The Forgiving Call

Reflection on Isaiah 6:1-8

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

 “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

As I write this blog today, we are watching the collapse of the political structure of Iraq, which the US and her allies spent 11 years, trillions of dollars and thousands of lives to erect. The illusion of fire power and money has been completely unveiled. As shattering as this is for American self-image, the lives of Iraqis are the ones who are truly shattered. Politically speaking, the Middle East is radically shifting, and nobody knows the outcome. 

Isaiah's call came when everything else was falling apart. The political structure had collapsed, and society was in enormous upheaval. King Uzziah had died and local princes and magistrates were acting in their own interests with impunity.

In the midst of this, Isaiah the prophet has a vision. It's not a vision of a new world order, but a vision of the one who ultimately sits on the throne. There may be confusion at every level, but there is no confusion about who sits at the top. Isaiah's first reaction is to acknowledge that he and his world are not worthy of this God. He is aware of his sin, and the sin of the world he lives in. 

Here's the good news. God is deeply concerned about the injustice of this world. Yet his first word to his people is forgiveness. Isaiah is sent back out into the world, to be a voice of hope and truth, only once he knows he has been forgiven.

We must not go and work and speak in this world out of guilt, anger or shame. We must proceed out the forgiving call of God.

Tomorrow's reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10