Isaiah 6:1-8

Who remembers Barbenheimer? Anyone? Last year, two very popular movies were in the theater at the same time, and it became a “thing” to make one’s own sort of double feature out of this moment by watching one right after the other in the theater. With running times of 1:54 for Barbie and 3:00 for Oppenheimer, this was, at the very least, a feat of stamina! Did anyone do the Barbenheimer?

I did not… not because I was uninterested in one or the other of the movies. In fact, by the time I heard about the Barbenheimer craze, I had already seen each of the movies. And not because I didn’t want to spend 5 straight hours in a movie theater, either; those who know me well, know that that would be a dream day for me. Also, not due to lack of funds or lack of time: I can always find time and money to go out to a movie theater. Oh, and it was also not because I had already seen both movies. I frequently see movies more than once in the theater. So… you may be wondering: why, then, didn’t Pastor Pam jump on the Barbenheimer train?

The reason: the two films were each so intense in an emotional, intellectual, and existential way that I could not imagine watching one and then immediately watching the other. After each movie, I needed hours – no, I needed days – to process all of my emotions; I simply was not able to imagine jumping from one to the other.

Each film explored existential themes, such as ‘Why am I here?’ and ‘What was I made for?’ and ‘What can I contribute to the world using the gifts and talents that I have been given?’ While the characters and situations in the two films were quite different, I found them to be remarkably similar, in that the main characters in each of them were growing personally while learning what exactly they were made for and how they could give back to the world and the people in it.

Today’s lesson from the book of Isaiah is often referred to as Isaiah’s call. For Isaiah, this moment begins to answer the very same questions we just raised: what was I made for (or, why am I here, or, what’s my purpose); what am I to do with my time on earth; how can I best serve God?

Isaiah was a prophet in Judah in the 8th century BC. Our text tells us that Isaiah’s encounter with the Holy One happened in the year that King Uzziah died, which places it at around 740 BC. Shortly after that, the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and took many into captivity. This left the Southern Kingdom of Judah vulnerable to other near-east kingdoms. In fact, the Kingdom of Judah also fell to the Assyrians, about twenty years after Israel had fallen.

The time into which Isaiah was called as a prophet of God was a time of uncertainty, fear, and probably no small amount of wondering about whom to trust.

The description that we receive from Isaiah is detailed, vivid, startling, and even a bit overwhelming. He sees the Lord sitting on a high throne, with the hem of his robe filling the temple. He sees seraphs, each with six wings. He hears seraphs, as they worship the Lord:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
The whole earth is full of his glory

And the building shakes because of the sound of their voices; and there is smoke… It’s all a bit much for Isaiah, who cries out, “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 touches Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the altar and says that Isaiah’s guilt has been blotted out. This may strike us as a bit odd. But consider how the seraph, working in Isaiah that which the Lord desires, goes straight to the heart of the matter: Isaiah feels unworthy in the presence of the holy, and God sends comfort, healing, and forgiveness through the touch of a coal from the altar.

Having received the gift of the touch of the coal, Isaiah is able to hear the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” He is able to hear, and he is able to answer, “Here I am; send me!”

Though the questions we raised when talking about Barbenheimer are not phrased in a way in which Isaiah would have phrased them, he was most definitely wondering what his place and role might be in God’s plan for Judah. He was open to receiving a word from the Lord. He was open to being led by the Lord and to speaking for the Lord.

And, in our earlier phrasings of the questions, we asked, “What was I made for?” And, “Why am I here?” And, “What can I contribute to the world using the gifts and talents that I have been given?” These are important questions to ponder, and to pray about, and to talk about with each other.

And, it is important to ask, not just “I,” but “we.” As in, “What were we made for?” And, “Why are we here?” And, “What can we contribute to the world using the gifts and talents that we have been given?” Those whom we include in the “we” could be our household, or our whole family, or our friends. It could even mean “we” at Holy Shepherd. As a community of faith, what were we made for; why are we here; and what can we contribute to the world using the gifts and talents that we have been given?

Here at Holy Shepherd, we are in the midst of a time of emphasis on stewardship. Often, we think of stewardship as being about our financial offerings, and it certainly is about that. But it is so much more than simply deciding what amount of money we will each give to our congregation. During the last few weeks of summer this year, your pastors and vicar undertook a series of sermons about stewardship. If I may be so bold, the question that I have just raised this morning about how we will contribute to the world using the gifts and talents we have been given would be a pretty fair summary of those several sermons.

Today is Commitment Sunday. It is a day on which we will encourage you to place your estimated giving cards in the offering plate, if you have not already returned them. And it’s a day on which we encourage you to be especially mindful of and open to the ways in which God is calling you to share your talents and abilities, your joy, your wonder, your hope, and your creativity with the world through Holy Shepherd as well as in other ways.

As you pray for the Holy Spirit’s leading, you will be led. Most of us will not have the type of dramatic call story that Isaiah had, but make no mistake about it: God is calling. May we have ears to hear, and may we be given the grace to follow where our Savior leads.