Ordinary Time

January 10, 2023

Scripture Reading:  

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,
or I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
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.’ –Isaiah 49:5-6

The NIV version of this scripture uses the word gentiles instead of nations in that last sentence. The Hebrew word goy can mean either one*. What is interesting about the choice of definitions is the ambiance, the surrounding atmosphere of a word that travels with it wherever it goes. When I hear gentile, I think of non-Jewish people, particularly the ones to whom Paul was sent to take the message of Christ. When I hear nations, I think of geographically demarked places, including all the people that live there. Differentiating ambiance is one of the hardest tasks in learning a new language.

Regardless of which word of these two, gentiles or nations, we choose to use, we are called to be a light to all people, even those we have been carefully taught to place beneath ourselves or even hate. The simple word race carries differing connotations. It can mean for two or more people to run as fast as they can and see who can reach a targeted place first. Or it was used to classify humans based on various features like skin color. The shame is that the designation of people by race also envisioned a contest to see who wins and who losses. I doubt if the word selection was made for that reason, but the results have scarred our world for almost 300 years.

Prayer: Lord, it is hard to move from the ways we have been taught. Turn your light on us to help us rid ourselves of incorrect impressions, and to take the time and invest the energy to see others as children you created and love so that we can be a conduit of your light to all people. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1471.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.