I Have Called You By Name, You Are Mine

Isaiah (43:1-7) was writing for the Jews living in exile in Babylon – far from home. At this point, their homeland was in ruins; the temple destroyed. They felt completely forgotten. And it is into that setting, that God speaks to them through the prophet:

But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.

I imagine in that setting, far from home, desperate… with everything they knew to be true uncertain – this had to touch on some of the deeper questions they were wrestling with. Who are we? Where do we belong? What makes us worthy?

Writing about this passage, Carter Lester gives a series of vignettes that get at these questions. He invites us to imagine: A new student looks out on a sea of strange faces in the high school cafeteria, wondering: Where should I sit? Which group could I possibly join? Will I be accepted? Will I be rejected? Will I be ignored?

Imagine: A middle-aged woman walking down the hall in her empty house. She peeks into her youngest daughter’s bedroom. She looks around at the pictures and souvenirs from childhood and high school, left behind when she set off for her first year of college. A flood of memories comes back. Now she wonders what lies ahead, not just for her daughter, but she also wonders what lies ahead for herself, all the children now gone.

Imagine: An older man groaning as he tries to get up from bed. Retirement from his successful law practice a few years back was great. But now he’s coping with a chronic illness leaving him lethargic. He’s starting to feel worthless.

Who am I? What makes me worthy? Where do I belong? These questions never really go away.

In this text, God says when you pass through the waters, I will be with you…

Notice, God does not say, I will take away the waters, or, I will take away the fire. No in life, we do pass through the flames of fires, we do face the waters of turmoil, we do encounter moments of personal failure, huge losses… events that upend our lives. There’s no promise anywhere that as believers we are exempt. But there is a promise that beyond them, deeper than them, there is a belonging, there is worthiness, there is a dignity, there is solid ground that comes from God alone.

Let us pray: We thank you, O God, for walking with us, for loving us, forgiving us. Meet us today at the deepest point of our need, and grant us your strength and peace. Amen.