Ordinary Time
January 31, 2022
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!’
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 who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’
I stopped to imagine the Seraphs described above and wondered if any artists had attempted to draw it. Most pictures that I found dealt in abstraction, but a couple attempted a likeness. One such picture is featured above. We take for granted today’s flight without pilots having the ability to see where they were going. In the 7th century BC, the idea of sightless flying was most likely tied to the guidance of the Divine.
How does God speak to us today? The Man of La Mancha, musical addresses that question in the second verse of The Impossible Dream,
To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are to weary
To reach the unreachable star
Our calling is to identify the unrightable wrongs and seek God’s guidance and power to correct them. Isaiah tried to save Israel from its unrightable wrongs as did other prophets and the people stubbornly refused to turn to God’s ways. Time will tell if we follow God or face the consequences if we do not.
Prayer: Lord, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24) Amen.
Second verse of The Impossible Dream by Leigh Mitch / Darion Joseph, The Impossible Dream lyrics © Helena Music Company, Andrew Scott Music, Helena Music Corp. See at https://www.google.com/search?q=the+impossible+dream+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&sxsrf=APq-WBvgCIb1irM5m3aM56we2YigDoqcEA%3A1643579189923&ei=NQf3YdTVN-amqtsPq9CXgAY&oq=right+an+unrightable+wrong&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQsAMQHkoFCDwSATFKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFgAYPIZaAFwAXgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAyAEEwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.