In voting we should seek help from the Suffering Servant who brought forth justice, “Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the streets.”

Monday, 8/31/15

Imbedded in the later chapters of the Book of Isaiah there are four poems dedicated to God’s Suffering Servant. We Christians feel that the Bible saw Jesus as that Suffering Servant, and we are happy that in today’s Gospel Jesus identified himself as the Suffering Servant.

A noteworthy thing about the story in today’s reading is the people’s violent change of mood toward Jesus. In the beginning, “they all spoke highly of him;” but then soon after “they were all filled with fury. They rose up, and drove him out of town.”

In that congregation there must have been several “rabble rousers” who turned the people against Jesus.

That situation might set you to thinking about our upcoming 2016 elections. Like me, you might have received letters asking for donations for advertising. The media’s pundits, in making their guesses as to the winners of the elections, are depending on which candidates have amassed the most millions for advertising.

That was not Our Lord’s way. In the first of those four songs of the Suffering Servant, the Bible says, “He shall bring forth justice to the nations, “Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the streets.”

Our preferences are as easily moved as were those of the people in the synagogue in Nazareth.

It should not be that way. In addition to the Ten Commandments there be an eleventh one that binds us to coolly seek out the truth. In that search we should get all the facts. Then, we should closet ourselves with the Suffering Servant, begging his help for bringing justice to the nation.