Mission

Isaiah 49: 1-7 (January 16, 2011)

1) The Text

49Listen 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. 2He 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. 3And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4But 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.” 5And 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— 6he 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.”

7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

2) The Context

This passage is the second of the four Servant songs in Isaiah. It falls within what is often called Second (Deutero) Isaiah, chapters 40-55. The four servant passages (Isa. 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-9a and 52:13-53:12) form a sequence but changes take place as we progress through them. The first passage, Isa. 42:1-9, was in the third person, i.e. it gave another person’s view of the servant. In today’s passage we hear the servant’s own voice. That is also the case in the third passage, Isa. 50:4-9a. In Isaiah 49 the servant speaks about his calling from God. He has a sense of being called from before he was born. In this the servant is like Jeremiah (cf. Jer 1:5). This is not to suggest that Jeremiah is the servant, but it gives the servant’s words ‘prophetic authority’.

It is characteristic that Jewish interpretation identifies the servant as the community of Israel. Standard historical criticism has sought to identify a nameable, known historical character. Traditionally, Christian interpretations of this Hebrew narrative attempt to own the servant of Second Isaiah as a type of Jesus. Here coupled with the Gospel text with John identifying Jesus as the Lamb of God, certainly this text too could point us in the direction of contemplating Jesus' ministry within the call and context of that of the servant. "It may turn out that Second Isaiah's servant is not only a type of Jesus," Gene Tucker writes, "but may also be a model for understanding the vocation of the church". Yet, there is merit to the message in its time, a message brought to a people in exile. There is also relevance for us in the call of the anonymous servant struggling with call, who is then invited to embrace an even larger mission.

3) Interpretation

Call and vocation in ministry lie at the heart of this week's lectionary text about the unknown servant of Isaiah 49:1-7. This prophetic address puts the servant in dialogue with God, even as the prophet confronts human failings in the midst of desire to fulfill the calling of God which was determined in his mother's womb. The unknown servant in the text brings an address which identifies a call to the nation of Israel and "you peoples from far away" (Is. 49:1).

The servant speaks (vv.1-4), first addressing coastland and people (v.1), then identifying the call that came prior to birth, while in the womb (vv.1-3), in the same vein as the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5). The main theme at the beginning of the passage is the servant's declaration of being called by God to a specific task. This is the beginning of another year in the life of the Church. What is the message for our congregations? What is the mission to the community around and what do we anticipate will be the response to that message?

Epiphany brings with it themes of light and mission. The light of God comes to shine forth through the darkness. The expectation of Advent yields to the revelation that is the light. With the light comes the mission of ministry, even as we read accounts of the beginning of Jesus' ministry in this season. The mission of the servant is perplexing and twofold. The servant is first sent to Israel, but after naming frustration in v. 4 is told, "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the end of the earth" (v. 6). Do we have a sense of ministry and mission this second Sunday after the Epiphany? What do we do with the frustrations experienced in the midst of yielding to the call to ministry?

This Sunday holds much promise in community as it is also the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It seems rather fitting to be dealing with the words of the servant and the struggles of accomplishing the work of ministry where call by God is recognized and accepted. God's plan looks beyond what is seen and behind what may seem all too futile to that which is unseen and unexpected. There is something even greater yet to come.

Tucker observes, "As individuals and as a church, we experience vocations and may experience unworthiness or frustration as well. In such cases, there is the divine assurance in verses 4 and 5. As servants of God, we may hear a call to set captives free and to make the reign of God visible throughout the world. We may recognize ourselves in captive Israel, and then for us there is the proclamation of the message of release, the good news that God intends restoration (vv.5-6a). Or we may even be able to see ourselves in those other nations, to whom the good news comes".
God's plan requires our willingness to be participants in the world around us. God's plan requires that we give all that we are to make a difference in the world around us. How do we bring this message of call to vocation in ministry and call to do justice to the world around us? Like the servant, the message moves beyond local community and is a call to the world in our day. What is the message that we bring for this Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

4) Thought Exercise

Where has God called you?

What accomplishments and frustrations have you experienced with this call?