In the Old Testament scripture of today’s Mass we hear the third of Isaiah’s four servant songs (Isaiah 50 4-9).  We also pray Psalm 69.  And in today’s gospel we are brought back to the evening of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest (Matthew 26:14-25).   We see the linkages between these scripture passages.  The Psalmist experiences the same anguish and despair as the suffering servant described by Isaiah, an anguish and despair willingly accepted by Jesus with his betrayal and passion.

Clearly the Old Testament passages foreshadow Christ, our suffering servant, who was “insulted, blasphemed and outcast” and who “set his face like flint” in the face of agony and humiliation.

Another way of looking at these passages is that Jesus, as a faithful Jew, grew up with this Hebrew scripture.  It is likely that these scripture passages (among many others) helped cultivate his relationship with God, helped prepare Jesus for what lay in front of him, and maybe even helped comfort him during his passion.

A third way to consider these scripture passages, and maybe the most important, is what they mean for us and our lives – what inner dispositions, attitudes and, behaviors God is calling us to live out.

Amidst their trials, Isaiah’s suffering servant, the Psalmist, and Jesus maintain an unflinching trust and confidence in God – a God who “upholds what is just” and “revives spurned hearts”.  As Christian disciples, Jesus asks us to do the same  – to surrender ourselves in loving trust to God, not only in good times but even more so in times of trouble.  Like Jesus, we can always turn to God for the strength to make it through.

In this Holy Week we continue our walk to the cross with Jesus, our suffering servant, knowing that the resurrected Jesus loves us, and walks with us as we carry our own crosses.  This we can trust.