I am a Servant

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

One of the most common come back lines in Malaysian colloquial speech when you feel that the other person is taking advantage of your good nature is “you think I’m your servant ah?” It’s used by mothers to sons who litter the floor with their unwashed socks and underwear and who don’t wash their own plates after a meal; “you think I’m your servant ah?” To a friend who seems to treat you with contemptuous over-familiarity who expects you to always pay when you go out for a meal or by ordering you around to do things which he could have easily done on his own: “you think I’m your servant ah?” The bottom line is this - it is insulting and demeaning to be treated like a servant. A real servant deserves better.

However, the first reading introduces us to this anonymous character of the Servant (which would be expanded in chapters 52 and 53). This mysterious figure is often described as the Suffering Servant, because Isaiah sets out in detail the suffering he has to endure at the hands of his enemies - he will be mocked, rejected, beaten and even killed. Who could this person be? Prophecies, being deliberately ambivalent, often tend to work on more than one level. From the passage we had just heard in the first reading, it would seem that Isaiah is referring first to himself - the prophet is the servant of God “who formed [him] in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, to gather Israel to him.”

But then, there is also an allusion to the entire nation of Israel who is now in exile and in captivity in Babylon as being God’s Servant, entrusted with a mission: “I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” So, to a people languishing in exile, wondering if they would ever be able to return to their beloved homeland, the prophecy comes as a powerful word of consolation.

But as Isaiah begins to develop the concept and extrapolate on the fate of this Servant, it becomes clearer that the prophecy had more to do with a person other than himself or the nation of Israel as a corporate personality. It is clear that the mission of the Servant is not just to liberate Israel, bring them home and restore the nation but would also serve as a beacon that will draw all nations to God.

Jesus perfectly embodies the Suffering Servant since He is "despised and rejected," gives His back to be beaten, and doesn't hide His face from shame. Like the Servant, Jesus endures mockery, abuse, and crucifixion without complaint, demonstrating profound communion with God even in suffering. And we all know that His suffering wasn’t for Himself but He endured it as bearing the sins of others, bringing healing and making reconciliation with God possible. The Servant is literally the One “who takes away the sin of the world.” This makes a perfect segue to the words of the Baptist in the gospel.

St John the Baptist does more than state the obvious. He marries the idea of the redemptive and rehabilitative mission of the Servant and that of the Chosen and Anointed One (the Messiah) with a lamb - in fact, this man, Jesus, is “THE Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” The idea of a lamb may not be so apparent to us modern urban folks. Is the allusion only to a cute, cuddly farm animal which would end up on our dinner table? For the Jews at that time, the very mention of the lamb invokes an image of a Temple sacrifice. Lambs and other animals were reared to be sin offerings. In other words, they were the sacrificial substitutes that would have to die for our sins. Making confession those days was a bloody business. Blood had to be literally shed. Thank God, the blood of lambs would suffice.

But this was not introducing an idea which was alien to the original concept of the Servant in Isaiah’s prophecy. In fact, in Isaiah Chapter 53, the image of the Servant is described using the metaphor of a lamb who is slaughtered and one who ‘bears’ the sins of others (Is 53:4, 11). Once again, the death of the Servant whether it was the nation of Israel or a person, was meant to be a sin offering to bring spiritual benefits to the Gentiles.

It is clear that scripture does not view servanthood as a sign of weakness or even sees it as an insult if someone were to be called “servant.” The Servant of God was ultimately tasked with a great mission, He had to shoulder the work of liberating His people, drawing others to God and ultimately being a light to the nations. But He was the Servant of the Lord. He was God’s representative - the Chosen One of God. Yet, the Servant, by virtue of His designation, never shone the light on Himself. His life, His mission, His entire identity and purpose, was to shine the light on His Master.

And so, we see ourselves too in the light of others who took up the mantle of being “servants” of the Lord, just like Isaiah and John the Baptist, we are called to point others in the direction of Christ. Just the other day, someone commented (sarcastically I must add) that the launching of our Jubilee Year was full of drama. In other words, we seem to be all showmanship with little substance. I told the person, “As long as the drama glorifies God and not seek to glorify oneself … like you!”

The next time you seem to be given a thankless job of cleaning up after others or attending to their needs or taking up a responsibility without acknowledgment, don’t complain: “you think I’m your servant ah?” Rather, see it as an opportunity to give glory to God and witness to His greatness by readily offering your nothingness to Him and others. There is no job beneath you. Being a servant is not just choosing to be last; it is desiring to be last.

Recall the words of our Lord spoken to His disciples: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

And there it is.
Do you want to be like Jesus? Serve others.
Do you want to be like Jesus? Choose to be last.
Do you want to be like Jesus? Be willing to sacrifice your life.
Be willing to set aside your preferences and desires for the preferences and desires of others.
If you dare to say, “I am a Christian,” be prepared to say: “I am a servant”.