The Servant Brings Light to the Nations
Listen to me, O coastlands; pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The LORD called me before I was born;
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
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."
But I said, "I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the LORD and my reward with my God."
And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength-he says,
"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
– Isaiah 49:1-6
As we move deeper into the season after Epiphany, we continue to explore the glory God reveals among us. While we often emphasize Jesus as the revelation of God’s glory, this week’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 49 invites us to consider how God reveals glory through us, God’s servants.
If we are called to be a light to the nations, we must be willing to name the places where evil and suffering live in the shadows. Importantly, though, it is not our job to tell God about all the terrible things happening in the world. It is our job to tell one another the truth of what is happening around us and how God is at work and calls us to be at work in response to the troubles throughout the world and in our community.
Are we up to the task? Well, no. Let us be honest; we fail more often than we succeed. We focus on self more than the other. We keep quiet when we should speak out, and we run our mouths when we should be quiet. We are not worthy of the call. At least, that is how we feel most of the time or the times when we take an honest look at ourselves. In that, we are not alone. The servant of Isaiah 49 felt they were not up to the task either.
When we are weary, worried, and worn from all that is wrong in the world, we must remind one another that God, who gives us as a light, is the source of our light. We at McCurdy Ministries are called to be a part of a project that is bigger than we can see. It is nothing less than the reconciliation of the whole Española community to God. It is the bringing of the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. If we catch that vision, then we can carry a light that shines beyond us and from within us. We become a part of the light we proclaim.
Rev. Russ Hall
McCurdy Ministries Board of Trustees
From Santa Fe, NM
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