Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from the Book of Isaiah Chapter 6 verse 8, “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,” (NRSVB). The prophet Isaiah saw in a vision the Lord in the temple of Heaven in all his glory with the angels singing, whilst the seraphim stood in the sanctuary as it was being filled with the cloud of smoke. Isaiah thought that this vision pronounced some calamity that will befall him for he was not worthy to see beyond the veil of the altar, but the angel took a coal and touched his lips and told him that he was forgiven and cleansed of all iniquity. Isaiah experienced, through this vision, God’s calling on his life, and he answered the call to be the prophetic voice in Judah and Jerusalem, “Here am I; send me.” This call came in the year of King Uzziah’s death, in 740 BC. Isaiah served under king Jotham, Ahas and Hezekiah, before he was martyred by the evil son of King Hezekiah, named Manasseh, who reigned from 696 to 642 BC. Isaiah spent his life preaching to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem that the time would come when they would be taken away from Jerusalem and their temple destroyed, however, his prophecies were not heeded. King Manasseh chose to silence him by having him sawed in half. The prophecies of Isaiah foretold the coming of the Servant King, He who would save the world through his suffering. Isaiah foretold the return from the Babylonian exile of the remnant of the Jews and the birth of the Saviour, who would atone for the sins of the world. The atonement of the Saviour will herald in the Kingdom of God and the restoration of all people in the new heaven and earth.
The call of the prophet Isaiah came to him in a vivid vision. Throughout his life he never disobeyed this call, but faithfully came with the prophetic words to the rulers of his time and told them, “Thus says the Lord!” Whether people listen to the words of the prophet and repent, or mock the words of the prophet, and continue with their wicked ways; the words will not be diminished, for God’s words will not return to him empty. Throughout Scripture we see the patience of God as he gave his prophets his words to preach to the people, and still they hardened their hearts and chose to ignore the prophecies. We have been given his words for thousands of years. Our Lord continues to wait for the great returning to him. We have received his promise; we live in the time after Christ’s birth. We anticipate the new heaven and new earth, but until that time, we have received the promise of grace and faith and live in the life of the “new creature” now. Our lips have been touched with the fiery coal from the altar of God. We are regenerated through the work of the Holy Spirit, whom we have received through the work of Christ, on the Cross. We have a heavenly call on our lives, we are to minister to those around us and point them to the Cross of Christ. The Spirit will reveal Christ to those coming to the Cross, beholding the Lord, the One who came to save the world, and they will believe.
The Apostle Paul writes in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter Five verse 20, “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God,” (NRSVB). Just as Paul and the disciples preached and taught Christ, Jesus Christ crucified, to the first century people; we are called to preach and teach Christ, being his ambassadors, wherever we are. The prophet Isaiah did not see the outcomes of his words, nor did the apostle Paul; however, all these centuries later, we are still seeing Christ through their God-given words!
Father, strengthen us as we act on your call to share your words in this dark world. Amen.