thy Lord came, ready to serve his own servant, rebellious and obstinate though he be. He came, not to be ministered to, but to minister. He came, I say, that thou mayest repose; and he waits upon thee that thou mayest rest, and he slave and toil; that thou mayest be cured, and he bear thy infirmities; nay, that thou mayest live, and he die in thy place.
Oh, how good, and more faithful than Jacob, is this servant, who served, not seven only, but thirty-three years, and more, for thee! How truly, in all fidelity, patience, and long-suffering, has he served! — not lukewarmly nor unwillingly, for as a giant he rejoiced to run the way of obedience; not counterfeitly, for after so many and great labours, he laid down even his life; not with murmuring, for when scourged, though innocent, he opened not his mouth, and became as a man that hears not, and that has no reproofs in his mouth.[1] And what more ought he to do, or could he do for thee as a servant that he has not done? Oh, how detestable is man’s pride in scorning to serve, which no example could humble but that of servitude, even such a servitude as that of his own Lord himself!
Christ. Hear, my son, if thou hast ears to hear, what my chosen Apostle says to my faithful; for he knows my secrets, and speaks from my own mouth; he it is who has himself carried my Name before the kings and princes of the earth; he it is who judged not himself to know anything but Jesus, myself that is, crucified;[2] therefore, though among the perfect he speaks wisdom hidden in mystery, yet to thee he speaks of me, Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to unbelievers, and foolishness to them that perish; but to thee, and to them that are saved, clearly the power and the wisdom of God. And behold, how well it is that he has set before thy eyes the example of my humility, with which I, thy God and Lord, have served you in labours from my youth, even to the death of the Cross; that, if thou wilt not otherwise, thou mayest learn even so to humble thyself, and be subject, and to give me thanks for all my humility and goodness. Oh, how cruelly hast thou made me to serve with thy sins, and laid upon me labour with thy iniquities![3] And what labour! not merely weariness, hunger, and thirst, but even to sweat, and that a sweat of blood trickling down upon the ground; and to death, and that the death of the Cross.
Man. O Lord, what is
