Numbers 36; Deuteronomy 1:1-2:15
Here, we begin the last book of the Law, or Torah. Deuteronomy is Moses’ restatement of the Law for the people, before his death. It is, in a way, the “constitution” of the people of God, a guide for their life together in the Promised Land. Moses begins by reminding the Israelites about their 40 year journey in the desert.
Mark 12:35-13:13
The poor widow (12:41-44) gave everything out of her poverty, while the rich gave a relatively small amount out of their wealth. Within this story is a question: if this poor widow has given all she had, and now has nothing, don’t the rich people have a responsibility to care for her? That’s a clear message of the Bible.
Jesus is in his final week before the crucifixion. Mark 13 is kind of his ‘farewell address’ to his disciples. He warns them about what is to come after his resurrection, and encourages them to endure the trials and tribulations they will face.
Here is my Lenten sermon from last night. It is about Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple:
Eric Lemonholm
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Psalm 150; Isaiah 6:1-8; Mark 10:13-16
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. 2Seraphs 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. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
5And 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!” 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The 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.” 8Then 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!”
We are continuing our journey through the Marks of Discipleship (see the inside of the bulletin):
- Pray daily
- Worship weekly
- Read the Bible
- Serve at and beyond Grace Lutheran Church
- Be in Relationship to encourage spiritual growth in others
- Give of my time, talents, and resources
Together, the Marks of Discipleship spell out the words PoWeR SuRGe![i]
That’s what we need in our walks of faith sometimes: a Power Surge, to re-energize our walk with Christ.
We are still on the second Mark of Discipleship: Worship Weekly.
The Marks of Discipleship are things we do in response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
We all want to grow in the Marks of Discipleship, but remember, we don’t do them to earn God’s grace; we do them in response to God’s grace.
And, the point is not to be perfect – we’ll never be perfect in this life; we’ll always be both sinners and saints.
Here’s an example:
A couple invited some people to dinner. At the table, the wife turned to their 6-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”
“I wouldn’t know what to say,” she replied.
“Just say what you hear Mommy say,” the mother said.
The little girl bowed her head and said: “Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”[ii]
Don’t we all say prayers like that sometimes?
And, God still loves us, warts and all.
In about 638 B.C., Isaiah was a young man.
He was in the Temple in Jerusalem, a holy space, a thin place – where the boundary between God and humankind seemed to be more porous and permeable, a place where we feel closer to God.
It was set apart, lit by flickering oil lamps, with the smoke of burning incense rising to the ceiling.
In the inner sanctum of the Temple was a 15 foot high throne of God, formed by “the outspread wings of two giant cherubim.”[iii]
The idea was that, although God is present everywhere, God chose to dwell with God’s people Israel.
And so, the people of God built the Temple, a house for God, with a throne for God in the inner sanctuary.
And there in the Temple, Isaiah has a vision, an experience of the holy God that will change his life forever.
The temple becomes a place where earth and heaven meet, and suddenly, Isaiah is in God’s throne room in heaven.
He sees the Lord God sitting on the throne, the hem of his robe filling the temple. God is huge and majestic and holy.
St. Augustine, while puzzling over the nature of God, was walking along the beach one day when he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole.
Augustine asked, “What are you doing?”
The boy replied, “I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole.”
Augustine then realized that he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind.[iv]
Seraphs, or seraphim, awesome, flaming cobras with six wings, were there, chanting, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Think about the seraph’s chant: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The hem of God’s robe fills the temple in Jerusalem; God’s glory fills the whole earth.
There is no place on earth, or indeed in all creation, where God’s glory does not shine, if only we have the eyes of faith to see.
And yet, it was in the temple, in this holy place, that Isaiah has the vision of God.
Isaiah is overwhelmed.
He is a sinner, born of a sinful people.
And so, he cries out, “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!”
Sinful mortals cannot look upon God and live.
Being in the presence of God awakens Isaiah’s consciousness of his own sin and the sin of his nation, and he is afraid.
“I am lost,” he cries, as if he expects to be blasted out of existence.
Instead, one of the seraphs touches Isaiah’s mouth with a live, burning coal.
His guilt is gone, his sin is “blotted out.”
Now, he can stand in God’s presence and live.
Now he can hear God speak.
Remember for a moment the song, the Kyrie we sang earlier.
We sang:
Have mercy on us, Lord, and hear our solemn prayer.
We come to hear your living word; it saves us from despair.
Have mercy on us, Christ, and wash away our sin. Pour out your grace and make us whole that new life may begin.
Have mercy on us, Lord; make sin and shame depart. Renew us with your saving power; create in us new hearts![v]
We began our worship service by praying for God’s mercy, forgiveness, and renewal.
That’s what Isaiah received with the touch of the burning coal.
It is at that point that Isaiah hears God speak: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
There is a job that needs to be done, a message that needs to be delivered to Israel.
Isaiah answers God, “Here am I; send me!”
God is calling to you, too.
Maybe you do not hear God’s voice directly.
But God is calling you to follow.
God is calling you to pray.
God is calling you to worship.
God is calling you to read the Word.
God is calling you to serve others.
God is calling you to reach out in relationship with others.
God is calling you to give generously of yourself for the sake of others.
We can hear God’s call anywhere.
God’s glory fills the earth.
God is present wherever we go.
But a holy space, a thin place and time, like this sanctuary during our weekly worship together, is an important point of contact between us and God.
I had a friend who thought he could worship God alone, and grow as a Christian without worshiping with other Christians.
It did not work. His life of faith withered.
We need to come together to worship and praise God.
My prayer is that you and I may experience God and hear God’s call to us in this place, every time we worship together.
We’re going to close this message with an activity.
When I ask you a question from God, you answer, “Here am I; send me!” Repeat after me: “Here am I; send me!”
So the question is put to us:
Who will I send to the struggling single parent who often feels overwhelmed with responsibility?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the grieving parents who have lost a child?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the homebound person who has no transportation to visit the doctor?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to teach our children my ways?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the fatherless child?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to those without hope in prison?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the isolated aged in the nursing home?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the sick and the infirm?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to tutor a child in reading?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to your next-door neighbor?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the school board meeting to speak up for better education for our children?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to City Hall to protest the treatment of the poor and disadvantaged?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send to the friend who needs intervention?
Here am I, send me.
Who will I send?
Here am I, send me.
Go, then, to the people.[vi]
Amen!
