The Suffering Servant

The Suffering Servant

From Isaiah 53:3-7

            Believers who use crucifixes to remind them of the suffering of Jesus often have an unhealthy attachment to Christ’s passion.  On the other hand, there are many Christians who shy away from the crucifix, insisting that our Lord is no longer on the cross and so we should use an empty cross as our symbol.  They often find themselves too detached from the agony that won our salvation.  In this meditation, follow the prayer beads as you normally would.  Use the verse marked “Cruciform 1” with the first cruciform bead.  Then, repeat the centuries-old Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”) for each of the beads in the first week.  Then move on to cruciform 2, repeating the Jesus Prayer seven times after that, and so on.  Let your focus on the sufferings of Christ bring you closer to the price He paid for you.  Feel what your salvation truly cost Him, and be grateful.

Invitatory:         The Lord’s Prayer[1]

Weeks:             Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Cruciform 1:      He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Cruciform 2:      Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

Cruciform 3:      But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

Cruciform 4:      We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Cruciform 5:      He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

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[1] Mt 6:9-13 KJV