Reading
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!” And he said, “Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’ Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate; until the Lord sends everyone far away, and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land. Even if a tenth part remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump. [Isaiah 6: 1-8 (9-13)] Reflection Go and say. That is what God commanded Isaiah to do. Not just go. Not just say. But go and say. It’s one thing to go places. We are on the go all the time. Here and there. Doing this and that. Go, go, go. But what are we saying in the places we go? Or do we just go and expect our message to be known just by our being there. It’s another thing to say things. And we have a lot to say. All those thoughts swirling around our heads that sometimes come out to whoever happens to be around to hear them. But who really needs to hear what we have to say? Maybe someone who is not right there. Maybe someone somewhere else. So go there and say that. Isaiah could have gone where God sent him but if he didn’t say anything, what good would it have done? Or Isaiah could have put together all sorts of important talking points but if he didn’t go anywhere to share them, what good would have that done? Go and say. Where are you going today? Wherever you go, all who you see are children of God. What will you have to say? Whatever you say can be a message of peace, love, hope and so much more. --Ruth Gates Prayer Dear God, send us where we are to go and give us your word to share. Just as Isaiah did long ago, may we take your message to all places at this time. Amen Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Epiphany, Christ is revealed, the disciples are called, and we see the early ministry of Jesus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |