Be Careful How You Hear...

Celebrating Holy Trinity Sunday...  A time where congregations everywhere struggle.  How do you celebrate such a beautiful mystery and gift that God has given to us without spending time pontificating on details that are better left for doctoral programs or on the other end of the spectrum, dancing with heresy?  The best advice from a friend? "Say nothing and show pictures of kittens instead."  (Please note the previous sentence was originally written in the sarcasm font found in the new IOS update - just in case you didn't download it yet.)

On days like today, I'm incredibly grateful for the fact that millions of pastors and church leaders world wide that have wrestled with the texts and ideas for hundreds of years, and taken on the challenge and blessing of their calling.  I'm also thankful that it wasn't me today.

As the familiar text of Isaiah 6 was read over us this morning - my heart leapt again, joining in the chorus with all of God's children, saying "yes!  Send me!"  Our cries echoing and resounding over and over again and again.  There's this inherent beauty of God's Spirit that always seems to stir in us - or convict us- every time this passage is read.  I cannot do justice to the wonderful message and sermon ideas that my friends have shared this week, nor is this a passive aggressive attempt to "correct" any teaching or dream that I could ever have done better.  I was left in awe by the way I got to see my friends wrestle with this.  Whether it was in joking about all of the snakes described in connection to seraphim and how we were interested to see if that fear still existed in the future, or the beauty in realizing that God dares to draw near to our mess, even clothing himself in it.  Then in an unspeakable act, lets us be a part of the story - choosing to use us, including us in relationship.

As all of that echoed over my head and heart this morning, I have to confess - my first stray thought was - oh yeah, I forgot about that really cool tattoo idea I had seen where some one had "send" tattooed just above one ankle and "me" on the other.  As the lectionary text concluded in Isaiah 6:8 with "Hear I am! Send me" ...  I kept reading.

I had forgotten.

Isaiah has a beautiful moment in the throne room of the King, is cleansed, sees forgiveness, God draws near, calls Isaiah, and he is swept up into the story of the kingdom and a God who does the impossible.

So where is the first mission field?  And what amazing word of good news does God immediately send Isaiah out with?

"He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused;
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,
until the Lord has sent everyone far away
    and the land is utterly forsaken.
And though a tenth remains in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps when they are cut down,
    so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”"

Wow.  "The Word of the Lord...  Thanks be to God?"  That's.... fantastic? I'm sure that's exactly what people want to hear.

As my heart momentarily rested in that place - thinking of all of the times in history when God has asked prophets and pastors and leaders to share hard or difficult things....  Matthew 13 sprang to mind.  Isaiah 6 is an incredibly well loved and well used passage - the first few verses are often quoted.  And the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 is equally as used - but depending on the congregation, often times verses 10-17 are left out where Jesus is quoting the second half of Isaiah 6.  They are incredibly difficult verses.  I'm not knocking those who leave them out - preaching and helping people understand the difficulty of Jesus' teaching in a few short minutes?  That can't always happen on a Sunday morning.  It's almost as difficult as preaching on Holy Trinity Sunday.

But Jesus often used the rabbinical teaching technique called "remez."  A rabbi or teacher would often quote a verse of Scripture, and when they did that - they weren't actually asking the student (or disciple) to think about the verse that was quoted, but the one before or after - or the portion of the text that was omitted in the recitation.  Rather - it was an inference teaching technique.  Most of their students would have the entirety of what we consider the "Old Testament" to be memorized.  The disciple was then supposed to think about what the rabbi was actually talking about and pointing to by not actually saying what he was meaning.  It might sound crazy to us, pointing out and putting emphasis on something by not actually saying it?  While still claiming the authority of the verse you were quoting for it's value?  To know Scripture inside out and that intimately and deeply - I think that's what the rabbis were going for, and how envious am I...

In Matthew 13 as Jesus explains the parable of the sower to his disciples - teaching them that the kingdom comes through hearing so "be careful how you hear."  He explains that the real meaning of parables won't make sense to those on the outside.  He explains how blessed the disciples (and we) are because everything that Isaiah prophesied is coming true in their midst.  

And that's enough.  It's beautiful.  And amazing.  And challenging.  And difficult to hear.  But looking at the teaching technique of remez...  It also points us back to the very first few verses of Isaiah 6.  No longer is there a separation.  Jesus has clothed himself in our mess and come to us.  "Here I AM, send me."  Touching not just a coal to our lips, but cleansing us by his own blood.  Giving us his righteousness - so that when we deny him around a charcoal fire, when our sin is so great - he doesn't leave us but gives his life so we might live.  Then you find yourself 3 days later walking on a beach with Jesus.  You were so excited to see him, that you jumped out of a boat without your close on.  You find yourself around another charcoal fire.  Then just like a good rabbi does, he asks you questions that you've grown up with your entire life. 

Every Passover when you go to make the sacrifice of a lamb, you first purchase the lamb and are required to take it home with you for several days, to make it a member of your family.  When you bring it back to sacrifice, you are asked 3 times by the priest if you love the lamb?  So Peter is asked 3 times as well - as he realizes just how great his master, teacher and friend is.  The very Son of God, the ultimate Passover Lamb.

And then, not just forgiveness, because that would have been enough, but being sent out.  Sent to tell his story.  The story off an impetuous fisherman who stank, was not considered good enough to make the cut, from the wrong side of the tracks, who denied Jesus and always acted before thinking things through.  But that his real story wasn't about Peter himself, but what the Lamb of God had done for him.  Peter's life was always one of "here I AM, send me!"  And so he was sent.  To proclaim a message that was not understood, popular and to a generation that would not want to hear.

And so here we are.  Standing on the giants of those who have come before.  For the seed fell on good soil and produced grain, a hundredfold, sixty or thirty times over.  How beautiful the good news that Jesus has cleansed us from our sin, dared to take our mess upon his shoulders and that the tomb is empty.  That would be enough - but he invites us in to tell our story - his story.  And though it will not be easy.  Though people will not understand.  Though we will be turned away.  Though we will face persecution.  Trials.  Abandonment.  Separation.  The joy will be so great.  For God is choosing to heal the brokenness of the world through us.  "For I tell you these things so that in me you may have peace, for in this world you will have trouble - but take heart, I have overcome the world."

Here I am, send me.