Matthew's Journal

"The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me." Contrary to the notes in the service sheet, I think this passage from Isaiah is about Jesus, not Isaiah. "Light of the gentiles" is a title usually given to Christ, and I think verse 7 (him whom man despiseth) refers to the Passion. Anyway, Paul makes a similar claim about his own calling in his letter to the Galatians, and indeed the prophet Jeremiah is told by God that he had been anointed a prophet before his birth. Paul grows up as a zealous jew, and persecutes the new Christian sect before his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, which we commemorate today. Most of us, I venture to suggest, will have not had such a dramatic road to our Christian faith. What then do these readings say to us, today?

One thing that struck me with these readings is that they speak of the universality of God's calling. Isaiah's prophecy calls out to far away people and places, and says that not only will Christ raise up the tribes of Jacob, but He will be a light to the Gentiles too. Consider also Saul of Tarsus - hardly the sort of person you or I would pick out as a likely new convert, is he? God's calling to us transcends our ideas of worthiness, and challenges us to respond, even if by responding we risk becoming "one whom man despiseth".

It's more than just that, though. Just as God sends Paul out from the Jews with whom he has grown up to preach to the Gentiles, and Christ is savour of the whole world not just Israel, so we must be prepared to reach out to others in faith, to take risks for the gospel, to share the message of salvation with all people.

That might sound like rather a tall order, and it would be if we were to attempt it alone. These verses, however, hold promise of God's assistance too. "he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft;" - God fits us out for his purpose, and aids us, by the Holy Spirit, to fulfil our vocation. That's not to say this it will be easy, though. It may often feel like we strive in vain, and have spent our strength for nothing. Through faith, though, we believe that at the last, through Christ Jesus, the whole creation will be perfected, and that our reward will be with God.