Sorry that the posting has been sparse this week, but I have lived in headache city all week long.
Today, the first reading is: Isaiah 6:1-8
I have a feeling that I'm going to like Isaiah. I found a little picture at the thrift store that says: See! I will not forget you...I have you carved in the palm of my hand. (Isaiah 49:15) I love the poetics and the violence. Also, this reading is about seraphim. I'm not sure it can get any better than that for old testament mysticism. Well, I read the intro, and it seems like this is not a dream sequence, like I thought when I first read it. Well, maybe, kinda. It is his vision, his "call"
So, the year that King Uzziah died is about 742 B.C., and Isaiah has a vision in the temple. This is the footnote from the NAB : Seraphim: literally "the burning ones," are celestial beings who surround the throne of God. Each has six wings. Reverence for the divine majesty causes them to veil their faces with two wings; modesty, to veil their extremities in similar fashion; alacrity in God's service, to extend two wings in preparation for flight. Holy, holy, holy: God's perfect interior holiness whose exterior manifestation is his glory.
It's a very dramatic vision, with angels and singing and smoke and God. So, he thinks he's about to die. Instead, the angel touches his mouth with an ember from the alter to purge him of his sins and wickedness. God calls out "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”. And Isaiah just pipes right up and says "Here I am...send me!"
I'm used to biblical characters arguing with God about their call, and avoiding it. (Moses and Jonah to name just two.) But Isaiah still pipes right up. After reading about all of the regular Joes who didn't feel worthy when God called them, Isaiah comes out even more of a hero by responding positively to God, and making himself available to God's will.
I think I see the tie-in right away. Jesus is telling us that we are all servants of the Lord and we should aspire to be like Him, not better than Him. He says not to worry, that one day we will know the answers to everything. And he says: "What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops", which immediately makes me think that Isaiah is the perfect role model for this. He tells us not to be afraid, which he tells us a lot, and makes a veiled threat about Gehenna.
But I think it all comes down to the ending of the passage: "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others,I will deny before my heavenly Father.” To me, this is reassuring. I know what the rules are. Jesus makes it pretty clear what we should and shouldn't do in this passage. Actually doing it may be hard, but the blueprint is right in front of us.
To catch up on the news, I think this one story is the most interesting thing going on in the church right now. Yes, I know that World Youth Day is coming up, but this really has my attention: Anglican bishop seeks union with Rome
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