Called to servanthood, holiness and testimony

Stirring images of faithful commitment to our God register in each of our three readings this Sunday – the servant of the Lord in Isaiah, the Corinthian community addressed in Paul’s letter, and John the Baptist in John’s Gospel. As we reflect upon the texts this week, we easily can imagine this Sunday’s psalm response echoing from the heart of each of these individuals. “Here I am LORD, I come to do your will.” 

God calls the servant in this Sunday’s first reading to an unprecedented task, to be a light to the nations. Across all regions of the earth, the servant must be the beacon attracting distinctly different peoples to the Holy One. Such a commission is a daunting task, one from which most of us would recoil. Yet the servant expresses no hesitation. Instead, this individual makes clear the source of confidence that will enable such work. He claims, “My God is now my strength.” (Is 49:5) This is the same buttressing upon which we must rely when we feel called by God to tasks that seem more difficult than we think we can accomplish. Complete trust and dependence upon God is our strength. We may be called to mend a difficult and broken relationship, or required to speak truth to power, or to work tirelessly for justice for the poor against powerful opposing forces. Reminded by the courageous commitment of the servant, we must remember that God is our empowerment. Like the servant, our focus must be on faithful service to the task at hand and not on whether we will be successful or elicit criticism.  

The community at Corinth also received an invitation requiring a faith-filled commitment. In this Sunday’s second reading, Paul reminds them of their call to be holy. When Israel was called to be holy, it obliged them to align their lives with God. Leviticus designated what was required. “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy” (19:2). For Christians, that holiness of God becomes concrete in the life of Jesus. Yet, Jesus not only disclosed the holiness of God in how he lived and interacted with others with care and compassion, he also revealed the true nature of a humanity made in God’s image.We, too, must hear the call to holiness in all our interactions, in the manner in which live, and in our constant attention to be faithful images of the Holy One in our midst.   

Finally, this Sunday’s reading from John’s Gospel presents another inspiring but challenging example for reflection. Last Sunday, we heard that John the Baptist, despite his hesitation, baptized Jesus in order to fulfill what was righteous. In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear the Baptist’s testimony as to who Jesus really is. 

Three theological assertions constitute John the Baptist’s witness. Jesus is the Lamb of God, a notion that can refer both to the sacrificial lamb who will be offered for our salvation (also mentioned in Isaiah), as well as the Lamb in the book of Revelation (5:11), who with the Father brings about our salvation. Second, John also testifies that “he (Jesus) existed before me” (Jn 1:29), witnessing to Jesus’ preexistence with the Father, also expressed in the opening of John’s Gospel. Finally, the Baptist witnesses that Jesus is the Son of God, forever filled with the Holy Spirit, who will baptize with the Spirit, unlike the Baptist himself who does so with water. John the Baptist demonstrates one who is unafraid to set forth his faith as dangerous, as such assertions might have been at that time. His grasp of and public witness to Jesus’ divine status were surely controversial among both Jews and within the Roman Empire itself.

Eventually, John suffers the consequences for his assertions and his work. We too are called to be bold witnesses to our beliefs despite hesitations, fear of misunderstanding, or even of being judged. Conditions may seem unfavorable to such declarations but opportunities do arise that invite us to be clear about our Christ-centered lives. Whether called to servanthood, holiness, or testimony, may we find the courage to follow these three inspiring examples, reciting with them, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.”