A Call to Restore the World

Call in the New Testament

The Beginning of a Call
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Called Before Birth

Isaiah 49:1-7 New International Version

The Servant of the Lord

49 Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born, the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb, he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.”

5 And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am[a] honored in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

7 This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

For Reflection

Created for this mission, Christ was commissioned to restore the Israelites, reconcile them to God, and be a light to the world. Jesus calls us to the knowledge of God and obedience to the Word. God in Christ calls us to be one with God and, through the Church, bring that saving power to all peoples. What is true in Christ is true in all of us.

Pray

Pray, so you will hear the counsel of God through Jesus Christ.  Pray so that you will be able to embrace the thought of divine order wording in the universe.

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