Sunday, May 27, 2018

Here! I'm over Here!

Isaiah 6:5-8

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!”

Dear Lord,
"Here am I"
is a phrase said
by Isaiah, Samuel,
Abraham, Jacob, and others when called.

It's a willing response.
"Here am I!"
It is the very opposite
of Adam's response when called.
Adam was afraid and
hid himself because he was naked.

Here, Lord,
Isaiah claims
even confesses
his nakedness, his vulnerability:
"Woe is me!"
And when he hears your call,
he responds eagerly,
"Here am I!"

I imagine he's like a eager kid,
jumping up and down,
"Ooo! Ooooo! Me! Me!
Here! Here I am!
Pick me!
Send me!!"

Lord,
I too must confess
my nakedness, my vulnerability:
sometimes when you call
I say,
"Here I am!
Send someone else."
but most often I say,
"Here I am!
Let me do that too.
Lord, I'll take that off your hands.
I can do it myself.
I got this!"

That's not what you want either.

Lord,
teach me to partner
with you and with others
answering your call,
"Whom shall I send?"
Teach me to say,
"Here we are!
We will go with you, Lord!"
Amen.

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