Jesus’ Ministry
February 4, 2019
Scripture Reading: 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!’ –Isiah 6:1-5
One of our greatest challenges in life is trying to view ourselves objectively. Jesus says in Matthew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. How do we do that? How do we recognize our own faults? How did Isaiah know he was a man of unclean lips? What trash talk had he been doing? Was he doing it on purpose or was it so much a part of him he thought it was right? What is the litmus test for self-awareness?
Apparently, Isaiah in a moment of worship and meditation experienced a vision from God that opened his eyes to his imperfections. My guess is Isaiah was seeing all the corruption around him and felt the need to address it but knew in his heart he was as vulnerable to condemnation as others. Repentance is the first step to real change. I read a posting on social media recently that began with the words, “I was wrong.” One of the hardest phrases in the world to utter, it is one of the most vital phrases to speak, if justice is to be achieved. Isaiah was an advocate for God’s justice.
I think it was in 1980, the church I attend elected its first female elder. She had impeccable credentials and the perfect decorum to make it work. The next year two female deacons were elected and the next year I was elected as a deacon. After church the first Sunday I served communion in the role of a deacon, one of the older gentlemen in the church came up to me and said, “I wanted you to know that I was dead set against having women serve as elders and deacons. I now know I was wrong. I was pleased to see you serving today.” I was please to be the person to receive such a heartfelt confession, particularly from someone going against thousands of years of tradition. I am glad to say this seems so antiquated today as we have women and men serving in all roles of leadership and service in our church. The younger people probably do not know it was ever a big deal.
Change always starts with individuals and groups who willingly and often courageously take the time to examine their own behavior and measure it against God’s righteousness and justice until their way of being comes into alignment with God’s.
Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see ourselves as you see us, help us to see any course corrections needed, and give us the courage to make them. Amen