of love and actions of love and bring smiles to many faces. And in sharing love we will start the process of positive change.
I think that is what the writer of today’s scripture had in mind to do. Start the process of positive change. So let us be process starters today. Let us learn, grow, and love in ways that we haven’t before and maybe we can be positive change in the midst of suffering.
Amen.
