Here is part of the second Servant Song of Isaiah, which is set as our Old Testament reading for today: ‘The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”’ (Isaiah 1b-3)

Our Lord moves from hiddenness to glory. His face, His true identity, is hidden during much of His earthly life, but it is on the Cross that His glory is clearly seen. In his Prologue, St John write: ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father’. (St John 1: 14) The centurion who stood by at the crucifixion saw it, for he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’. (Matthew 27.54, Mark 15.39, Luke 23.47)

Here we progress deeper into the Passion of Our Lord, who loved us to the uttermost, and gave His life for us. May we trust this love, relying on it in all aspects of our life, and may God bless you this day.