This week’s song is the beginning of the last servant song.  This final song is the longest one, and we will take two weeks to reflect on it.  As we read this song, once again, we understand why Jesus has been seen as the fulfillment of the servant songs.  Humility is the theme of this song, and it’s no wonder that these songs are often called the suffering servant songs.

Jesus was humiliated brutally during the events of Holy Week.  Crucifixion was the form of death reserved for the worst criminals and slaves.  Humility is different from humiliation. In week 2 we read that Jesus was not loud and cruel.  Bruised reeds and dim wicks were safe with him.  This is an expression of Jesus’ humility.  His faithful trust in God gave him the freedom to love and serve others, regardless of the outcome.

Jesus suffered—immensely.  He loved, healed, encouraged, and served.  He also suffered.  The good he did came back to him in the form of persecution, torture, and finally death.  And yet, as the Church sees this story of Jesus fulfilled in the songs, it also celebrates this fulfillment in the Resurrection.  Evil and death do not have the last word:  God does.