Isaiah 53:3 and 4

3. “He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4. Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried out sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.”

These Easter verses speak of Jesus. The next two verses are more well known. Jesus went to the cross for our transgressions and our iniquities — our sin.

Verse 3 describes Jesus as a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Verse 4 affirms he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows as well. Jesus also took our sorrows to the cross.

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” John 19:26, 27.

As Jesus hung on that crude wooden cross in his own great sorrow, he looked down and saw his mother and John. He saw her sorrow and provided for her.

Bill and I are experiencing great sorrow this week. Our Golden Retriever, Lexie, was euthanized. Her cancer became more than she could bear; more than we wanted for her to bear. It brought inordinate sorrow into our home, into our lives. We miss her lots.

I’m asking God, how will you meet us in this sorrow? Jesus knows our sorrow and grief.

Isaiah 53:1 asks “And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

The arm of the Lord refers to the power of God in action. (ESV notes). I’m noticing the power of God in action for Bill and me from the heart of the one who knows the grief and the sorrow that is ours.

“And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures … And God saw that it was good.'” Genesis 1:24, 25. Genesis doesn’t specifically mention dogs. But Lexie was indeed a living creature that brought us good.

I love the book Every Moment Holy by Rabbit Room Press. It is a collection of liturgies for our everyday lives. The “Loss of a Living Thing” has provided words of comfort and words of prayer for me.

“Here was your good creature, O Lord,
pondered and called to life
by your compassionate design.

Here was your good creature,
and here were the spaces and the days we
shared, enjoying the glad company
and cheerful fellowship of a fellow creature.

We made room in our lives,
room in our home, room in our hearts,
to welcome your unique creation.
And we gave your good creature the name Lexie.”

The liturgy continues for several stanzas traveling through the joy of her presence that is ended with death; our normal human response; the good memories; the longing for all to be made right; recounting the character of God; ending with great hope. Copyright only allows me to quote briefly.

Her tail wagged right up to the end; she was a Golden.

What sorrows are you living with? How are you experiencing the goodness of God in the midst of your now?

 

Copyright Sue Tell, April 2021