But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through waters, I will be with you; through rivers, you shall not be swept away. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, nor will flames consume you. For I, the LORD, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as ransom for you, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you and nations in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring back your offspring, from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north: Give them up! and to the south: Do not hold them! Bring back my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth: All who are called by my name I created for my glory; I formed them, made them.
This wonderful passage has been frequently at the forefront of my thoughts. Earlier this week we watched some of the clips for The Chosen and the intensely inviting and stirring scene where Jesus embraces Mary Magdalen was seared into my heart and soul. Whatever your impression of the life of Mary before her conversion, there can be no misunderstanding of what happened between them. She was lost not just to the world but to herself and she had traveled to a place from which there is no return. There is no way for any human to return from where she traveled. Jesus could turn her around and he did just that.
When Jesus said, "I have called you by name, you are mine" it was as if there were no actors present, only Jesus and a woman who needed to hear those words to be redeemed. I did not see actors playing a scene for film production. I saw Jesus and I saw Mary and I did not just see them; I was there in the moment. I could see the darkness beyond the firelight, smell the smoke of the fire and hear the background sounds and fire popping. From that moment to this I no longer felt like an observer but a participant, a recipient of God's assurance.
There are no coincidences the first passage of the first day of the first week is not one of being called but, more importantly of being claimed. I need his reassurance as I descend into the mysterious mist cloaking the coming months. I have no reason to fear, no reason to doubt but, instead, I have every reason to respond to his calling into the deep of contemplation, mediation and expression. I have confidence I have been called into his service as a communicator and teacher of things etched in my heart and my mind brought to me by the Holy Spirit.
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