A mission that is part of a great plan

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today are a reminder that God’s story is always bigger than our story.


Isaiah Chapter 49 contains the second of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles.

*[49:1–7] The second of the four “servant of the Lord” oracles (cf. note on 42:1–4).

Psalm 139 praises the intimacy of our connection to God as we are wonderfully made.

The text from the Acts of the Apostles explains the idea of the Christian church as the logical development of Pharisaic Judaism.

* [13:16–41] This is the first of several speeches of Paul to Jews proclaiming that the Christian church is the logical development of Pharisaic Judaism (see also Acts 24:10–21; 26:2–23).

In the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist is incorporated into the people of Israel by the sign of the covenant.

* [1:57–66] The birth and circumcision of John above all emphasize John’s incorporation into the people of Israel by the sign of the covenant (Gn 17:1–12). The narrative of John’s circumcision also prepares the way for the subsequent description of the circumcision of Jesus in Lk 2:21. At the beginning of his two-volume work Luke shows those who play crucial roles in the inauguration of Christianity to be wholly a part of the people of Israel. At the end of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 21:20; 22:3; 23:6–9; 24:14–16; 26:2–8, 22–23) he will argue that Christianity is the direct descendant of Pharisaic Judaism.

Amy Oden, Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality, connects the suffering servant of Isaiah to Divine eschatology.

Restoration of individuals, or churches, or even of an entire people, is never only about that. God’s healing work moves outward, always expanding toward eschatological fulfillment, “that my salvation may reach the end of the earth” (verse 6). God’s story is always bigger than ours, holding our stories within God’s life and weaving them into the wide-open future.

Dennis Hamm, S.J.  notes these remarkable Scripture passages can help us all marvel at how each of us can recognize the graceful interplay of God’s loving initiatives and the opportunities for free response that make up our own emerging stories of vocation.

This feast celebrates a life that starts small but eventually, by way of God’s loving initiatives and the free response of persons, emerges as one of the key figures in sacred history. So, to celebrate this special life, the church has drawn on a key Servant song from the scroll of Isaiah, then the great Psalm about being nurtured in the womb, then a summary of the good news of God’s mercy from Peter in Acts, and finally the celebration of John’s birth in Luke’s gospel. Taken together, this collection can be a powerful meditation on the mystery of vocation

Friar Jude Winkler emphasizes the mission described in Isaiah 49 as intended to reach to the ends of the earth. The sandal strap mentioned in the Gospel is in the context of the Levirate marriage where Jesus, not John, has the rights to marry the widow, the people of Israel,  and this will be a fruitful marriage. The initial disbelief of Zechariah, marked by his inability to speak, becomes his proclamation of the name containing the mission of his son, John.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that God hears the cry of the poor. We, created in God’s image and likeness, must do the same to be like God.

The world tends to define poverty and riches simply in terms of economics. But poverty has many faces—weakness, dependence, and many forms of humiliation. Essentially, poverty is a lack of means to accomplish what one desires or needs, be it lack of money, relationships, influence, power, intellectual ability, physical strength, freedom, or dignity.

The vocation we live as part of God’s story is guided by the Spirit to be part of a mission to those who will see the love and mercy of God in our action.
References


(n.d.). Isaiah Chapter 49. USCCB .... Retrieved June 24, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/Isaiah/49:1

(n.d.). Acts Chapter 13. USCCB .... Retrieved June 24, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/acts/13:22

(n.d.). Luke 1. Retrieved June 24, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/luke1.htm
(2014, January 19). Isaiah 49:1-7 Commentary by Amy Oden - Working Preacher .... Retrieved June 24, 2018, from https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1939

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 24, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html 

(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 24, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/