Are we accomplishing all that God calls us to?
From time immemorial, God has dedicated each of his faithful ones for a purpose, forming us as his servant from the womb, as the prophet Isaiah says, that we might be the conduits for God’s action. The Second Servant Song makes it clear that it is not enough for the people of Israel to be servants: they are also to be a light to the nations, drawing all people to God at God’s own initiative, that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Psalm 40 reminds us that God stoops toward us and hears us, reaching down into our existence to help us, deepening our awareness of him in our every experience of his work. God then looks for praise from those who recognize what God has been about: he put a new song into my mouth, the psalmist sings, a new means by which to witness to God’s action and give thanksgiving from the heart. And so the psalmist is ready to fulfill the purpose God has set forth for him as well: Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
In John’s Gospel, John the Baptist has been sent not to offer a baptism of repentance but of revelation: Behold the Lamb of God, John announces when he sees Jesus, witnessing to the revelation of the Incarnation. Jesus is the one John was sent to proclaim, Jesus, the Lamb of sacrifice, revealed by God as the one sent to bring salvation by taking our sins to death with him. Jesus is the ultimate servant, the ultimate light to the nations, calling all to his Father. Yet not all were immediately clear on the concept. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians must point out the ways in which they are falling short of accomplishing all God has called them to. Even Paul’s greeting is replete with charged meaning, somewhat hidden from us but doubtless clear to the Corinthian community: Grace to you, Paul says – may God be present in your midst – and peace, for God’s presence brings peace. It is this grace and this peace that will bring the unity in holiness to which they as a community are called, unity in Christ, men and women called to be holy. We too are called by God to be holy; each one of us is formed for a purpose known only to God. How are you going to live up to yours?
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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