Isaiah 45:1-7 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 45:1-7 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 45Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him- and the gates shall not be closed: Verse 2I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, Verse 3I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. Verse 4For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.
Verse 5I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides me there is no god. I arm you, though you do not know me, Verse 6so that they may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. Verse 7I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.
Devotion
I call you by your name; I surname you, though you do not know me. Isaiah 45:4
The LORD called out to Cyrus, "You don’t know me, but I know you, and have chosen you to do great things for me!" Cyrus indeed did not know the LORD. He was not steeped in the Hebrew tradition, had never worshiped God in the temple - or anywhere else, for that matter. Yet Cyrus was chosen and surnamed by the LORD. What a wondrous gift to be called and named.
You too received this gift through the water and the Word in Holy Baptism. In baptism, the old self is drowned and you are raised anew, called, chosen, claimed and named by God, who knew you, even though you did not know God. You are called to serve a great and holy purpose: to witness to God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ to the world.
Go in peace, then — named, claimed, blessed child of God — and serve the Lord!