John Paul II & Suffering Servant

In one of Amy Welborn's comments in a thread on JP2's hospitalization, I came across the following:

NBC reports that the suffering came from spasms of the larynx which caused an acute situation. Let us pray for this wonderful, suffering father of us all. May our dear Mother of Compassionate Protection give soothing comfort to her beloved son and may he return to us recovered. He continues to bear such a heavy cross for our sinful and ungrateful world. John Paul II, we love you.

Before I get to what struck me, I should say I wish the best for the Holy Father. To live or die, I don't know. I pray for what he wants. I know most of us want him to stay, if he wants to remain, then so do I. But if he wants to go to his eternal reward, then so do I. I have a deep respect for his life, his political efforts and courage, his spirituality, and his intellectual depth. The contradiction is that I have a chronic dislike and distrust of the Catholic hierarchy including the papacy . . . well. there you have it.

Anyway, back to the comment in Welborn's thread. It evoked a scripture that I have mucho, mucho issues with the modern biblical take on: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

52:13: Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14: As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

53:1 :Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8: He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9: And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12: Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Modern scholarship's general take on these verses is that in the community of the writer, there was an "individual" who was the suffering "servant" who somehow was seen in the community as one who had taken on the sins of the community.

Now, I've always wondered how on earth is that actually possible? Is there ever a case, when an individual is "known" somehow by everyone that he has taken on their iniquities? Unless of course, he preaches to them and tells them that he has. And if that was the case, for someone who convinced even the writer, he just simply faded into history even as obscure personalities like Obadiah make it through.

More fundamentalist readings and pre-critical readings saw these verses as a prophecy of Christ suffering and death for us. Post-critical contexts do not allow for the possibility of such "prophecy" and foretelling of the future.

Now, back to the earlier comment "He continues to bear such a heavy cross for our sinful and ungrateful world. John Paul II, we love you." I am fascinated by that sentiment because it bears out the idea of the post-critical bible scholars, but then this notion of taking on suffering for the body of Christ has its roots in Paul, when he says, "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: " Colossians 1:24. I don't know that this idea was present in Hebrew thought, I just don't know.

Anyway, the question then is, do those who have a siimilar sentiment see this as something specific to JP2 by virtue of his prominence and office, or does a 92 yr old lady in Jarkata who has suffered greatly for the last 30 years and "offered it up" bear just as much for the world? Or is it that there is a need for us to "unload" our transgressions on someone who is willing to assume that burden. JP2 has made no secret of the fact that he is suffering for the sake of the Church, as an example, etc. Does he then fill a psychological and perhaps, spiritual need as a sacrificial lamb?

I still don't buy the suffering servant take on Is 53, but I'm coming around to the fact that people/Christians, maybe specifically Catholics, may need an identifiably holy figure to take on the weight of their sins, akin to the unloading that goes on in confession.

That's that, but I now have another thought on a reconciliation/confession related matter.

I think the big story in Jonah has been missed until now. I am going to make history. Everyone focuses on how Jonah sought to disobey God, but here's the key verse in that story:

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2: And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

Jonah knew God, perhaps better than anyone else and better than most give him credit for. After he fled from God when God told him to go preach to Nineveh, he was caught in a nasty storm which he no doubt knew was caused by God due to his disobedience. But what did he do? He went down to a quiet place and went to sleep. Why? Because he knew his God. My point?

Compare this with David. After David had spied on Ms. (I just happened to bathing naked in full view of King David one beautiful evening) Bathsheba (just kidding) and after David committed adultery, the lady got pregnant and God sent Nathan to let him know of his displeasure. This is when Nathan got cool and told David, "You are the man." But here's the interesting part. As soon as David realized what he had done, he did not run from God, but to God. Same thing with Jonah. Even knowing that he had grossly disobeyed God, yet he had full confidence in God that God would protect him in that violent storm.

The striking thing here is the image of God. Even though both men knew and saw God in his moments of fierce judgment, those moments could not cloud out God's love or reconciliating nature. That would be the test of the image of God, do we exude such an image that those estranged from God want to run to him or do we present the angry condemning God who is uninviting?

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

OR

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28