"Here Am I, Send Me!"

By Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

(Isaiah 6:1-8)

[1] 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. [2] 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. [3] And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory."

[4] The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. [5] 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!"

[6] Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] 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." [8] 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!"

(NRSV)

INTRODUCTION:

I have to confess, I'm the one who called four times in a row a couple of weeks ago and never left a message. I don't remember who or when, but I called someone and found the message on their answering machine so funny and original that I forgot why I called and I called back several times so I could write it all down. The message went like this: "Hello, this is you-know-who, and we're not you-know-where, so at the you-know-when, leave a you-know-what, and we will--well, YOU KNOW!" I loved it.

We have all kinds of ways of giving and receiving messages today. There's the answering machine, call waiting, call notes, call forwarding, caller ID, e-mail and pagers. The list could go on and on. All of this high tech communication equipment has even lead to some unique illnesses or medical conditions. They've warned that excessive talking on cell phones can cause cancer. Cell phones can distract you while you're driving and lead to an accident. And then there's beepilepsy. Maybe you've heard of it.

In it's milder form, it afflicts only those wearing pagers or beepers. It causes them to go into all kinds of weird contortions and movements while they try to locate their pager to shut it off.

In it's most severe form, it strikes almost every individual the same. It crosses age and ethnic barriers indiscriminately. In this form it leads to a brain malfunction which causes the neural connection between the brain and the vocal chords to shutdown. This condition occurs after the individual hears the phrase: "Please leave your message after the beep." Upon hearing those words and the beep, the individual's pulse-rate accelerates, blood pressure increases and they are transformed into an idiot who stumbles and stammers and then leaves an almost indecipherable message.

This is the 90's and I sort of like all the gadgets and goodies we have for communicating today. I don't think I could live without e-mail. Even though it might be a little bit intimidating at times, I don't think I could live without the answering machine or call notes. Why, just the other day I called home and got this message from Mary: "Hi, this is your wife. To find out what's for dinner, Press 1. To apologize for what you said last night, Press 2. To say I love you, Press 3. If you would like to speak with me personally, Press 0 and wait. I will be with you shortly!" (1)

So, what does all of this have to do with this passage? Well, it's probably a good thing that the prophet Isaiah didn't have all the fancy gadgets we have now days or he might have missed this very important call from God. He might have looked at his Caller ID and thought to himself, "I don't want to answer that." But he didn't have Caller ID, so when God called Isaiah listened. And that's a pretty good thing to do when God calls.

God's call to Isaiah came in the form of a vision or a dream. God called and Isaiah responded in three unique attitudes.

I. HE TREMBLED:

A. First Isaiah trembled. The passage records that the seraphim, the angels of God, sang "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord" in Isaiah's presence, proclaiming God three times holy. So Holy that one Holy wasn't enough to express just how Holy God is. Isaiah heard, but he didn't really need to be told. He knew how Holy God is. And he trembled in fear and in awe of God.

This isn't George Burns as God. This is God revealed in all God's splendor and grandeur. This is God in all of God's awesomeness. And Isaiah stood there and witnessed it. No wonder he trembled.

B. Have you ever stood in the presence of God? It IS awesome. I can think of a number of times when I was overcome by the awesomeness of God and literally trembled in awe. When I finally answered the call to preach. The night I was ordained. When I held Joshua in my arms for the first time. When I served Communion for the first time and every time since. And especially the afternoon I stood in Emma Jay Burney's driveway.

Earlier that year, Emma Jay's husband had died suddenly and unexpectedly. The day of the funeral Emma Jay had closed the blinds and the curtains of her house and had not opened them since. She had shut her self off from the light and the light had gone out of her eyes. The day I visited was dark and drizzly. I wasn’t sure Emma was home. The house was dark and sealed up like a tomb. When Emma finally let me in, the interior was the same.

We talked for a second, all those formalities: "How's the family, etc." And then Emma just blurted out, “Is the resurrection real?”

I said, “Yes.” Then she asked, “Well, how do you know?”

We talked about scripture; the resurrection witnesses; where Jesus foretold his resurrection; and the promise of the resurrection. But I could tell it wasn’t getting through. With a deep sigh Emma said, “I want a sign. Why can't God tell me for sure?”

I didn't know what to say. The only sign I knew of was the empty tomb. She said, “That’s not enough. I want more than that.”

Before I left, we prayed and I prayed for a sign for Emma. I prayed that somehow God would help her see God's love and the assurance of the resurrection. As I walked out the door, I was so dejected I didn't even notice that it had stopped raining

The sky off in the east was still dark and stormy but in the west the sun was shining through. About the same time that I heard the door close, I looked up. I immediately turned around and rang the doorbell. The door opened, I took Emma’s hand, I pulled her outside and pointed. We both stood there in stunned silence as we looked at one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. It was a surface to surface full rainbow. The colors were brilliant. Emma started crying. And then she started laughing. She looked at me and through her tears and laughter said, "Oh, oh thank you, God." Then she hugged me, ran inside and started opening curtains and blinds.

Like Isaiah, I knew I was in the presence of God. I was filled with awe and almost overwhelmed. I left with a light heart, a smile on my face and a prayer of thanksgiving on my lips.

II. HE KNELT:

A. First Isaiah trembled, then he knelt in both repentance and humility. When he stood in God's presence Isaiah realized just how unworthy he was to be standing there. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was totally unworthy of even being able to stand in God's presence. His sinful past flashed in his memory and it brought him to his knees in both repentance and humility. Repentance for what he had done, and humbleness for being called by God.

In his humility he realized that it was only by God's grace that he could even be standing there.

B. Have you ever experienced that in your life or in your faith journey? I know Rick and Steve have. We've talked and shared parts of our faith journeys. There's something about God's call that touches all of us. And it's basically summed up in the question, "Who? Me?" I don't know of anyone in the ministry who hasn't felt that sense of humility that Isaiah felt.

It's not like the old Mac Davis song, "Oh, Lord it's hard to humble, when you're perfect in every way." Instead, it's the feeling and experience of Isaiah. "I'm a person of unclean lips, how can you use me. How can you even think of using me." We've all knelt in humility at God's throne. And yet one of the glorious aspects of God's good News is that through God's loving Grace, God CAN and DOES use even the worst of us and the least of us for God's glory.

III. HE ROSE:

A. But God didn't call Isaiah just to make him tremble and kneel. God called Isaiah to help him rise. And that's what he did, he rose to the occasion, as the saying goes. He rose to new life. In kneeling he died to his old self and in rising, he rose to new life. A life filled with a new purpose and a new calling. He heard God's call, trembled in awe, knelt in repentance and humility and rose to a new life, a life of service dedicated to God.

When God asked, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah heard God's call and said: "Here am I; send me!"

B. This morning we celebrate our High School Seniors and their families. We celebrate this milestone of life and this stepping stone into life. We congratulate them. We wish them well and send them out into the big world hoping that they will take wing and learn to fly, using the gifts and talents God has given them.

I congratulate all of you. But I'd also like to challenge you. I'd like to challenge you to do something great with your life. I challenge you to listen to God's call in your life. I challenge you to consider a life of Full Time Christian Service. The world needs people dedicated and committed to helping others. And you don't have to be a preacher to do that. I think God is calling you.

I don't know what it is God is calling you to. But I do know that nearly all endeavors of life can be done to glorify God. I fully believe that God calls every Christian into ministry. It may be the ministry of parenthood or the ministry of teaching or the ministry of helping guide people in the responsible use of their money through financial services. It maybe the ministry of cooking or cleaning or being a secretary. It may be the ministry of healing through nursing, dentistry, psychology or medicine. It could be something glamorous or something mundane. Whatever field you choose for your life's work, or whatever field you have chosen for your life's work, it can be used to bring glory to God. All you have to do is listen to God's call in your life.

CONCLUSION:

God does call. I'm pretty sure God will never call and say "Hello, this is you-know-who, and I want you to you-know-what!" God does call. And when God calls, I think God is usually pretty specific. The challenge is to answer with the same words Isaiah spoke: "Here am I; send me!"

Saying yes to God doesn't mean being cloistered away somewhere, cut off from the world. But it does mean a life of service and committment. And I don't of anything more rewarding.

I don't know what God is calling you to do with your life but I do know God is calling you. It may bring fear and trembling. It may cause you to fall on your knees in repentance and humility. But it will also cause you to rise to new life in service to God through Christ. And all you have to do is say: "Here am I; send me!" Listen to God's call and answer.

1. Adapted from Glasbergen, a cartoonist on the Internet.