Go! Just Go!! (Isaiah 6:1-13)
by Susan Converse
The telephone rings, piercing the silence of the night. You jump out of bed. Your heart is racing, and you pick up the phone. The voice on the other end tells you that there has been a terrible accident. You must come. Right away. Please be quick, she says. And so, you quickly put on your clothes, rush out of the house and into the car and speed down the street.
Or, let’s say you’re alone on the river up in northern Maine on a quiet summer day, paddling your canoe. Basking in the warmth of the sun and gentle breeze, you feel so alive, so free. The loon cries out, piercing the silence, calling you to respond to all of the wonder and magnificence of God’s creation. And so, you lift your hands to worship God, right there in the middle of the river, giving thanks and praise to God for all of God’s many blessings.
Or then, you’re sitting in an almost empty subway car when a young woman who is disheveled and frightened approaches you. Can you spare a dollar, she says in a trembling voice that pierces the silence of the daydream you are having? I just need $5 more to pay for a room at the youth hostel. Won’t you please help me? And so, you reach into your pocket and pull out a $10 bill, making sure that she also had some money to buy something to eat. Her eyes fill with tears, and you feel as if your heart has been ripped right out of your chest.
Or in the year King Uzziah died, or in the year your beloved father died suddenly and unexpectedly, or in the year you find yourself in St. Thomas Church on 5th Avenue, on your knees, with your head held in the palms of your hands, praying to God for a life that has more meaning and fulfillment, for God to reveal God’s purpose in your life and lead you to that place where you could possibly make a difference.
In the midst of it all, the voice of God pierces the silence of your heart asking, “Whom shall I send?” Without thinking, you find yourself saying, “Here I am. Send me.” And so, the voice of God answers, “Go! Just go!!”
That’s sort of what happened the day my pastor tapped me on the shoulder during social hour after worship service some 20 years ago. My denomination, the Reformed Church in America, was looking for a treasurer. He just thought I might be interested. Now, as a banker who at the time was responsible for writing credit policy for a major international bank, I had no idea exactly what was entailed in a job serving as treasurer of five denominational corporations or what it would be like working alongside a group of pastors who lived in a different world and spoke a different language from the one I was accustomed to. But I answered the call nonetheless. And very soon after coming on board at the RCA, it became apparent to me that the pension investments of 2,000 pastors were at risk. This was a crisis! Quick, decisive action was necessary. As I held my head in disbelief over the state the investment portfolio was in, one of my colleagues said to me, “This is your ministry. You have been called for such a time as this.”
In the year King Uzziah died, Judah was also in crisis. During King Uzziah’s 52-year reign, there had been prosperity and peace. Under King Uzziah, Judah had conquered the Philistines and Arabians and built up its military strength. But Uzziah’s strength had become his weakness. “He grew proud, to his destruction, and attempted to usurp the power of the priesthood, even entering the Temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar, a privilege reserved to the priest.” [1] He had committed a great sin. The chief priest, Azariah, warned Uzziah that it was not up to him to burn the incense and that doing this would bring him “no honor from the Lord God.” Uzziah became so angry that “leprosy broke out on his forehead” and “being a leper [he] dwelt in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord.” [2] And there he lived until his death, which marked a great turning point in the history of Judah.
By now, the Assyrians, who were intent on conquering both Babylonia and Syria, were knocking at Israel’s door, gearing up to invade their kingdom. Grieving the loss of their beloved king, the people were unsure of what to do about this imminent threat to their own kingdom. And so, Isaiah entered into the temple with a heavy heart, bearing the weight of the nation on his shoulders and in his heart.
While in the temple, Isaiah had a vision. He saw the Lord sitting on his throne in all his glory, being praised by all of the heavenly host, and shaking the temple with His presence. At once, Isaiah realized that he was in imminent danger, for it was well known that no one who saw the Lord lived. As he stood there, Isaiah was struck with the magnitude of his own sinfulness and unworthiness, as well as the sin of his people and of the nation Israel. Isaiah cried out to the Lord in distress, confessing his sins. And, immediately upon this confession, the Lord responded by sending a divine angel to purify Isaiah. Once the coal touched Isaiah’s lips, Isaiah was pronounced clean and forgiven. At that point, Isaiah was able to be in communication with God. His ears were opened to hear what the Lord had to say.
“In typical fashion, God gives no details as to what He is about to ask somebody to do. He simply asks who He should send.” [3] And immediately Isaiah responded, “Here I am! Send me!” Isaiah didn’t hesitate. He didn’t stand there asking for a job description. He didn’t say, “Hold on, wait a minute; let me speak with my associates.” He didn’t outline a series of stipulations or requirements for accepting the job. He heard God’s voice and responded out of faith. He made himself available to God to do whatever God was asking him to do. He trusted that God would equip him for whatever task God had in mind.
God said, “Go! Just go!!”
As much as I had no clue as to the magnitude of what I was getting myself into when I accepted the position as the RCA’s treasurer, Isaiah had no clue that he was about to be ordered to harden the hearts of Israel so that they would reject God and therefore subject themselves to God’s punishment. I wonder how Isaiah must have felt when God revealed the destruction that was about to be unleashed as a result of the people’s sin. Yet even in the midst of destruction, there was a seed of hope. Isaiah “confronted Israel with her sins, warned her of her fate, and provided her hope for the glorious future God promised.”
When the voice of God calls to our hearts, as loud as an urgent phone call in the middle of the night, as poignant as the sunlit majesty of creation on a quiet summer river, as heart-wrenching as the cry of a stranger in trouble, as demanding as the call to leave a comfortable position to take on new responsibilities in a strange new world, how do we respond?
Do we have the faith in God’s purpose for our lives to say “Here I am! Send me!”? Do we stand up to the challenge in spite of our unworthiness, our human limitations, our fears of failure? Do we make excuses … I’m not smart enough, I’m not articulate enough, I’m just plain scared?
Into the darkness of this broken world in which we live, which is just as broken as the world in which Isaiah lived, God calls us to “Go. Just Go!”
Into the city that is teeming with multitudes of people. Into the city that is pulsing, alive and filled with light, but also with incredible darkness, pain and despair. Into the city in which rich people dominate and fill their pockets at the expense of the masses. Into the city in which hunger, violence and oppression are the result of inequitable systems that cause pain and heartache for millions upon millions of people. Into the city that is deeply loved by God.
Our call and mission as Christians is to live out our true identity in Christ, in which we find the deepest joy and innermost peace. When we comfort those who are suffering, feed and clothe the poor, make opportunities available to the disadvantaged, stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, and are merciful and kind, we come into a deeper life in Christ. And, as we do, we become more fully aware of the essence of God. Following Christ transforms us and molds us into people who come to know more fully and more intimately the love of God.
So, in the midst of the critical social, economic, and political issues of today, how can we be witnesses to God’s promises and unfailing love?
I think of the story of Robert Louis Stevenson, who at age 12, was looking out into the dark from his bedroom window, watching a man light the streetlamps outside. When his governess asked him what he was doing, he replied, “I am watching a man cut holes in the darkness.”
Cutting holes in the darkness. Isn’t that what God calls us to do? Cut holes in the darkness of this lost and broken world by sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? By answering the call to Go! Just go!!
1/ Abraham Heschel, The Prophets (New York: Harperperennial Modern Classics, 2001), 77.
2/ Ibid.
3/ http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/isaiah-6.html
Inspired by Frederick Buechner “The Calling of Voices” in Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), 35-41.
