The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. (Isaiah 50:4)
Today we begin Holy Week, the most sacred time in the Church calendar. And it is a Holy Week like none we have ever experienced. Rather than gathering together as a community to celebrate the central mysteries of our faith, we will be isolated in our homes. All of our lives have been upended. For those already living a fragile existence, this time has been especially difficult. Catholic Charities and other non-profits have been partnering with government agencies to find creative solutions to care for the homeless and those recently released from prison. These are indeed difficult times.
The above-quoted line from the Prophet Isaiah struck me today in a way it never had before. Scholars differ on the identity of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah’s writings but Christians have of course come to identify the servant with Jesus, the Suffering Messiah. God Incarnate, Jesus was the one who spoke to the weary a word that would rouse them. And we as his disciples are called to do the same, “to speak to the weary a word that (will) rouse them.” That’s my dilemma. In my prayer, I’ve said, “Lord, I’m running out of words. What can I say?” This week, I spoke to a heartbroken woman unable to see her dying husband since the hospital where he is being treated is locked down. I’ve been with families grieving the loss of their loved ones and have so wanted to embrace them and yet we are only able to interact with each other from a safe social distance. What words are left?
Even Jesus felt abandoned by God as he died on the cross. But out of the darkness of death would come the resurrection. We will not be physically together at Easter but Easter is not cancelled. He is risen. He is faithful. He is with us. This is the word we need to hear in our weariness. We need to speak it to each other, through our words, but especially through our care and our love. When the late Cardinal Hume was dying and no longer able to receive Holy Communion, he said, “The Lord will find another way to come to me and comfort me.” And indeed the Lord will: in our hearts and through our loving care of each other. As Isaiah reminds us, God’s faithfulness does not fail.
“Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Fr. Jim