Today's first reading from Isaiah is a prophecy about the sufferings of Christ. Written centuries before Jesus, the prophet was granted to glimpse the agony of Our Lord and to see that the future Messiah would save us through suffering. However, it is surprising to what extent the people of Israel ignored these prophecies. When Jesus came, they could only imagine a "successful" savior who would save them through an obvious political and military triumph, liberating them from the Romans and turning Israel into a powerful nation. Salvation was visible, external well-being, "success".
But today it points us to the reality of Christ's victory. We see Jesus nailed to the Cross, suffering, agonizing and dying. In human terms, there is nothing triumphant about this. But we know that this is the true triumph of Jesus, and that through this suffering and death, Christ will rise again to definitively conquer sin and death. We know this, but perhaps in theory and not in practice, because every time suffering and setbacks befall us, instead of accepting them as a participation in the Cross of Christ, we complain. Perhaps we too see salvation as a success.
This is what Isaiah tells us about Jesus: "We saw him without attractive appearance, despised and avoided of men, as a man of sorrows, accustomed to sufferings, before whom faces were hidden, despised and disdained.". Jesus took upon himself our ugliness. We don't like to think that one day we might lose our beauty; we don't like to grow old or get sick or have to take care of a sick person... This is not "success". We see success as the continued achievement of a better material and financial situation, with no major problems or worries in life. We look for ways to "carpet" or "cushion" the Cross.
But Jesus told us: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Mt 16:24). We must seek and embrace the Cross, not try to avoid it. Jesus came to earth to seek the Cross, not to dodge it, as we have just read in the long account of his Passion. Perhaps we need to learn that success is not an important term for Christianity. Earthly success can do us good or harm, depending on how we use it.
Generally, the Cross will come to us in small things and we have to know how to embrace it. And in doing so, we are blessed and make our small contribution to the salvation of the world.
