Isaiah 6:1-8 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 6:1-8 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 6In 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. Verse 2Seraphs 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. Verse 3And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Verse 4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.
Verse 5And 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!" Verse 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. Verse 7The 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." Verse 8Then 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!"
Devotion
Have you ever experienced being unclean? I'm not talking about being physically dirty, because you can wash away dirt and grime and be clean again. I'm also not talking about those who are sometimes labeled unclean because of their physical or sexual appearance. Being a leper, having a physical abnormality, being black, gay, Christian, Jewish, Muslim or a woman doesn't equal being unclean. Throughout history, these people have suffered the insults of society, even being killed because they were labeled unclean. Being unclean often goes hand in hand with being an outcast.
Isaiah doesn't define being unclean in this way. For Isaiah being unclean relates to your sin—what you do to hurt others. Isaiah says he is unclean, lost and in desperate need of forgiveness. In this moment of confession, God hears Isaiah and Isaiah is forgiven. Isaiah proclaims God's promise that those who have seen the Lord and confessed their sin are forgiven and made free.
Prayer
O God, I am unclean, yet you love me, forgive me and send me out to do your will. Guide me so that I may hear your life-giving news and enable me to proclaim it to others. Amen.