I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

 

 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour. 

 

 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  

 "He Himself took our infirmities

And bore our sicknesses." 

 

- Matthew 8:5-17 

 

On Saturday we read the following words given at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7):  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

 

 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  This centurion is a Gentile.  A centurion commanded one hundred men in a Roman legion.  My study Bible comments that Jesus is the Savior of all, and in Him ethnic distinctions are void.  

 

And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  My study Bible indicates that, according to many Greek scholars, Jesus' phrase, "I will come" has been read as a question: "Shall I come?"   Either way it is read, Jesus is ready to deal graciously with this Gentile and even to enter his house, which would make Him unclean in the eyes of the Jews. 

 

 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." This centurion expresses an unusual faith in Jesus; it is remarkable that he would call a Jew Lord.  His statement, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof," is frequently quoted in liturgical texts.  My study Bible calls it an ideal expression of humility. 

 

 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"  My study Bible points out that there are only two occasions reported in the Gospels in which Christ marveled.  Once is at the unbelief in His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and here at the belief of this foreigner.  

 

 "And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  My study Bible comments that here Jesus nullifies any ideas of ethnic superiority.  Those who are rejected sons of the kingdom are both the Jews who deny Christ and those raised in the Church who do not live their faith; outer darkness and weeping and gnashing are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol (Hades) in the Jewish tradition (1 Enoch 108:5).  These are common expressions in St. Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30), and they occur also in St. Luke's Gospel (Luke 13:28).  

 

 Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."  This passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Peter is called Cephas) tell us that St. Peter was married.  My study Bible comments that Christ's healing miracles are diverse.  Here He heals by touch; earlier with the centurion's servant, He healed with a word.  In the case of St. Peter's mother-in-law, the healing is immediate and complete, but others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25), or they require the cooperation of the person healed or of their loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  

 

There are several elements in today's reading that mark particular themes in the Gospel.  For example, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we were told that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (see Saturday's reading, above).  This is an important concept in today's reading as well, as the centurion is a man of authority within the Roman Empire, and a Gentile.  He's a military commander of one hundred Roman legionnaires, those who occupy and make possible the colonization of Israel, and expansion of empire.  But here in today's reading, one authority clearly recognizes the authority in another; the Roman soldier and commander recognizes authority in Jesus, and even calls Him Lord.  He goes even further, and states that he is not worthy that Jesus should come under his roof, humbling himself before Christ as One having greater authority.  It seems almost instinctive in the centurion that he recognizes in Jesus One who can command.  It is an important lesson in authority to understand that a command -- as the extent of authority -- can reach beyond individual to individual and work through servants and others of lesser rank.  The centurion tells Jesus, "But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  We know that Jesus as Lord also is a Commander who works through His servants, soldiers, and messengers (His disciples and apostles, the faithful, and the angels), and His commands go out through such agency and via such authority.  But how does the centurion understand this about Jesus?  No wonder Jesus marveled.  Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"  Perhaps this is meant to teach us something special and particular about faith, that it is rooted in a kind of love and purity of heart that recognizes and instantly grasps something about identity, that knows Christ who knows us (1 Corinthians 13:12).  The centurion is one with ears to hear and eyes to see (Matthew 13:16-17).  In a sense, he is also like Christ in that Christ's imperative for the use of His power is to heal; the entire purpose of the Incarnation is a healing and saving mission, offering us a way to rectify and put right what has been disordered and unhealthy in our world.  In this perspective, what we understand as the Fall is unnatural, against our true nature.  What we witness of the centurion in today's reading is his own impulse to heal; he desperately seeks out healing for his suffering servant.  Listen to his compassion in this statement, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  Did not Christ Himself condescend to become one of us in order to heal human beings, who lie paralyzed and dreadfully tormented with sin and all the cumulative adverse effects of sin in our world?  Besides the things my study Bible points out, the faith of this centurion tells us a great deal about what faith is and does and how it can act.  He recognizes Christ in ways that others do not, he also knows what Christ can do and will do with His (Genesis 1:26).  We may perhaps be taken aback that this could be true of an occupying soldier and commander, but we should not be.  Christ Himself refers to His angels as those who come in legions (Matthew 26:53).  Authority as we understand it in Christ and in His servants (such as the angels) is also power, and we need to recognize the proper and correct use of authority suitable to our true nature (such as the authority which God gave human beings in Genesis 1:26).  Let us consider all the ways we can learn from today's passage, and from the centurion's example.

 

 

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."

 - Matthew 12:15-21

Yesterday we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust."  Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah, my study bible says (Isaiah 42:1-4).  Among His reasons for secrecy are:  the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and Jesus' desire to evoke genuine faith not based only on marvelous signs.  The Servant of Isaiah refers first to Christ, and by extension to all those who follow Him.  In Isaiah's prophecy is also foreseen the mission to the Gentiles after Pentecost.

In a worldly sense, we tend to view appearances or images as full manifestations of a concrete reality.  But in God's sight, we get quite a different perspective, particularly when it comes to Godly attributes, like power or beauty or goodness, and even truth.  Isaiah's prophecy makes it clear in any number of places that the Holy One, the Messiah, does not come to us in a form that makes it clear to common sight that He is divine.  He has, instead, the appearance of a servant.  He does not come as a conquering warrior or one who declares his achievements in an earthly sense, nor a fearsome warlord such as people understand of history, but rather "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench."  This is the paradoxical way of God.  True to the word of my study bible, it is the way the holy has come to work in the world as well, and among those who follow Him.   When St. Paul prayed about an infirmity that plagued him, he was told, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  St. Paul adds, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Beauty is also seen as the grace which accompanies a form that the world might not recognize.  In Isaiah 53:2, we read of the mystery of the self-emptying beauty of the Servant of God:  "without beauty, without majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes."  Paul Evdokimov calls this a type of kenotic veil thrown over His splendor.  St. Peter writes, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:3).  In other words, notions of external beauty may be instead within, and imperishable.  Evdokimov writes that "in this case, the very infirmity becomes ineffably 'beautiful' for in going beyond its infirmity in a veritable trans-figuration, the obstacle is made to serve the spirit in a mysterious bending to the secret destiny of a being."  He compares the tradition of the "fools for Christ," saints who intentionally appeared to be crazy or in some way outside the norms of society, as those who went to the depths of shame as part of their vocation in order to sow light -- a "show," he writes, which was often seen only by the angels.   This paradoxical beauty is only found in humility, with our example set by Christ.  There is no more powerful example of this than Christ on the Cross, a veil of shame hiding the hour of His glory from those who could not truly see.  It is something so seemingly alien to our world that is bathed in increasing power and reliance upon images, which are blasted upon us in every form and at ever-increasing speeds and intensity through the power of media and technology.  One wonders where humility may be valued in the cultures of technology, or where a search for genuine beauty will be found or even attempted in generations who can rely on a kind of internal loop of feedback only they increasingly select for themselves.  Perhaps this lack of value of humility or understanding of inner worth and beauty that does not rely upon images in the eyes of others is responsible to some extent for problems of violence and inexplicable crimes of rage among the young.  It may give us a choice as a successful way for the vulnerable to deal with bullying, as opposed to the images of violence and absolute victory or vindication in popular media and fiction.  In this sense, Christ as healer is a key to what we are missing, and when the Church fails to uphold this paradox and gives us instead only models of worldly "success," then we are failing our children and its subsequent generations.  The entire "model" of Isaiah is one of humility, even suffering, and servitude as that which characterizes the most beautiful One of all, the One who will "send forth justice to victory" and in whose "name Gentiles will trust."  This is a far cry from those who make sure to project the image of morality to the world in their charitable deeds (Matthew 6:1-2), or who constantly seek only to shame others.  In the Gospels we have plenty of examples of the latter in those who seek to shame Christ or John the  Baptist, and do not recognize their holiness or the work of God in their ministries (see Wednesday's reading).  Let us consider, then, Isaiah's Suffering Servant, and the beauty of God at work in those whom perhaps only the angels see in truth.  It is all about the soul, the truth of a person, the heart and the inner life, the sacrifices we may make in service, in the love of God that is genuine and flows to others even in ways not seen by the rest of us.

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."

- Matthew 12:15-21

Yesterday, we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into the synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen,  My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.   He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory;  And in His name Gentiles will trust."  Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.  His ministry and kingdom are one of peace.  He is the Servant who heals and preaches the good news, the One who calls Himself "gentle and lowly of heart," whose "yoke is easy" and "burden is light."  As the Jewish religious authorities take the road of hostility to Him and His message, even as John the Baptist is imprisoned and will be beheaded, the text recalls Isaiah's prophecy that He will declare justice to the Gentiles, and in His name the Gentiles will trust.  As the prophecy (Isaiah 42:1-4) declares "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets," so Jesus does not make His identity as Messiah fully known.   Nor does He establish a reign by coercion or force, or even stupendous signs.  My study bible says that the reasons for secrecy include:  (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leadership; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leaders; and (3) our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs.  As Christ is the primary Servant, so by extension are all who follow Him.  In the final sentence quoted here from Isaiah (42:4), the mission to the Gentiles after Pentecost is foreseen by the prophet.

 Jesus' mission doesn't go the way anyone would predict, from a "worldly" point of view.  Throughout the Old Testament, we read of the people of Israel demanding a king, and the failure of king after king to adhere to the covenant with God.  Jesus comes into the world as the fulfillment of prophecy, of the long-awaited King, the Messiah.  But He's nothing like a political messiah.  And He's nothing like a worldly king.  His kingdom doesn't work the way a worldly kingdom works.  It doesn't come with observation.  It doesn't come with force and coercion, but rather its King is "gentle and lowly of heart."  He doesn't impose the yokes and burdens of kings and other kinds of monarchs or rulers, doesn't impose tribute and taxes.  His "yoke is easy and His burden is light."  But most of all, this is a kingdom of love, and love is a voluntary gift.  It can't be coerced.  Love is rooted in freedom.  The faith He calls us to is a voluntary contract, a communion, a covenant of loyalty, of hearts.  And so, the mission must speak for itself and provide its own call to those who would be subjects of this kingdom.  He will lay down His life for His friends -- and this will be the ultimate invitation to communion.  So He's our Servant, in the form the Kingdom must take because it's nothing like the "ruler of this world" would produce, and the ruler of this world "has nothing" in Him.  The justice and victory of this Kingdom is about the hearts and minds of its subjects, a communion of saints, a covenant of love in the commands of Christ.  Ultimately, the mission unfolds in a way that teaches us best about love, sets us the highest example, and teaches us the most about God.   The Suffering Servant stands injustice on its head, because true justice transcends a simplistic notion of retribution.  His love brings ultimate justice in His own act of sacrifice that opens the door to reconciliation and healing for all the rest of us.  And that is the great victory in which we can all trust.

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets,

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust."

- Matthew 12:15-21

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees. They criticize Him for breaking the rule of the Sabbath rest, when His disciples plucked grain to eat as they passed through a field. But Jesus challenges their rigid interpretation of the Law, giving them examples from the Old Testament of blameless violations of the Sabbath, including that of David and his men. Furthermore, He teaches that "The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." But Jesus also comes to their synagogue and boldly challenges them yet again. There was a man there with a withered hand. "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" He asked. Any one of them would save a sheep they owned from danger on the Sabbath -- is not a man worth more than a sheep? "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." He commanded the man to stretch out his hand, and healed him. Then, we are told, the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Jesus has provoked a deliberate confrontation with the Pharisees (in our previous reading) over issues of mercy, of doing good, of healing. Which is most important for the Sabbath? And what does it mean to take our Sabbath rest if it does not include healing and the good of man? But His mission is not over yet, and He withdraws from further confrontation. True to Himself and His teachings, He continued to heal.

Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, my Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!" Jesus continues to hide His messianic identity -- it is only for those who can see it, receive it, understand it. He wants people to come to Him by faith. But the Evangelist quotes from Isaiah, the words about the Suffering Servant. Although Jesus has just announced that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath - thus expressing the divinity of the Messiah, and Sonship with the Father - it is still left to people to come to Him through faith. My study bible says that the Servant of God refers both to the Messiah and to all God's elect.

"I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles." Isaiah foresees also the participation of Gentiles in this ministry, and the going out of the gospel to all people after Pentecost.

"He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets, a bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust." This is a picture of a gentle Messiah, one who is meek and lowly of heart. The Evangelist emphasizes that it is not yet time for Jesus to reveal Himself, by using the prophecy of Isaiah which also foresees the character of this Suffering Servant. My study bible notes that there are several reasons for secrecy, including: "(1) The growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, (2) the people's misunderstanding of messiahship as political and earthly, and (3) Jesus' desire to evoke the response of faith -- He wants people to discover His identity for themselves."

So, we observe Jesus. He does not back down from defense of mercy and love (see yesterday's reading). But yet, it is not His time. People must come to Him voluntarily. If they are going to recognize His greatness, His identity as Messiah, it is going to have to be with the eyes of love, with the hearts and minds of those who can respond to His message without force or manipulation of any kind. This is a relationship -- and recognition -- of love that is at work, and you have to be able to hear and see that love to recognize it. Isaiah gives us a picture not of a Messiah leading to military victory, but one who has the Spirit with Him, and who will suffer. He is One who is gentle and lowly of heart, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light. He is the light that will enlighten the nations, that will go even to all the Gentiles. And this is the way. Jesus shows us the way. It is through love and caring. It is not through wasted or false confrontation -- but through healing, for healing, for love. And He picks His battles carefully. In this ministry, there will be a "battle" of witnessing. Can we read Isaiah's words and take them to heart for ourselves? Can we see Jesus and understand His commitment to God, to the ways of the Suffering Servant, to the instructions of the Spirit, that are all couched in love? Let us take His words to heart from yesterday's reading, also repeated earlier in the Gospel, as He quotes from Hosea: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." God wants us in a relationship of love, and does not compel us to love Him. How is that love at work in you? Does the word of the Suffering Servant come to you in your heart, even in a secret place? Can it teach you a Way in life? There is so much in the gospel about what is secret and hidden, yet remains for us to see and hear. Even, here, there is the tremendous secret of the Messiah's incarnation, the whisper that God has become human!