We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:6

Today's Scripture Reading (September 16, 2023): Isaiah 53

Former President Dwight Eisenhower commented, "The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions." One reason is that the search for a scapegoat isn't a search for guilt; it is a search for someone on whom the blame can be placed. Since a scapegoat doesn't have to be guilty, just someone on whom a plausible charge can be laid, it is easier to find someone who fits the bill. Anyone is a possible charge, especially if it takes the focus off of the real guilty party. It is an activity that modern-day politics has perfected. And often, the guilt they are trying to cover is their own.

But politicians aren't the only ones who hunt for the elusive scapegoat. It is an area that we struggle with throughout our society. I have had enough tense private conversations with people who wanted nothing more than to lay blame somewhere other than with themselves, where the guilt belonged. It is not my fault; it is his fault or their fault. It's the fault of the government, the church, or some other organization. It's the Muslims or the LGBTQ community; whatever might be wrong, it is their fault.

When speaking to people in crisis, they are often not listening to me. But, if they were listening, they might hear me tell them there is no healing until we get to the place where we can say this is my fault. I do not believe that we need to go into detail with each other about the ways that it is our fault unless we are genuinely coming to that recognition, but true healing comes out of an admission, not that "you" are to blame, but that "I" am to blame. Trust me, it is a hard lesson to learn.

I have had a few conversations with friends about the idea that when everything goes right, it is because of God, and when everything goes wrong, it is because of me. And I have to admit that I do believe that, to a degree. When things go right, it is because of Christ in me. When everything is correct, I understand Paul's words from my heart. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). But I also recognize that the one who lives in me is also the one who was rejected, and so sometimes, if I am following him, I will feel that rejection. And deep down, I will have to lean on the fact that the Servant I serve will understand. The Servant I serve will know my sorrow.

The central message of this Servant Song is this: when I reach that point of understanding that I am to blame, that there is no scapegoat at which I need to point, the Father comes and lifts that blame off of my shoulders and places it onto the shoulders of the Servant. Because we all, like stupid sheep, have gone astray. We have gotten lost, but the Servant, or the Shepherd, is still looking for us and won't give up on us.

He took my blame. He took your blame, too. This is the significance of Christ. Jesus did not come like Moses and free us from physical slavery. He did not come with the military genius of a David and raise us to live as conquerors. Because we are more than conquerors, and Christ came to release us from our guilt and shame, to love us when we didn't believe that we were worthy of being loved, and to give us great expectations for a future.

"No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 54