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Spiritual practices = Swimming practice

Most of the people I talk with who are in a crisis of faith are CEOs. Not Chief Financial Officers, but people who attend church at Christmas, Easter and One other time. This is not to say that the Sunday faithful are never in my office with a crisis. The troubles of life fall on all people. However, when the rains fall on someone and disrupt the sea of life, CEOs seem struggle more in the turbulent waters. 

Let me be clear, I am not saying that God blesses those who go to worship/church on a regular basis. God does not favor those who are sitting on a pew to those sitting on their couch. Rather, what I want to suggest is that when we engage in the spiritual practices (of which worship is one of) then we are practicing swimming. 

Swimmers practice all sorts of strokes in all sorts of situations in order to stretch themselves for when the time of stress (competition) comes. They are still nervous and anxious, but they have practiced being in situations that help prepare them for what is to come. 

Spiritual practices are like swimming practice. The more we practice the the great chance we have to navigate the sea of life as the waves grow taller and the winds blow stronger. This is not to say that spiritual practices will save you from drowning. Spiritual practices only help us to not fear the storm. 

Jesus is not the only suffering servant

In the book of Isaiah there are four "Suffering Servant songs" in which the the poet speaks of a servant of God who is called to lead but is abused and destroyed. For Christians these songs are read and then quickly assume these songs are talking about Jesus. And it is easy to see connections between the "suffering servant" and the story of Jesus. (One has to wonder how much of the story of Jesus was crafted in order to "fulfill" these songs, but that is a topic for another day.)

I am not saying that these songs are not pointing to the messiah, but that these songs are not limited to just the messiah. Put another way, there is not one suffering servant.

Many Jewish traditions hold that in fact the suffering servant is not a person but a people. The people of Israel are the suffering servant. As a people, the Israelite are to be God's leaders but are mocked and suffer and self sacrifice in order to redeem the world. There is the old story that when God made the world light was broken into pieces and shattered all over the world. The call of the Jew is to go into the world and find the light and repair it. Jews are to be the ones to model for the rest of the world how to be in right relationship with one another and with God. Jews are to be light finders.

I am speaking out of turn a bit because I am not Jewish. I am Christian and as such my tradition teaches that the suffering servant is Jesus Christ. True. However, it is also true that right now, you and I make up the body of Christ. We are God's hands and feet. We are all members of the same body of which Christ is the head. 

If we are all members of the body of Christ, and Christ is the suffering servant then my extension we are called to be the suffering servants. 

Jesus is not he only suffering servant.

So are we.