Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 makes up the fourth of the “Servant Songs” of the Book of Isaiah. This prophesies of the one who will save us from our iniquities. God became man for one reason: to die on the cross to free humanity from the chains of sin and death. Jesus is the “Suffering Servant” foretold in these prophecies. His death on the cross for our salvation shows us the true meaning of love: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down is life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Jesus is love personified.

God’s glory is revealed in the love of Jesus dying on the cross. Jesus foretold this in His Farewell Discourse in the Gospel of John “‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him’” (Jn 13:31). “The cross is the moment of glorification because in the cross God is definitively revealed as self-giving love (1 Jn 4:8-10),”[1] say authors Fr. Francis Martin and William Wright in their commentary on the Gospel of John. “The Father loves the Son and gives him for the world’s salvation (Jn 3:16-17), and the son in turn makes of his life a perfect gift of love and obedience to the Father (Jn 10:17-18).”[2]

And Jesus commands us to love as He loves “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34a-b). This radical self-giving love should be the defining characteristic of a disciple of Jesus. He goes on to say that it is through our love that others will know that we are His followers: ““This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’” (Jn 13:34c).

You are the light of Christ in the world. You need to radiate the love of Christ in your marriage, your family, and the world. They will come to know Christ through your love. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16). Become the “living testimony to the Father’s love, revealed in the cross of Jesus.”[3]

Wishing you and your family a most blessed Easter.

Dennis & Rose

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[1] Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015), 241.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 242.