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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 30, 2007 Holy, holy, holy |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 30, 2007 by Susan Hill
Isaiah 6: 1-8
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!”
There are many contrasts in this writing from Isaiah – God/his prophet; clean/unclean; vision/reality; lost/found; worthy/unworthy; guilt/atonement; glorious earth/hopeless humanity, etc. The story of the call of Isaiah makes us highly aware that God is God, and we are not God. It is clear that God reigns as Lord Almighty, and that God’s face and place are not just holy but three times holy. Here on God’s glorious earth, however, we are an aberration. Just envision a scoreboard comparing human holiness to God’s: God – 3; Us -0!
The question is, then, how do we humans deal with God? If we are the negative in the list of contrasts and the zeroes – holy terrors perhaps – in God’s creation, how can we possibly work with God? How do we dare to do ministry in this imperfect world in the name of the Holy One?
Isaiah’s experience teaches us that because God is operative in our lives, because God acts to forgive us, to purify us, we are made new. God touches us, burns out our impurities, and calls us to do God’s difficult work. The scoreboard changes, the stark contrasts are sidelined, and we dare to respond in faith and obedience by saying, “Here am I; send me!”
When God calls, God encourages but waits for our response. I believe we hear God’s call in our hearts and minds. The first step is to say “yes” to that call knowing that God prepares and strengthens us for difficult work in difficult places ahead.
Prayer: Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might, we acknowledge your glory. We also thank you for loving us and for calling and bringing us into your glory. We respond in hope and trust to your call and ask to go out with us making us instruments of your peace. In Jesus name, Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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