The historical prophet Isaiah had a vision in the Temple. The Lord was sitting high and lofty on a throne, the hem of the Lord's robe filled the entire space, the pivots shook, the house filled with smoke, and seraphs with six wings floated around singing to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
To be certain, I have never seen quite a sight as this. In yesterday's post I described a very holy moment in my life in which I finally felt God's call to the priesthood reverberating within me. Others had heard it in me earlier in my life, but it took a profound moment for me to let God's bidding sink deep into my soul. When Isaiah experienced the overwhelming presence of God in the Temple his response focused at first upon his inadequacy, as he spoke, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!"
At first, when I heard God's call spoken by others I felt the same way as Isaiah. Within me there is sin and separation. Sometimes I feel disconnected from my neighbor and from God. Often I focus on my needs and not the concerns of those around me. Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. Yet, there is more to what Isaiah says and I think more to a call from God than our inadequacies.
Even in his unclean state, Isaiah says, "My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" Yet, God does something to relinquish this feeling in Isaiah of uncleanliness. Isaiah openly admits his state, "I am a man of unclean lips." His sinful nature is located within his mouth and the way in which he is cleansed is through a fiery coal delivered by a messenger of God to precisely where his separation is housed. By his mouth he sins, and by his mouth he is cleansed. Once the sin departs, Isaiah is able to hear the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" With his once sinful lips and tongue, Isaiah responds to God, "Here I am, send me."
This is a great reminder for me on my ordination day, and it is a wonderful call for all of us, as we serve God. God comes to us in tremendous fashion, sometimes in an overwhelming manner with flowing hems, earthquake, and coal bearing seraphs. Other times the coming of God is in the stillness or in our darkness. We may believe that we are not worthy to serve with God, I am often guilty of this, yet God is always seeking to reconcile us to Godself. Most clearly we see this in the Incarnation of God within the person of Jesus of Nazareth. In his coming, his ministry, his death, his Resurrection, and his Ascension we are, like with the seraphs from Isaiah, relinquished from our separation and fitted for ministry with God. All we can do, and all I want to do today is to respond, "Here I am, send me."
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