A reflection on Isaiah 6:1-13 and Psalm 138 for the Fifth Sunday After Epiphany, February 6, 2022.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ And he said, ‘Go and say to this people:
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.”
Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and comprehend with their minds,
and turn and be healed.’
Then I said, ‘How long, O Lord?’ And he said:
‘Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;
until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.
Even if a tenth part remains in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.’
The holy seed is its stump.
Isaiah 6:1-13 (NRSVA)
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down towards your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.
All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he perceives from far away.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfil his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Psalm 138 (NRSVA)
Isaiah’s is a glimpse into heaven.
Perhaps we are tempted to emphasise the holiness or otherness of the God being worshipped. Certainly the Seraphs do. Their call to one another:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
They embody, I suggest, the essence of worship. This pointing to the God of armies, one so unlike us – and having eyes continuously open to the reflection of this perfect one in every aspect of creation.
Only God invites us to a life of such wonder.
The acute sense of inadequacy that the prophet senses in the presence of such holiness is delightfully short lived. The taking of the coal and touching of the lips is done so quickly and graciously.
Isaiah moves from despair to call in only a few sentences.
It is a beautiful movement. From a brokenness at the contrast between God and the prophet to a spontaneous desire to proclaim the forgiveness and welcome of God.
What a shame we so often seek to stay in – and repeat – the call of forgiveness. Of course, we do well to celebrate this miracle often and come to God knowing he is like this. To always embrace the miraculous invitation: ‘…your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’
But Isaiah does not stay here. Rather he hears and accepts the call to take this message to the people. The declaration that they will refuse to listen seems to weigh on the prophet. Isaiah’s vision – even one from of heaven – will not bring immediate change of heart. The people will refuse to listen – and more – refuse to abandon the lesser paths they walk.
For how long? Until there is nothing left to abandon.
Well, almost nothing. A ‘stump’ will remain. A seed of – of all things – holiness.
Our Psalm reminds us that the hesed – the steadfast love – of God ‘endures for ever’. Nothing else does. Not cities. Not houses.
Only the seed of the holy one lasts – and is therefore worthy of our worship.
Conversation Starters:
What do you think of the suggestion that we are called beyond forgiveness? Do you think we are capable of getting stuck seeking a repentance already given?