Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 1 - Reflecting on Isaiah 43.1-4

I have signed up to be part of the first Week of Prayer in Daily Life, organised by the Adult Learning Team at St Paul’s Cathedral. On Sunday we gathered at the London Centre for Spirituality and met our Spiritual Director for the week. We each have a set time to see them every day, for a thirty minute session. I have chosen a time before work, but after work slots were also available. One of the purposes of the week is to introduce people to different types of prayer and to give the opportunity to speak to a Spiritual Director to help explore our prayer life more fully. 

We met on Sunday afternoon and joined together as a big group - about 40 people in all - and were led through a Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. Afterwards we broke into small groups to meet our Spiritual Director. Miriam is my Director and there are two other people in my group. I won’t see them again until the end of the week as there is a gap between our ‘slots’ so we won’t bump into each other. We were given three readings and asked to choose one to use as a basis for reflection and prayer in any way we chose. I chose Isaiah 43.1-4:

Isaiah 43.1-4

Restoration and Protection Promised

But now thus says the Lord,

   he who created you, O Jacob,

   he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

   I have called you by name, you are mine. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

   and the flame shall not consume you. 

For I am the Lord your God,

   the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

   Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 

Because you are precious in my sight,

   and honoured, and I love you,

I give people in return for you,

   nations in exchange for your life.

The words called out (literally!) “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” I remembered the words from the confirmation service “God has called you by name and made you his own.” Everyone who reads this will hear the same words. How amazing that God knows not just me, but you as well. I thought of the word “Emmanuel” which means God With Us. The passage explains that God is with us through all the trials and tribulations (the floods and fires) of life - and beyond. 

The passage says that God will give people in return for “you” and nations in exchange for your life. I found this hard to understand at first. I realised that the passage is talking about the people of Israel - God’s chosen people. Then I thought of Jesus - God’s son whom he gave for us - and died for us all - perhaps the creation of a new religion that is shared by all  is what is meant by giving nations in exchange for a single life?

I find music helps me to understand passages of scripture and am always grateful for the Bible as Music website for pointing me to relevant pieces of classical music that derive from different books of the Bible.

Listening to and reading about the music inspired by this passage gave me an added understanding of the text. Perhaps not surprisingly given the season, my reflections had focussed on life, death and resurrection. I learnt that this passage is often associated with funerals. 

Bach’s funeral motet “Fürchte dich nicht” (BWV 228) uses two phrases from the book of Isaiah - the second movement is based on 43.1. The words :

Fürchte dich nicht, denn ich habe dich erlöset; 

Do not fear , for I have redeemed you;

ich habe dich bei deinem Namen gerufen, du bist mein. 

I have called you by your name, you are mine.

are sung by the lower three voices as a fugue, with the soprano voices singing a chorale based on a hymn by Paul Gerhardt. The celebrated conductor John Eliot Gardener has said that the two texts climax at the point at which the hymn responds to the passage from Isaiah “I have called you by name” is met with the response “You are mine, I am yours.”

Herr, mein Hirt, Brunn aller Freuden!

Lord, my Shepherd, source of all joys!

Du bist mein, ich bin dein,

You are mine, I am yours

Niemand kann uns scheiden.

No one can separate us.

Ich bin dein, weil du dein Leben

I am yours, since by you your life 

Und dein Blut, mir zu gut,

And your blood, for my benefit,

In den Tod gegeben.

Have been given in death.

You can hear the piece in this recording (from 4:14)

I found a whole album of worship songs by Landon Ditto online - the title track is  “Isaiah 43 - Through the Deep Waters” and you can listen to it on YouTube here.


These are the lyrics, based on the passage;

When you pass through the waters

I will be with you

And the waves they will not overcome you

Do not fear

For I have redeemed you

I have called you by name

You are mine

For I am the Lord your God

I am the Holy One of Israel

Your Savior

I am the Lord

(Do not fear)

When you walk through the fire

You'll not be burned

And the flames

They will not consume you

Do not fear

For I have redeemed you

I have called you by name

You are mine.

I spent the rest of Sunday listening to these pieces of music and others inspired by this text. On Monday morning I went for my first session with Miriam, my Spiritual Director got the week - not being sure what to expect or what would come out of my reflections and prayers today! 

Links


Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 1
Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 2
Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 3
Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 4
Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 5
Week of Prayer in Daily Life - Day 6