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1 Listen 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. 2 He 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. 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." 4 But 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." 5 And 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— 6 he 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." 7 Thus 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." (Isaiah 49:1-7 NRSV)
Hello Friend. What is your earliest childhood memory? Some have shared some incredible memories that have stayed with them. I have two that go way back. The first is a girl who lived next door who was my age who bit me on my cheek. I remember the pain and the way she made me cry. The other was for some non-church words that I shared with my mother when she pinched me for not behaving while in worship. I remember the spanking I got with a brush in our restroom. So, you can say I remember my first "sermon" in church.
The prophet Isaiah remembers experiences in the womb of his mother. He remembers the Lord calling him at that stage of his life, that God named him, and formed his mouth with a weapon and a purpose. God protected him while hiding him and making him like a polished arrow and made him his servant. And God's purpose? To reel back in the nation of Israel that so easily strays. God created His people to be a light to the other nations, "and that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Think of dark places and what happens in them. I've shared how a new neighborhood near our church in the Valley had no infrastructure and when it got dark in "El Paraiso," bad things happened. There were shootings and knifings, but these stopped when we as a church worked to bring electricity into the colonia.
Even more terrifying is the darkness of the soul. If we close off the entrance to our soul and we deny light its rightful place, we soon begin to experience the slow, painful death of our soul. Soon others can see it in our eyes; no longer any sparkle or shine; the only remedy is to invite Jesus in to bring forth the fullness of life back into us. And because we have the light of Jesus in us, we shine into others so that others may come to life as well.
PRAYER: God of light and life, lead us away from the realms of darkness and death that call to us in tempting ways. Ours is to live life in the light in a way that calls others to You. Guide us there; in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Would you hide your light under a bushel? NO! You gotta let it shine today!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio
