A Sermon Preached at Salem United Church of Christ

Higginsville, Missouri

6 February 2022

I. The Vision

  • The statement that King Uzziah has died is not just an interesting tidbit of information – on one level, the statement helps to set a historical context in terms of time, but in our day, there is no clear consensus about precisely when he died – even so, the statement about King Uzziah's death has continued importance for us
  • The first five chapters of Isaiah relate the prophet's declarations about Judah in a difficult time – there is all sorts of trouble, corruption, and injustice, and God is not pleased – for their part, the leaders and the people of Judah feel that God is being unduly hard on them – on Isaiah's part, he speaks words of judgment on the pride and arrogance of the people – according to the prophet, the people are not living as God wants them to live
  • And then Uzziah dies – there is a moment of uncertainty, a time of transition – and in this moment, the prophet has a vision – the vision certainly has allusions to the temple – there are also allusions to the experience of God's people at Mount Sinai, with smoke and the shaking of the ground – the vision is a mingling of the earthly with the heavenly – it is a powerful vision, an overwhelming image of the greatness of God, as it would have to be – in some ways, it is frightening, and I think the prophet means for it to be so
  • The prophet's description of his vision begins with an absolutely astounding statement – "I saw the Lord" – can anyone tell me what is wrong with that picture? – Exodus 33.20: "No one shall see me and live" – and yet the prophet begins by saying he sees the Lord, seated on a throne, high and lofty – think about that for a moment – to see God, even in a vision, should be fatal for anyone, including a prophet of God, and yet Isaiah tells his congregation that he sees God – at the same time, notice, he does not describe God – he does not tell his audience what God looks like – perhaps there are no words to describe what he sees, who can say? – in lieu of a description, the prophet tells us that just the hem of God's robe is so large, so great, that it fills the whole temple
  • All around the throne, filling the air, are attendant seraphs – and who can say what the seraphs look like, or even what they are? – in tradition, they are either serpents, or creatures of light – in any case, they are near God's throne, using one of their three pairs of wings to fly around the throne, and forming a heavenly choir, shouting to one another their praises to God – "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of God's glory" – only I do not think this is a joyous, harmonious choral sound, similar to our opening hymn this morning – I think this is a loud, frightening roar of sound that shakes the thresholds of the sanctuary – and the house of God fills with smoke – this is no sweetness and light, no inviting and gentle vision of heaven – this is something entirely other, something beyond human experience and human understanding
  • The hem of God's robe, the winged serpent monsters screaming God's praise to one another, the smoke, the shaking, all of it is overwhelming – the prophet is trying to convey the sense of majesty and greatness that he has – the prophet wants his congregation to know that God is great, even if human kings and empires and nations die
  • We should not be surprised, then, that the prophet feels overcome by what he sees and hears in his vision – in his awe and fear, he feels his own unworthiness to join with the seraphs in praising God – and yet he is seeing God and has not died
  • Next one of the seraphs picks up a live coal from the altar in the temple and touches the lips of the prophet, then proclaims that the prophet is clean, free from guilt and sin – only after the rite of purification does God speak, asking whom God should send and who would go for God – but there is no indication yet of what the mission would be, or to where it would go – God simply asks the question – God simply issues the call
  • In spite of, or maybe because of, his awe, the prophet speaks up immediately – in spite of, or because of, the frightening prospect of standing before God, and seeing God – in spite, or maybe because of, not knowing what God is calling someone to do or to say, the prophet did not hesitate to speak his now famous reply: "Here am I; send me"
  • Maybe if he were to know what God is going to say next, Isaiah would not volunteer so quickly – the task is going to be difficult – he is going to preach to people who will not listen, who will choose not to understand, and their lack of positive response will lead to total destruction – and any hope of survival lies with God alone, with the Lord high and lofty

II. The Lord High and Lofty

  • No doubt we have all heard sermons from this text that focus on God's call and the response of the prophet – that is an important focus because God continues to call servants and messengers to carry word of God's love and grace, of hope and compassion, to the world – and when we sense God's call, I pray that our response will be the same as the prophet's: Here am I…send me!"
  • Today, however, I want us to focus on another aspect of the story of Isaiah becoming God's prophet – the story relates an encounter with God that is outside the experience of most of us, which seems to me to be our loss – we have lost or forgotten the sense of awe and majesty that being in the presence of the creator of the universe inspires – we have lost or forgotten the sense that worship is not primarily about us – worship is about God
  • For most of us, I daresay that worship is just something else that we do in a week, or not – we say that we "are going to church" rather than that we "are going to worship God" – and there is a difference between those two things – "going to church" is domesticated – we go to church because we think that God is not going to ask much of us – we go to church because we feel good about it
  • Worship, on the other hand, places us in the presence of God – in worship, we encounter the creator and ruler of the universe – in worship, we have an opportunity to turn away from ourselves and toward God – in worship, we place our lives into the hands and care of God – in worship, God changes us, transforms us – in worship, we realize the greatness, the vastness of God, and our own smallness
  • And in worship, God cleanses us, purifies us, and sends us out into the world to do the work of justice, compassion, love, and mercy – we come away from worship feeling good not because we have heard some pretty music and have listened to a twenty-minute lecture but because we have met God and we have heard God's call to go serve and heal the world
  • Worship is a dangerous activity because it involves the Lord who is high and lofty – the powers of the world are afraid of worship, unless we worship them – and when we encounter the Lord high and lofty, we see that the powers of the world are only temporary – humans die – empires and nations pass into history – and God remains on the throne of the universe, high and lofty

III. Conclusion

  • The prophet encountered God in a vision, and that vision can still inspire us today – in worship, we can encounter the Lord high and lofty – and that encounter, that experience, that vision, can move us to lives of service, both to the Lord high and lofty and to the world that the Holy One creates
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