How does God’s message
spread?
In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord celebrates his servant,
through whom God shows his glory.
The identity of the servant is not entirely stable – it seems to
shift within the passage, now Israel, now a remnant of Israel, now an individual
called to save Israel. One thing is
clear, though: It is too little, the Lord tells his servant, for you to to raise up the tribes of Jacob… I will make you a light to
the nations! God’s message cannot be
contained – it will spread exponentially to greater and greater groups of people. And so, as evidence of the people’s fidelity
to God is transmitted beyond the boundaries of their land, the people of Israel
become a light to the world, even to the ends of the earth.
But for this to
happen, they must first listen! Psalm 40
tells us that the law of the Lord is
in the psalmist’s heart; the psalmist is open to God, listening to God’s
message, ears open to obedience, so
that he can then announce the Lord’s justice with unrestrained lips. Only careful listening can enable us to speak
God’s message faithfully.
In Jesus’ time, the
Good News also spreads exponentially. In John's Gospel, John the Baptist baptizes with
water so that Jesus might be made known
to Israel; his baptism of repentance serves to open people’s hearts (and
ears) to receive Jesus Christ. John
testifies to the identity of Jesus as the
Lamb of God, evoking all at once the passover lamb of Exodus, the suffering
servant led to slaughter in Isaiah, and the victorious Lamb of Revelation; John
states clearly that this Jesus is the Son
of God. The Good News spreads after
Jesus’ death and rising through God’s action in the early leaders of the
Church. When Paul writes to the
Corinthians on behalf of himself and Sosthenes, the message is destined to be
shared with all those everywhere who all
upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. The ripple effect is clear, and we are called
to be participants, as we too help to spread the Lord’s message, the Good News
of salvation to all the world!
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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