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Scripture:

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!”

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Word Part I

The prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. God’s call to Isaiah was to create a better world for the Israelites, the people of Jerusalem. For some of those people, it was a vision and prophecy of the Messiah’s birth. We want to be clear that the story of Isaiah comes from the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible. Religious traditions interpret these prophecies in different ways. Many Christians believe that the prophets of the Old Testament were pointing to Christ. The name Isaiah is Hebrew for “God is Salvation.” Isaiah was most likely an aristocrat and of royal stock. He had been schooled in the traditional forms and language of prophetic speech, which was something you would actually train for in the ancient world. Isaiah was not in a particularly unique position to answer his call from God - but he was good at it and he was trained.

There are a lot of “three”s today. It’s Trinity Sunday, meaning a day in our liturgical calendar when we embrace God as creator, God as son and God as Holy Spirit. This is a deeply rooted prophetic Christianity - one that was envisioned at least 700 years prior to the birth of Jesus. In verse three the angels say “Holy, holy, holy is the lord of Hosts.” The text knew something about salvation and what it would take: three holy, holy, holies.

Song - Holy, Holy, Holy

Word Part II

The Prophet’s job description includes three steps: 1) Naming 2) Weeping 3) Imagining. Prophets and prophetesses guided a community and people through these three steps as a way of unfolding God’s vision for each of us. The Prophets didn’t just simply speak truth to power and boom! everything is great. Prophets were skillful, masterful leaders and were graced with God’s gift of massaging communities through hardship and change.

Congregational Involvement:

In the Spirit of learning to name, we invite all of you to name a current public crisis. Perhaps one that a prophet, whether ancient or more modern day, might voice into the community as the first part of shifting the energy and as minister Theodore Parker first said - and many have repeated since 1853: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We ask for shout-outs from the congregation today to name those things in an effort to bend the arc.

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The prophet also had an alternative to offer. A vision of what Jesus meant when he said “On earth as it is in heaven.” For Isaiah, he was called to save the people of Jerusalem against an empire that would strip them of everything that they were. And, believe me, Isaiah had a sense of inadequacy (despite his formal training) singing out in the last verse of this text as if in desperation to convince himself and the world that God has called him:“Here I am Lord, It is I Lord, send me!”

Song - Here I Am, Lord

Word Part III

As the great theologian Walter Brueggemann said, the prophet lives in tension with the traditions of the world. Isaiah was particularly good at leading people through all stages of prophetic ministry: Naming the crisis. Naming the problem in society or specific communities, even individual family systems. Naming out-loud so that everyone could hear. Naming the addiction. Naming the stuckness, saying out-loud what nobody was comfortable saying. The prophet calls attention to the cover-ups and stonewalling. Fearless naming.

The second part, which is almost always overlooked in our contemporary society, is weeping. The public expression of being sad and disappointed and on-going grief does not really have a place in our society. It’s not acceptable to lack optimism and a joyful spirit. And yet, allowing the spacious gap of grieving between naming the issue and transformation is so important to the process of change. It is part of God’s vision for all of us. It’s okay to cry, and to say things like, “I am sad. I have lost something important. My life has changed and it is not easy. The world is moving at a pace and I cannot keep up. I grieve what was.”

Perhaps it was a simpler time.

A home full of memories and young children.

A body that was young and nimble.

The excitement of a new relationship.

It’s okay. Grieve it. Feel it. Acknowledge it. This is the second part of a prophet’s job. When we weep collectively it turns into changed lives and this is integral to imagination.

The Hebrew word “Selah” is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. When you see this word in the text, it is an invitation to take a break. Take deep breaths. Quiet the mind and soul. This part, the weeping, is the Selah of the prophet’s work. Selah is calling for a break in the prophetic call to justice and peace.

Pause for Prayer

Word Part IV

In our scripture text this morning, Isaiah is not yet led to the imagination part of the work. He has not accomplished his goal or his role as prophet. So, we will end with honoring the process and journey rather than engaging the destination. We are still naming and we are still in the “Selah” of the prophet’s work.

This past worship and learning series we asked questions that have pointed to our vision for the church: on earth as it is heaven. As we reflect on these questions from this season, Marta will ask these questions once more, and I invite us to respond with our vision statement “On Earth As It Is In Heaven.”

One: What does it mean to be present...