Suffering Servant

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.

The words of this well-loved hymn are reminiscent of the passage heard from Isaiah.  The passage speaks of a suffering servant. This is one of the interpretations of Isaiah’s prophecy: Christians understand the words to prophecy the life and death of Jesus; Jesus is the suffering servant.

The hymn O Sacred Head Now Wounded, was written by Paul Gerhardt, one the greatest of Lutheran hymnwriters. His commemoration day falls on this coming Friday; and marks the day of his death.

His story is full of suffering. The first part of his life was lived during the horrors of the Thirty Year war, and the chaos of the aftermath.  He did not obtain a settled position until his mid-40s, as a pastor. His wife suffered from a long illness and died; only one of their five children lived to be an adult. It is documented that his last years where spent in an unsympathetic and rough parish. 

 The piece of his story that grasps my heart is that amidst the uncontrollable circumstances of suffering around him; he had a moment where he could have set some suffering aside; rather, he took the role of a suffering servant.  He chose to stand his ground.  He lost a preaching position in the year 1666 at St. Nicholas Church in Berlin. He was fired – Paul Gerhardt refused to sign a document stating that he would not make theological arguments in his sermons.

Can you imagine such a thing? The congregation was silencing their preacher. He was not to make theological arguments --- as a preacher, and I would hope as a listener--- you would find this an impossibility. He refused to abide by their wishes and was forced out.

After this, in the rough parish, Gerhardt turned to hymn writing.  This was his way to continue the preaching of Lutheran theology and the proclamation of the message he was called to proclaim. Using Luther’s style as example, Gerhardt focused on free grace, and Christ’s work. Although using ‘I’ statements, hymn lyrics pointed out that the gospel was about community and the connection of one to another through Christ, who was the ultimate suffering-servant.

...born, suffered, died, was buried….

These are the words from the Apostles’ Creed ascribed to Jesus.  These words are the journey of Paul Gerhardt. Claus Westermann, Biblical scholar, writes that these words, describe the suffering servant in Isaiah. He notes that those who wrote of the suffering servant, who tell of the servant’s suffering and deliverance, have themselves been redeemed through ---born, suffered, died, was buried – the journey of that same servant.

In that time, the suffering servant referred to Israel; reflecting on the traumatic time of Babylonian conquest and exile; broken and wounded in the destruction of Jerusalem.  Additionally interpreted, the suffering servant, is the prophet Isaiah, and other prophets prophesying God’s word; similar passages are found at the hand of Jeremiah. The role of the suffering servant is filled by one who is righteous, faithful, and is prepared to risk all – even the breath of life – for the redemption and well-being of others.  The suffering servant anticipates the characteristics of the coming Messiah. 

…born, suffered, died, was buried…

This past week Oscar Romero, once Bishop of San Salvador, was canonized by Pope Francis as a Saint. His life is a testament to that of the suffering servant. Romero believed in social revolution based on internal reform; the Gospel, Christ, sets one’s heart to act on matters in the world around one.  Through his ministry he increasingly spoke for the poor, participated in social activism, and preached to the army (compelling their Christian ethic) to protect the lives of the citizens for whom they were responsible.

As to suffering, Romero and the Salvadorian church faced plenty.  In a 1980 speech at a university in Belgium, he spoke openly of the 50+ priests that had been attacked, threatened, and tortured; of six who were martyred; of the persecution of nuns.  He gave witness to the threats, intimidation, and bombings of Christian and Catholic schools and radio stations; raids on parishes, threats and worse to the communities and their members who worked with (and in) base communities.

As to being a suffering servant, a month later, in March 1980, Romero delivered a sermon in which he called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights. The next day while moving from the pulpit to the altar – from preaching to Eucharist- he was assassinated by a drive by shooter. He had given his life, in God, for the people. The day of his funeral came with protest, smoke bombs and gunfire; 30-50 people died in the streets.

Nine years later, I remember the ELCIC missionary Brian Rude – he is the missionary Resurrection supported for many years- visiting the seminary, after returning from El Salvador; where he had been persecuted, beaten, documents taken, threatened, imprisoned, and eventually smuggled out of country. He came back to Canada. In his presentation he relived for us the life and death of Romero, highlighting the role of a suffering servant. Brian with a host of others were in El Salvador prior to 1980.  Lutherans were working in Central America providing places for displaced and orphaned children. Brian’s heart was with the people of San Salvador, he couldn’t stay here…even though it would be extremely dangerous for his life he went back, where he spent the next 15 years or so working in prisons and with young men involved in gangs.  He wrote extensively on liberation and justice, and continues to do so.  He proclaims the Gospel, seeking redemption for the people whom he served. He proclaims the Gospel, so as to bring the kingdom of God to the present – a commonwealth for all. His life has been that of a suffering servant.

South African theologian Juliana Claassens writes:   In this way, we are challenged by the example of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, by the suffering servant in the form of Sojourner Truth and the many examples of very human men and women: vulnerable, frail, and limited individuals and groups who, like the suffering servant and Sojourner Truth, transcend their particularity to become a symbol that inspires others far beyond their own time and place.

Juliana reflects on of the life of Sojourner Truth, an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights advocate of the 1800s; in the role of the suffering servant.  So too, she acknowledges that there are many examples of human beings – vulnerable, frail, and limited – who transcend their particularity to become a symbol that inspires others far beyond their own time and place. Off the top of my head, how about the following examples: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie Ten Boom, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, local pacifist and social activist Muriel Duckworth.  Their lives have carried on through the lives of those who are inspired by their stories and carry on their work. Suffering servants -as described in Isaiah 53 – are those who speak truth, proclaim the gospel, not for sufferings sake, but, for the common good; and their hopes carry on from their generation, to the next, and the next.

Oscar Romero’s actions have lived on in liberation theology and the social activist movement. The people of El Salvador hail him as a modern-day martyr and patron saint. Around the world he is used as an example of upsetting political corruption, speaking against military oppression, and advocating for the poor; to the point of giving one’s life.

Paul Gerhadt’s words have lived 350 years past his expiry date; have continued to proclaim the Gospel, to settle into peoples’ hearts, forming theology, setting the tone and expressing the essence of Good Friday liturgies. His stand to speak theologically, to challenge the Berlin congregation, cost him his reputation and his livelihood.

A 2008 volume of the European magazine A Different View had Romero on their list of the top 15 Champions of World Democracy. I’m not so sure that democracy is the point, however, the title, a different view is exactly what confronts us this morning.  The suffering servant offers a different view; different in character, in motivation, in action, and in speech, the servant illustrates that living into the fullness of God’s grace makes life not about you, but, about others and the commonwealth of God.  

Today this sermon is preached at Resurrection, Halifax, following a baptism; and at St. Matthew’s, Rose Bay, on their 131^st Anniversary. Baptism into Christ, faithful proclamation of the Gospel has been the churches call, through the ages. The church, baptized people of God, have continually been confronted with how to live a faithful life in the circumstances of the world around them. Reflecting on the suffering servant from Isaiah, the suffering servant of Jesus, the suffering servant of faithful human beings through the centuries – are we being inspired to live our life as a suffering servant? Is the church not being asked to proclaim and live the Gospel, such that we are Prophets of a future not our own?

The answer is “yes!”

Oscar Romero wrote a prayer – you can google it for the full piece – I share with you the part of how it is that we move forward, particularly if we are willing to take up the mantle of suffering servant.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Go and be a suffering servant #forthehealingofthewholeworld.