Five More Minutes Mom!

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!”The clock rolled over to 6 a.m. with a click and the radio started playing.  The DJ was telling the people of Jerusalem that “today’s gonna be a scorcher out there in the city of David” before spinning another harp and lyre tune.  Isaiah was not a morning person.  He fumbled to find the snooze bar even as he fought the temptation to skip work all together.  

When the radio kicked back on after the shortest five minute snooze ever, Isaiah rolled out of bed.  The shower did little to wake him up.  He got into the car and headed for the Temple.  At Starbucks he got a Grande Latte with a double shot of espresso.  If this didn’t get things running nothing would.

Isaiah, you see, was a priest in the Temple.  Just because he had trouble getting going in the morning didn’t mean he hated his job.  Actually he liked it a lot.  But lately it had become, well, predictable.  It didn’t help that this was the Temple’s slow season.  People on vacation.  Programs had wound down for the season.  Attendance down.  It wasn’t surprising.  It was just…well…predictable.  

Isaiah pulled his car into the “reserved for clergy” spot at the Temple (one of the only real perks of the job) and made his way through the courtyard.  As he walked, he heard some strange music playing.  He thought, “Dang kids playing with the organ again!”  But as he finally walked through the doors of the Temple itself, he saw absolutely the LAST thing he expected to find in God’s Temple… God.  

Don't you just love slipping into the office a few minutes late with a half drunk cup of Starbucks just to find the Boss waiting for you.  Maybe it shouldn’t have surprised him… this being the Temple of the Lord and all… but honestly, the Lord was the last thing Isaiah expected to see there.  Pews, candles, stained glass, altar… things that pointed to God… all that he expected.  But honestly, he NEVER really expected the Creator of the Universe, the Living God, the Divine self just sitting there with robes filling the Temple!

Isaiah didn’t expect to see God that morning.  How about you?  When you decided to pack the chairs in the car and drive to in-person church, did YOU expect to see God?  Or were you more like Isaiah, expecting only to see things that pointed to God… a God way off, somewhere out there, far away in time and of place.  Did you think there was even the possibility that God would be sitting up there on top of the church… carillon speakers removed for comfort of course… with the hem of God’s robes filling the garden?  Did you think you might see seraphs zooming around with hot coals and singing holy, holy, holy? 

Isaiah, pulling down his sunglasses to adjust to the dark Temple from the bright sunlight of a Jerusalem morning had just seen God!  As clergy he knew that no one could see God and live.  In that moment, Starbucks cup slowly slipping from his hand, Isaiah suddenly became aware of all that separated him from God.  It was a long list of things, but not one was distance!  He was face to face with the living God, the King of the universe.  He was in trouble.  No “Brief Order for Confession” was going to fix it, so he cried out, “Woe is me!  I am lost!”  

Perhaps there were some other words that were later edited from the story for church use, no one knows.  I know if it had been me there would have been MANY colorful exclamations modifying "lost!" Then, as he felt his double Latte slip completely from his grasp and drop to the floor, one of the Serephs came down and gave Isaiah the hot coal kiss, telling him his sins were now forgiven, blotted out forever.  At that point... the Lord spoke, gently requesting that someone (not that there was anyone else there) volunteer for an assignment.  Happy to not be dead or worse, Isaiah immediately volunteered. 

It was surprising to Isaiah to find the Lord, actually sitting in the Lord’s Temple and I think we’d all be equally surprised to find God here, but the truth is, God IS here!  No less present with us today in this garden, than God was in that Temple with Isaiah.  What would it mean for us, if we, like Isaiah, woke up today and were actually able to see that reality?

For Isaiah it meant accepting a call deeper into God’s service.  Even without the details, Isaiah immediately said “Here am I; send me”.  How would we react to God calling us directly into deeper service?  The thing is… God has done just that as well!  Called you and me and all of creation deeper each day into the mission of building the Kingdom of God through loving God and loving our neighbors. 

God is HERE!  No different than God was for Isaiah.   God has forgiven you, no less completely than with a hot coal kiss delivered by a six winged angel.  God is calling you, into the same call that God called Isaiah… to THIS day walk deeper into God’s service, deeper into love… deeper into justice... deeper into compassion… deeper into kindness on a mission to change the world!  The question then is not “is God here” or even “what does God ask” but how will we answer?  Amen.