Pentecost 20B -- Isaiah 53 -- Death of Innocence

Readings: Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Isaiah tells of a suffering servant, punished in such a way that even the gentiles see his conviction as a perversion of justice.  God illumines our eyes to see the reality of death, particularly when the innocent die, and most clearly focused in the death of Jesus Christ.  Jesus' death strips away any illusions we might have surrounding death and its natural place in the world.