WHAT IF GOD ACTUALLY NEEDS US?

(Preached on Sunday, June 7, 2009)

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!”                     -Isaiah 6:8

 

Have we lost our sense of wonder and awe?  Are we still able to be amazed?  I wonder.  The summer movie season is upon us and again this year Hollywood continues to crank out the eye-popping spectacles seeking to amaze us and evoke an audible “WOW” from the audience.  Star Trek has a space ship the size of a small planet, and an action sequence with three actors engaging in a free-fall dive from outer space before they pull parachutes attempting to land on a small platform suspended above the planet’s surface.  Then there are the humongous human destroying machines in the Terminator movie, and coming soon the godzilla-sized Transformer machines.  All this make me wish for come CGI capability, the computer graphics technology Hollywood uses to bring these amazing sights to life in the movies, to bring to life Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple so we might respond “WOW!”

 

What Isaiah presents is clearly a vision.  No one really imagines that he actually saw with his own two eyes what he describes.  In other words, had he possessed a video-camera, he would not have been able to tape his experience for broadcast on Youtube.  After all his description breaks the bounds of physical reality.  He begins by saying he saw God sitting on a throne high and lofty and the hem of God’s robe filled the temple.  Now the temple was not as large as we might think: about 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high.  It was actually a modest building compared to some large worship centers.   Yet Isaiah suggests that the hem of God’s robe filled all that space: just the hem!  So, picture this: Isaiah is in the temple worshiping, the upper sections of the building fade away and way up above is the throne of God and the base of the temple is where the hem of God’s robe falls.  He “sees” angelic beings, seraphim hovering around God singing God’s praises.  These are fearsome creatures who have to cover themselves and their eyes because they are in the presence of God.  The sound of their voices rattle the door hinges.  The temple is filled with smoke.  There is sound and size, shaking, smoke and spectacle, flying seraphs and fiery coals.  Now, that’s awesome!  It is a frightening sight!  So much so that Isaiah fears for his life, realizing suddenly that he is not worthy to be in the actual presence of God.  But God takes care of that, removing his sin and guilt by virtual cleansing through a burning coal touching his lips.

 

None of this works in the physical world.  It is a vision, a dream or daydream, a function of his imagination.  Doesn’t make it false.  Some things are more true and more real, even if they cannot be measured, replicated, or recorded on tape!

 

As majestic, amazing and powerful as Isaiah’s vision is, the most amazing, truly jaw-dropping part of the vision comes at the end.  After describing the majestic and exalted God of the universe, in truly graphic, high-definition detail and wide-screen dimension, Isaiah then shares the amazing request that issues forth from God.  Unspeakably holy and great, this God asks a question: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  God is seeking assistance, or at least seeking an agent to do God’s will and to carry God’s message to the world.  Isaiah invites us to imagine, “What if God ACTUALLY needs us?”

 

What would happen if Isaiah stood up in church next Sunday and fired those exact words to us?  We would probably think him crazy; someone would begin looking to see if he had a gun.  Truth be told, we no longer live in anticipation of God’s call coming to us so directly.  We may say we believe God is still speaking, but we are so busy with daily life we don’t bother to listen for the telephone!  And when the message does come through, we tend to dismiss it, “Oh, surely that is not for me.”  What mighty works of God are not be accomplished because we are too busy, or too distracted, or too shy to think God is actually calling for us?

 

Thank goodness Moses didn’t think he was experiencing dehydration hallucinations when he saw that burning bush and ignore the whole episode, or the children of Israel might never have been liberated from Egypt.  Thank goodness Peter and the other disciples didn’t write off the resurrection appearances to group indigestion, or there would have been no Christian faith.  Thank goodness Francis of Assisi didn’t listen to his friends and family who thought he was crazy because he claimed to have had a vision and heard God calling him to embrace a simple life and rebuild God’s church or there would have been no Franciscan order helping the poor all these centuries.  Thank goodness Martin Luther didn’t buckle under the pressure of the Roman Catholic Church when he was tried for his faith or there would have been no Protestant Church.  Thank goodness Rosa Parks didn’t acquiesce and move to the back of the bus or that Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t consider himself stressed out and sleep-deprived when he heard God’s call at midnight in his kitchen to be a drum major for justice, or there would have been no civil rights movement.

 

Over and over again, through the centuries, the great cloud of witnesses demonstrates the truth that God does not require great people to accomplish God’s will and work in the world.  God only requires willing people.  All of those mentioned and so many more, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Albert Schweitzer, countless others, were not great people, powerful people, people of influence, or wealth or power, when they first heard God’s call and claim on their lives.  But they achieved great things, amazing things, world altering things, because they did not shrink from the call but instead stood up and answered, “Here I am, send me.”

 

In what ways have you had glimpses of God’s majesty and power and awesomeness?  Imagine what it might mean if the great and glorious God of the Universe ACTUALLY did need you?  What might it mean for the world around us?  What lonely people might find companionship and friendship?  What frightened immigrant might find encouragement and support?  What stranger who feels like an outsider might feel welcomed, affirmed, and supported?  What person of another faith might feel lifted up as truly holy?  What child might hear praise instead of guilt?  What spouse might truly know love instead of failed expectations?  What might our world look like if we ourselves forgave, really forgave, our families, our colleagues, our children and our spouses?

 

Would your one life, my one life, possibly make any difference?  Can we really imagine that God needs us?  The rabbis teach that when Moses tapped the shore of the Red Sea with his staff, the waters did not immediately roll back.  And when he tapped the water with his staff, nothing happened.  But when the first Israelite walked into the water, then the Red Sea parted and Israel was saved.  The miracle of the Red Sea was not the parting of the water, but that the first Israelite walked in, trusting God, and answering the call.  Only then did the others follow.

 

“Whom shall I send?”  God still speaks to us.  I truly believe that the “yes” is within each of us, yearning to break through.  I believe that the potential to say yes to God, with passion, with astonishment, with amazement, even with fear, does exist within each one of us.  I believe God desires to accomplish great things through Christ Congregational Church.  The call is out there.  All God needs now is for us, perhaps just for one of us, to step forth in faith, trusting God’s power, and answer, “Here am I, send me.”  Might that be you?