The Preacher's Lectionary Notebook - Thematic Connections
The Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A)
Isaiah 49:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42
These three texts find themselves tied together by a common theme of divine calling which derives not from human accomplishment but from the gracious initiative of God, one that usually occurs through weakness and obscurity, via testimony, not through outward success. Together they describe a God who calls on his servants before they know themselves, who keeps God’s servants sustained when their labor seems fruitless, and who displays his saving mission in a testimony pointing outside the self to another.
The servant speaks in Isaiah 49 as one who is called from the womb, named, and shaped by God before being revealed. But this feeling of divine appointment is not a guarantee that the servant will not be disheartened. The lament that the labor feels wasted and spent “for nothing” also reveals a tension at the core of vocation—To be chosen by God is not to be greeted with immediate success or recognition. The hope in the servant does not depend on the end results, but rather on the certainty that God will stand behind that faithfulness to the end of the calling. Importantly, the servant’s task extends beyond the restoration of Israel and becomes that of a light to the nations, meaning God’s purposes are always bigger than what the servant first sees. Calling, in this vision, is both deeply personal and expansively universal.
Paul’s words to the Corinthians echo this same dynamic of grace-filled calling. He identifies himself and the Corinthian believers as those called by God, sanctified in Christ Jesus, and sustained by divine faithfulness. Yet the Corinthian church, like the servant in Isaiah, exists amid tension and fragility. Paul does not ground their identity in their maturity or unity, but in God’s prior action in Christ. The emphasis falls on God’s grace already given and God’s promise to strengthen them to the end. Calling here is not a badge of spiritual superiority but a gift that creates dependence. The church’s confidence lies not in its own coherence or strength but in the God who is faithful to complete what he has begun.
The Gospel of John presents calling in the form of witness and recognition. John the Baptist does not claim the spotlight; instead, he directs attention away from himself to Jesus, naming him as the Lamb of God.
His testimony is full of both humility and clarity. He sees, he bears witness, and he points others toward Christ. People who hear his words do not understand the full meaning, but they respond with curiosity and movement. They follow Jesus, ask where he is staying, and begin in a way that starts with a gentle invitation rather than a full-blown faith. Even here, calling unfolds on a slow-burning path, mediated through the faithful witness of a person well aware of his role in preparing the way.
Taken together, these passages highlight one recurring pattern in God’s work. God calls before there is proof of success, continues when the work seems futile, and fulfills his purposes through testimony that moves the focus from self toward Christ. Whether in the quiet trust of the servant, the church’s fragile faith, or the humble testimony of the Baptist, calling is not from the self-making of the servant but from the initiative of God who brings forth and carries on. The Scriptures open the door not to consider vocation as a quest for what is to appear obvious or to be enjoyed, but that it is a life of trust, diligence, and willingness to see beyond oneself to the redemptive work of God in the world.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
How does understanding the call as rooted in God’s initiative—rather than visible success or personal fulfillment—reshape the way vocation is discerned, especially in seasons marked by obscurity, failure, or apparent fruitlessness?
What practices help individuals and communities remain faithful to their calling when the scope of God’s purposes extends beyond what they can see or measure, as with the servant’s task becoming a light to the nations and the Corinthians’ unfinished sanctification?
In what ways does Christian witness today mirror (or resist) the pattern modeled by John the Baptist—testimony that deliberately points away from the self toward Christ—and how might this reorient contemporary notions of leadership, influence, and ministry effectiveness?