But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. Some will say, “I belong to the Lord”; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, “The Lord’s,” and will take the name Israel. (Isaiah 44:1-5)

The idea of belonging to someone else could seem only negative at first. Doesn’t it seem to contradict our just and understandable aspirations to freedom and autonomy? It seemed so to the people to whom the prophet speaks—a people in exile, under the rule of others, a people that no longer belonged to itself.

At the same time, it does not seem that the Gospel invites us to free ourselves from all forms of belonging. It calls us rather to choose the master we want to serve. If we think about it, we realize that our daily life is made up of many realities to which we belong. Some of them we willingly recognize. Others seem desirable to us, but the doors remain closed to us or only open after a time of waiting or after we have proven ourselves.

God does not act in this way. He chose us “from our mother’s womb,” from the very beginning, before we even had the time or opportunity to do or to deserve anything. God says an unconditional yes to the people he calls “his servant,” whom he “redeemed” from harsh slavery and who now belong to him. He also says this yes to each one of us; he becomes the source of a life that satisfies our thirst for recognition and love, that can spring up even in the midst of our deserts and that will never run dry.

When we become aware of God’s yes, we become witnesses to this belonging and we sing its praises just as the witnesses in this text do; we become able to make our own the joyful song that Brother Roger proposes to our soul: “I belong to Christ, I am Christ’s.”

 What different kinds of belonging is my daily life made up of? Which of them have I chosen? Which ones distinguish or separate me from others; which ones make me realize that I am linked to others?

 Do I believe that God has chosen me? When do I feel that I am borne forward by the “yes” he says to me? How can I witness to this before others?