Isaiah 49: 1-6
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.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
The Profoundness of God’s Love
There is no better reflection for this reading than to return to it time and time again, continuously reminding ourselves that God cares for each of us with such profound love and care; that God calls us to respond to the mission set before us; and that God gives us each the strength and purpose we need.
The intimacy and profoundness of God’s love can be difficult for us to receive. As we read this passage and imagine God directing these words to each of us individually, how many of us also feel as if we have “labored in vain?”
But God’s confidence so far exceeds anything we could imagine for ourselves. God who knows and loves us so intimately continues to call us to be servants and “light to the nations.” We must only look beyond our limitations and love ourselves as much as God loves each of us.
—John Byrd is communications manager for American Jesuits International.
Prayer
You called me from the sleep of nothingness
merely because in your tremendous love
you want to make good and beautiful beings.
You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb.
You have given me breath and light and movement
and walked with me every moment of my existence.
I am amazed, Lord God of the universe,
that you attend to me and, more, cherish me.
Create in me the faithfulness that moves you,
and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days.
Amen.
—Fr. Joseph Tetlow, SJ