Oct-17 Liturgical Study Twenty-ninth Sunday
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary time Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53:4-12 belongs to the final and longest of the so-called “Songs of the servant” written during the Babylonian exile of the early 6th century BCE. In these poetic passages an unnamed figure suffers on behalf of Israel. He silently receives brutal punishment from God, and it results in redemption, joy, and reward. “For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; cf. Isaiah 53:11). The fact that God the Father chose for his only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross for the redemption of Mankind has been seen by some as unfathomable. Could he not have found a better solution? Alas, who are we to question the wisdom and ways of the Almighty. The sufferings of Jesus, the sinless servant, are not by chance or fate, or even the wickedness of his persecutors, but due to the absolute will of God the Father. It pleased God to put Him to death so that His plan...