Meditation 298
Isaiah 6: 1-8
In reading of this dramatic vision of Isaiah’s we are drawn into his experience that was realized through all of his senses. Isaiah saw the Lord and the seraphs, he felt the pivots shake, he heard the voice call out, he would have smelled the smoke and maybe had the taste of smoke in his mouth. The Lord was sitting on a throne and the hem of the robe filled the temple, and at this majestic sight the prophet is filled with a sense of his own unworthiness in comparison. He cries out “Woe is me!…I am a man of unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips” (verse 5) Isaiah is overwhelmed at the sight of the Lord and cries out that he is unworthy. In a dramatic gesture Isaiah’s lips are touched with a live coal and Isaiah knows that he has been forgiven.
Isaiah will bring the word of the Lord to people who are reluctant to hear what he has to say. He is a willing prophet, unlike others who protested when they were called by God. (Moses and Jonah quickly come to mind) Even though Isaiah is willing to preach, and even though the content of his message will be the word of the Lord, there will be an indifference to what he has to say. In the first fie chapters of the book of Isaiah we learn that the Judeans, to whom his is to preach, have forsaken the Lord (1:4), that their worship is futile (111-17), their leadership is corrupt (1:23), and they exhibit greed that leads to injustice (5:8). Up until the year of Isaiah’s vision, Uzziah had been king. In the early part of Uzziah’s reign he was faithful to God, but as he led the people in military victories, and as wealth increased, he became proud of his accomplishments, which led to his downfall. The length of Uzziah’s reign had given a sense of stability to the country, but now that he had died, there was a loss of leader in the context of spiritual indifference.
In some ways preachers are facing a similar situation to that which was faced by Isaiah. In a post-modern world cynicism and questioning are often the norm. We have seen how individuals and countries have used power to destroy, we have seen how some religious leaders have abused power as thoroughly as some political leaders. A preacher can bring the word of the Lord to the people and have little to show in the way of numerical growth. In the face of such results, we need to remember that the task that is given is to go for the Lord, the task is not necessarily to build a successful institution.
The Lectionary has cut this passage off before we hear what the message is that Isaiah is to preach. On behalf of God who is so majestic as to fill the temple and inspire the prophet to follow, Isaiah is to preach to those who will not hear. That is Isaiah knows from the start that his preaching and ministry will not “work.” God sends Isaiah into an uncertain, sinful and unstable situation. While the task is huge, there is hope found in God who is strong enough to withstand the evil in the world. (Charles L. Aaron Jr. Working Preacher)
And so, for those of us who follow God, we like Isaiah look to God for our guidance rather than finding hope in what the business world defines as success. We serve and love the holy God who is stronger than any challenge that comes.