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 COLLAPSE - SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2025


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. 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!”

➖

Regime change, a familiar context.

King Uzziah, whose death opens this story, took the throne at the age of 16 and ruled 52 years until he was, well, my age. He was a pretty good king except in his last years he decided he was worthy of offering incense in the Temple – something only the priests were authorized do. So, as Uzziah stepped up to the altar to do this thing, the high priest and 80 others confronted him in a bold act of religious civil disobedience. "You can't do that!!" Becoming angry over the confrontation Uzziah resisted their authority and so contracted leprosy at the hand of God and died shortly thereafter.

I guess that’s one way to go.

With Uzziah now dead the soon to be prophet Isaiah has a vision. He is in the same temple. The presence of the living God fills the place and there is what feels like an earthquake going on - and “Oh crap, oh crap!!” Isaiah thinks. “Offending God is not a good thing!!” Yet, unlike Uzziah's leprosy this earthquake is not of God's doing. The temple shakes because of the praise of angels. “Holy, holy, holy!” they remind one another. And the pivots of the thresholds tremble.

Government has no position or authority in the world of the Church. That’s the first message here. Uzziah is struck dead for his arrogance. (We shall see about Trump who is trying to tell Lutheran and other non-profit and faith based agencies that we cannot do what God calls us to do!) The second message is just the opposite. The Church *is* sent to speak to Government! God needs a voice and Isaiah has accepted the invitation. “Here am I; send me!” So, for the rest of his life Isaiah will speak. Isaiah will speak to kings and priests, to false prophets and people in need. He will speak of hope, false priorities and dangerous, wayward government policies. (So will we!!)

“Behold, the Word of the Lord!” “Holy, Holy, Holy” we remind one another.

Today the voice of angels shakes our world once again. Do you not feel the tremors? Today in the midst of regime change, 80 priests may be all that stands between the needs of the poor and the arrogance of the powerful. Is this so?! And today God asks once again, “Whom shall I send? Who will go?”

There is a live coal coming your way. Do not refuse it. The world needs your voice!

➖

[P.S. - Sen. Agnus King of Maine spoke eloquently in defense of the U.S. constitution in a floor speech Thursday stating that the Framers were “deep students of history and…human nature. And they had just won a lengthy and brutal war against the abuses inherent in concentrated governmental power.” and “The universal principle of human nature they understood was this: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He then went on to call his congressional collogues to be the balance of power the constitution calls them to be by standing up to Pres. Trump/Musk's illegal and unconstitutional power grabs. But you know what? The first line of defense laid out by the constitution actually isn't co-equal branches of government. Read the *First* Article. It is the Church whose voice of descent and moral authority is protected above all else.

There is a live coal coming your way, Sister and Brothers. Don't refuse it!]

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