A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings
This passage takes place in the year that King Uzziah died. Isaiah had every reason to be discouraged and disillusioned at the death of King Uzziah, because a great king had passed away, and because his life ended tragically. Where was the LORD in all this? Isaiah states that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the angels were attending to him. The angels proclaimed: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Despite the tragedy that had occurred, God was still enthroned in heaven and was still in charge of all creation. Throughout the Bible, many other great leaders saw God’s throne as well (1 Kings 22:19, Job 26:9, Psalm 9:4-7, Psalm 11:4, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 47:8, Psalm 89:14, Lamentations 5:19, Ezekiel 1:26, Ezekiel 10:1, Daniel 7:9, Revelation 4:1-11). The core belief of atheism or materialism is that there is no throne; there is no seat of authority or power all the universe must answer to. The core belief of humanism is that there is a throne – but man sits upon it. But the Bible makes it clear that there is a throne in heaven, and no fallen man sits on the throne, but the Lord GOD is enthroned in heaven. Isaiah may have been depressed or discouraged because a great leader of Judah was no longer on the throne. However, God in heaven now shows Isaiah, “Don’t worry about it, Isaiah. Uzziah may not be on his throne, but I am on My throne.” The passage goes to describe what the experience of being before God was like. We are told that the thresholds shook and the house was filled with smoke. With these images as our backdrop, we hear Isaiah lament in a spirit of repentance: "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 we catch a glimpse of an angel flying to Isaiah, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs, and touching Isaiah’s mouth with it. What Isaiah received from the altar of God and embraced with his mouth wiped away his guilt and blotted out his sin. Finally, the passage concludes with an open call to service. The Lord asks: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And Isaiah responds, "Here am I; send me!" God then entrusted Isaiah with a difficult mission: "Go and say to these people: 'Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.' Make the mind of these people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed." God was employing Isaiah to engage in a mission where he was certain to face resistance. Thus, we have Isaiah’s question: ``How long, O Lord?” And God’s answer: “The holy seed is its stump.” God didn’t want the people to “adjust” or “tweak” their lives, he didn’t want them to make baby-step changes towards something better, god wanted everything to come crashing down, he wanted it to completely and totally collapse, he wanted a total reset - for once everything was destroyed, the bare and lifeless stump would be the place where god would start again. He would rebuild his people from scratch, he would make them anew from the ashes. Adjustments and tweaking do not work - when the very foundation is fundamentally corrupted there must be a total restart.
Is there a mentor, boss, or leader whose death dealt you a major blow? How did you process this and find the ability to move forward?
Where is the Lord when suffering and death surround us?
Why did the angels repeat “Holy” three times? Think about the personhood of God.
The angels saw that the whole earth was full of God’s glory. What might cause us to be blind to the glory of God around us?
What is the core belief of atheism? What is the core belief of humanism? How might the image of God enthroned in heaven challenge atheism and humanism?
What realities have caused the thresholds of your life to shake?
Isaiah describes the house of God being filled with smoke. When have you personally seen smoke in the house of God? Why do we use incense during worship? (See Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus 19:18, 1 Kings 8:10-12)
What does it mean to have unclean lips?
Do you lament more when you consider God’s holiness or when you reflect on your sinfulness? Why?
An angel flew to Isaiah, took a live coal from the altar and touched it to Isaiah’s mouth. What similar experience might we equate this with in our own life?
Explain how the Holy Eucharist wipes away our guilt and blots out our sin.
How have you responded to God’s open call: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
God entrusted Isaiah with a difficult mission. What was difficult about it?
Would you be open to engaging in a mission where you were certain to face resistance? Why or why not?
How long must we be faithful in sharing the gospel?
What did God mean by the phrase: “The holy seed is its stump”? Who is the holy seed? Why only a stump and not a tree? What is the stump in your life?
Do you believe the very foundation of our society is fundamentally corrupted, and that there must be a total restart? Explain.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy write to the church of the Thessalonians and acknowledge that the church community is growing in faith and increasing in love despite the persecutions and afflictions that they face. So pleased is Paul of the Thessalonian church that he boasts about it to other churches. Paul makes it clear that it is just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict the community of faith and to give relief to the afflicted. Ultimately, it is God who makes us worthy of his call and fulfills us by his power so that we might complete the work of faith. By God’s grace alone we glorify the name of Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to grow in faith? Is your church growing in faith?
What does it mean to increase in love? In what ways has your church loved you?
What trials and tribulations have you faced or are facing currently? What role has the church played in the midst of your hardship?
Define justice.
What gives us power to complete the work of faith?
This passage unfolds early in the morning as Jesus enters the temple and teaches the people. The scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught in adultery. They make her stand before all of them. Then they say to Jesus: "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test Jesus, so that they could trap him. Jesus, simply but quite profoundly, bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."
What does your early morning look like? Do you encounter Jesus in the early morning? Why or why not?
In what way does the woman caught in adultery resonate with you?
How have we been guilty of the same thing the scribes and the Pharisees were?
Have you been accused of wrongdoing? Where are your accusers today?
Read Romans 8:1 and reflect on whether or not Jesus condemns you. What does this insight compel us to do?
To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Fr. Thomas+
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