LENT • 6

Who Is Jesus of Nazareth?

SONGS FOR PRAYER

reading for: Tuesday Night, 28 MArch

Matthew 27:11-54

The Son of God

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  • REFLECT

reading for: Wednesday Night, 29 march

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Suffering Servant

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    Why does God allow suffering? Is there any meaning to it? How do we make sense of it?

    The question of suffering is one of the most profound and puzzling question that confronts humanity. Suffering exists and it is real. All of us will come into contact with it at some point, either through our own suffering or the suffering of our loved ones. And none of us will be able to walk away from it without a scratch.

    Today’s lectionary text takes us right into the midst of suffering through the eyes of the suffering servant. The suffering servant declares that he has all that he needs to do the work that the LORD has called him to do (v4-5) and despite the suffering that will take place (v6), he is confident that the LORD will help, vindicate and save him (7-9a).

    The servant knows that he will suffer as he seeks to obey. He will be beaten, mocked and scorned. And though he knows exactly the fate that awaits him, he does not relent from the path. He willingly enters into suffering and endures it because he is confident that God will not fail him.

  • REFLECT

    There is no easy answer to the question of suffering. Nonetheless, we can take heart that God does not dismiss our suffering nor does he give us simplistic answers. God’s answer to suffering was to suffer. Suffering was a part of Jesus’ earthly existence and he did not escape it. Jesus suffered the worst possible death and by suffering, He acknowledges the reality of suffering and assures us that He knows what it is like to suffer.

    While we may never fully understand and make sense of suffering, we do know that God is neither distant nor apathetic. The suffering servant, Jesus of Nazareth, suffers with us. Moreover, Jesus did not allow suffering to derail him from finishing the work he came to do. Neither did he allow suffering to shake his trust in the Father’s love.

    Therefore, today’s text invites us to wrestle with the question of suffering and God’s answer to it. It challenges us to consider the suffering of Christ and calls us to walk as Jesus did – to walk the path of suffering to the cross, to death and to life.

    Here are some questions that may be worth considering:

    1) Do you know someone who is going through a difficult time? Would you reach out and be present with that person in the midst of his/her suffering instead of shying away?

    2) Will you still follow Jesus when suffering comes your way? Will you be able to trust God when you don’t understand and can’t make sense of suffering?

    3) What are some of your suffering? How have you been responding to it?

reading for: Thursday Night, 30 mARCH

Philippians 2:5-11

The Humble Human

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    Philippians 2:5-11 probably came from a hymn sung by the early church and they form the central focus of sacrificial love and humility for Paul’s entire letter. Paul exhorts the church to be of one mind (v1-4) by adopting the mind of Jesus – the way he perceived and responded to life (v5) and fleshes out what the “mind” of Christ looks like:

    I) Though Christ is God, has always existed with God and is equal to God, he did not hold on to his status as God or think of himself as beyond reach (v6)

    II) He did not simply took on the appearance of a man but became an actual human, in the flesh, and identified himself with humanity (v7)

    III) Not only was he humble enough to become human and willingly gave up his divine rights and privileges, he lived a selfless life, so much so that he gave up his life in obedience and not just any kind of death, but death on a cross – the worse kind of death (v8)

    Therefore, God exalted Christ and bestowed on him the highest name so that all of creation will bow before him in worship, confess that he is Lord and give glory to God (v9-11).

    Paul’s hymn resonates with the gospels’ picture of Jesus’ identity – not only is Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God and the Suffering Servant, he is also the God who humbly became human and was obedient to the point of death and death on a cross. Thus, Paul connects Jesus’ identity to the call to share his “mind”, that is, to imitate his mode of life and death

    In the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, we witness a self-giving love that is stronger than death. This is a new way of being in this world and a new way of relating to one another.

  • REFLECT

    Death on a cross was the form of capital punishment reserved for notorious criminals. It was excruciatingly painful and humiliating. Prisoners were nailed or tied to a cross and left to die. Death might not come for several days, and it usually came by suffocation when the weight of the weakened body made breathing more and more difficult.

    That is the kind of death that Jesus endured and suffered. He did not have to but he humbled himself and was obedient. And that is the example he has left for us to follow. For those of us who confess and pray in the “name” of Jesus, we are called to have his mind and to put into practice this new way of being and doing - a life marked by humility and obedience and a life that is laid down and poured out.

    Do you have the mind of Christ? Do you think of yourself the way Jesus thought of himself?

    Will you put aside your rights, live humbly and give your life away in obedience? Will you love those around you with the self-giving love of Christ that is stronger than death? Will you imitate Jesus of Nazareth, whom you have confess as Lord?

reading for: Friday Night, 31 MARCH

Psalm 31:9-16

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    Psalm 31:9-16 describes the anguish of one who is oppressed and who cries out to God to intervene, to rescue and to save. It is an appeal by one who knows affliction, distress, sorrow, grief, despair, brokenness, dread and fear. It is a prayer by one who suffers unjustly yet who looks to God for deliverance and who continues to trust in God.

    Psalm 31 is also one of three psalms (the other two being Psalm 22 and 69) that appears prominently in the passion narratives of Jesus (the last week of Jesus’ life on earth. also known as the Holy Week leading up to the Cross and Resurrection).

    Jesus’ words in Luke 23:46, citing the words of Psalm 31:5, “Into your hands I commit my spirit” along with Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” in Matthew 27:46 and Psalm 69:21, “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink” in John 19:28-29 forever tie these Psalms to the passion narratives.

    Together, these Psalms expresses the nature of Jesus’ suffering and the emotional turmoil he experienced when he was rejected, betrayed, beaten, mocked and crucified. And like the suffering servant in Isaiah who still trust in God despite his suffering, Jesus identifies with the Psalmist who also places his trust in God despite becoming the object of reproach, facing rejection from his very own people and experiencing terror from all sides.

    Truly, Jesus of Nazareth was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He was rejected and despised and is most familiar with disaster, distress and despair. Jesus is alive and he is with us today. And he of all people, is the most equipped and suited to walk with us in our pain and sorrow. There is no man like Jesus of Nazareth. There is none like him.

  • REFLECT

    In our own lives, we have experienced sorrow and despair. Guilt and shame lingers somewhere deep in our hearts and continues to haunt us as we live in a broken world and discover that the world is not the only thing that is broken – we too are broken. Hence, Psalm 31 is a song of despair and hope that many of us are singing or will learn to sing.

    And for those of us who are familiar with the valleys of life or knows someone who does, this Psalm also invites us and our loved ones to sing despite the suffering and to trust that God will ultimately save us. God has not abandoned us and he will not forsake us.

    Most of all, by quoting this psalm while hanging on the cross, Jesus is saying to you and I – “I know. I see you. I am with you. Do not be afraid. Take heart. I have overcome death. I love you. One day, I will make everything right. There will be no more pain, sorrow and tears.”

    It is easy for Good Friday and Easter to become just another long weekend, a religious festival or an annual visit to church. Don’t miss the message of the Cross and the Cesurrection. Mediate on this Psalm as you approach Palm Sunday and move towards Good Friday and Easter, and remember that Jesus of Nazareth is a man of sorrow. And will you, together with Jesus and the psalmist, confess that your time is in his hands? (v15).

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