Isaiah was frightened out of his wits. In his mystical vision he found himself in the heavenly court. He was convinced that as a sinful human being he had no right to be there; in fact, he questioned whether he would survive the experience! But there was no need to fear: God had called him and God would make him worthy. He was commanded to proclaim God's word to Israel. We sometimes feel unworthy to be serving God - like we don't measure up. But God's compassion is what transforms us. We need never fear for God has called us.

We should not expect that it will be easy. We are the disciple, Jesus is the Master, and the disciple is not above the Master. We will learn to be compassionate, obedient, long-suffering, and forgiving - in other words, we must be just like the Master. Showing these qualities consistently in our everyday life will invite opposition and even at times persecution. Being a follower of Jesus is not a guarantee of an easy life. Jesus invites us to proclaim the Good News of God's compassionate mercy to a world that is locked in fear, injustice, and violence. We can do that in dozens of small ways each day, often more by deed than word. We should not let fear hold us back for we are precious in God's sight and we are doing His work.