(Part of the fresco cycle inside the church at Nohant-Vic (France) represents the sixth chapter of Isaiah)
The first time I encountered Isaiah 6:1-8 I was captivated by the contrast between the small man and the great big God. Previously my youthful picture of Isaiah was of a great prophet some of whose words I was familiar with. It had not occurred to me that so high profile a figure would have felt misgivings about the task before him. Indeed, aged 10 or 11 as I was then, it may not have occurred to me that grown-ups had misgivings about anything.
The account of the calling of Isaiah starts with the prophet’s vision. God was on his throne, heavenly beings circled in attendance, voices sang and everything was at bursting point with the vigour of the glory. Verse 4 says: ‘The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.’
That is a daunting picture. Faced with such a vision what would we do? Was there a fire? Was there a riot? We may wonder if an earthquake was happening. Isaiah knew what it was, he understood and was driven to a state of absolute and honest self-realisation of his stature and state. Not fit to open his mouth to speak, he was immediately rescued by an angel with the task to touching his lips with burning coals to clean them up.
The following dialogue deals with the ‘what next’ question that we all ask after a life changing experience.
Many years later, here we are, would be followers of Christ, living in a world to which we are told to bear witness. The task is daunting, the Christ we follow is everything we are not and yet he promises us that he is with us when we talk about him. That brings me to a question I ask myself, often, namely why is it so hard to talk about our faith and hold on to our principles and values?
Isaiah set us an example when he exclaimed that he was a man of unclean lips. We are less formal in our worship and the language of our relationship with God than were our forebears. Does informality make it harder, not easier for us to relate to God because we do not ask sufficiently urgently for something to be done about the state of our lips – we do not recognise with sufficient honesty that we just cannot manage to be what God wants us to be without serious help?
A prayer
Majestic God, beside my littleness you are so large. Grant me courage to let you make me larger by purifying the life I live with fire of your Holy Spirit. May I have the confidence to walk my life and talk about the companion who is with me always, Jesus Christ, Saviour and Lord. Amen.