Isaiah 49:1-6

Isaiah said: "I thought my struggle had been futile, that I had worn myself out for nothing. Yet all the while my cause was with the LORD and my reward with my God."

Not only Israel, but also the prophet is called to serve the LORD, no matter how futile it may seem. The prophet's task, and Israel's too, is to be a light to the nations, so the salvation of God may reach the ends of the earth.

The author of the Gospel of Luke uses the image of "a light to the Gentiles" in the speech by Simeon, as the old man proclaims the destiny of Jesus (Luke 2:32), and in an address by Paul, as the apostle teaches the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:47). (The same author wrote the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.) This is why the church comes to see Jesus as the servant of God who fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah.

Grace and peace...Bob