Moving through Fear.

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After Pentecost 24

Isaiah 6:1-8

The Sacred Story from the book of Isaiah:

Isaiah: 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: 

Seraph: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah: 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: 

Seraph: Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.

Isaiah: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 

Lord: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Isaiah: And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Word of God, Word of Life. 

Congregation: Thanks be to God. 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Fear. 

And it is real.  And it is valid.  Fear that you can’t cover your mortgage this month.  Fear that people have been given public permission by someone who will hold the highest office to demean women.  Fear that our families are tearing apart under political divide. Fear that President-Elect Trump will say something foolish and our international relationships will be strained or worse.  Fear of being one medical disaster away from financial ruin.  Fear that our friends who are brown, black, LGBTQ or Muslim will experience more psychological and actual threats on their life than they are already experiencing.  Fear that we are impotent to do anything about any of it.

These are real and valid fears. Democrats and Republicans alike are fearful.  Of different things maybe, but too many of us on both sides of the political divide have been overtaken by it.  Fear is the enemy.  Not democrats, not republicans.  Not independents, and not abstainers.

Dear friends who are afraid: You are loved, by God, by me, and by many, many, many people who will work to the death for love, compassion, inclusion and embrace of all our needs and all our diversity. Bless you. I will pray for you and all the fears you feel.

What does the Sacred Story have to say about this?  What does God have to say about this? 

Today we hear of Isaiah.  He is a prophet, much like Samuel, the man we heard about a few weeks ago who told David it wasn’t his job to build the temple.  Prophets are in the business of telling us what God says, and what jobs God has to give us.  And before they can do that, they themselves have to hear from God.  Like Isaiah does today. 

Isaiah has a vision.  It’s possible that he is in the temple, in the holy of holies, the place where only certain priests could enter to encounter God.  God’s strength is felt powerfully there, where the ark, the throne of God now resides.  But Isaiah’s vision allows him to see the power of God beyond what he can access in that central temple room.  God’s power is magnified and telescoped for Isaiah all at once. He sees the enormity of God, whose robe’s edge brushes into the temple and fills it completely. 

Isaiah is unexpectedly before God, and in the holy presence, Isaiah suddenly knows his own unworthiness – he says he is “unclean.”  Isaiah is full of fear.  He has found himself in the court of the most high God with nothing to offer.  The God who has made all life, and holds it all in the palm of his hand.  The God who gives life and takes away.  Isaiah fears because his life is surely nothing of value to this God.  Isaiah fears because he has no ability to make himself right and pure by God’s standards.  Isaiah fears because he knows precisely how poorly his whole nation is at following God’s commands, these people with unclean lips.

Reasonable fears.  Real and valid fears, that finding ourselves in the midst of God’s glory, we would experience as well. No matter who had won the election on Tuesday. 

The God of the galaxies and the ladybugs holds all of creation in the balance.  Giving us the gift of fear to know when we are near the edge.  When things are not right, not in line with God’s intentions for us.  

Yet, what is the first thing that is said often when angels show up on earth?  Do Not Be Afraid. 

In today’s story, rather than words, the angel responds to Isaiah’s fear by dispelling the reason for the fear.  Isaiah, the angel seems to be saying with the action of the coal.  Do not be paralyzed by your fear.  God has equipped you.  You are able to serve.  

Because what happens next?

God asks “Whom Shall I Send?”

And Isaiah is ready. 

Whether we are red, blue or purple, we too are made ready…through Christ, our purifier.

Christ is found in today’s scriptures in the equipping.  Christ came to die that our sin might be blotted out as the coal did for Isaiah.  Christ came to show us how God works in the world so that we might show up and work with God, rather than against him.  A little fear, when we have something big and new happening is an appropriate human response.  But God gives us what we need to not stay paralyzed by it.

No, we can go forth to speak the truth, as Isaiah is called to do.  We can go forth to tell the good news of God’s love in our actions.  In standing shoulder to shoulder with any who will speak against suffering, poor working conditions, unfair wages, predatory consumerism, abusive religion, or bullying of those who look or worship differently than we do.  

God has something for you to do, for us to do together. Prayerfully, keeping ourselves exposed to and listening for Christ in the sacred story and in our neighbor, we move through fear and into love for our neighbor.

Adult study today begins a new series, “My Neighbor is a Muslim.”  I hope you will all join us.  This is going to be a discovery of the faith of Islam and a conversation about the relationship between Islam and Christianity.  /This is an opportunity to move through fear.  We may be afraid of people who are Muslim, or of their religion.  We may fear an Islamic attack on American soil, yet know very little about the motivations behind such attacks or what the Muslims that live in our communities think about it.  There are lots of ways we can and will stand up for Christ in response to this week’s raucous election.  Here is an appropriate place for a faith community to start.  Later today I will be visiting the Worcester Islamic Society and speaking with two gentlemen in hopes of building a relationship with them.  And maybe finding a way to involve us all in interfaith dialogue.  But before we do that, it is respectful and helpful to learn something together about the conversation we might have.  Is God calling you to this today?  If so, the conversation will be happening just down the hall.

Let us pray,

God, we stand in awe of you, too often filled with fear because of things happening around us.  Give us strength to listen carefully to each other and to those we do not yet know.  Help us to listen with hearts open, and without fear.  For you say to us, “Be not afraid” and “Come, follow me.”  

Amen. 

For our sacred space today we will be blessing your hands as a sign of your baptismal calling to work God’s justice and peace in the world.  Please visit me at the font for an individual blessing and prayer.