In today’s reading we focus on God’s call to Isaiah: “Then
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?’” The words do not appear to be
spoken to Isaiah, but Isaiah can hear them. Because the
burning coal has seared his unclean lips, blotting out his sin
and dispelling his guilt, Isaiah can hear the voice of God!
Moreover, he responds, “Here am I; send me!” We know the
rest of the story from the verses that follow: God calls Isaiah
and commissions him to tell the people of Judah of coming
destruction. Isaiah is to speak a message they will not heed
until the land is “utterly desolate” (6:11).
When God comes to us, God calls us to go into the
world. We fear the searing coal and the hard task. We feel
burdened; we draw back. We can hardly keep our own lives
together. How can we say to God, “Here am I; send me”?
We can respond affirmatively to God’s request because
in God’s cleansing, God clears away our fear, our resistance,
our disability; we have only the task and its own difficulties—
and we have God’s energy for the task. When we experience
God, God propels us into the hard tasks: feeding the
hungry, comforting the sick, visiting the prisoners, fighting
oppression, preaching the word.
“Here am I; send me.” Surely it is worth releasing ourselves
to God and passing through the refining fire that blots
out our sin so that we can hear God’s voice and respond
clearly to God. God enables us to answer, “Here am I; send
me.” Being able to answer and to act is itself a gift from God
and brings us peace.
By N. Sue Van Sant Palmer from The Upper Room: 60 Days of Prayer for General Conference 2016