Dear Friends
“In the year that King Uzziah died,” the Prophet Isaiah tells us,
I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:1–4
In this way, the Prophet tells us of his vision of the heavenly Counsel of God. It was an awesome event. And we think coming into the presence of God we will feel blessed, feel calm, feel at ease. But this is not the witness of the Scriptures. The Prophet tells us what he said at the sight before him,
Woe is me, for I am undone!
verse 5
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts.
He was cut to the core and recognised in himself his own sinfulness. Yes, he was blessed, but in his blessing he witnessed his own weaknesses.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
verses 6–7
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”
The Lord, in his love for the Prophet, did not leave him feeling sinful but restored him. And it was not a pleasant experience. It would not be a “nice” event for a burning coal to be touched to our lips—something I heartily would recommend we do not do—but through this Mystery, the Prophet’s iniquities were taken away and his sin purged.
When we come into contact with the divine we too can feel our own inadequacies, our own sinfulness: and the solution is not always going to be something pleasant. We would rather run away rather than stand firm, we would live with the sickness rather than face up to it and go through the treatment. But if we are to become whole, if we are to become complete, if we are to be truly human, we must stand firm in the presence of God.
And yet this is not the end of Isaiah’s prophecy, his encounter with the living God.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for us?”
And without waiting for a beat, the Prophet replies,
Here am I! Send me.
verse 8
Because the taking away of iniquity and the purging of sin is always followed by a call to action. God wants you and wants me to join ourselves to him—but this is always so we can be his servants in the world: caring for others, looking after their needs, seeing their dignity and worth.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that there is a God, coming into his presence and having our sins washed away is not enough to be worthy of the name Christians: rather, we must listen to his voice and be ready to respond in our lives—each in a different way, a unique way, suited to us. Respond and be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13–16) that we may be worthy guides to our neighbours and bring hope to the world.
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Sermon
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
“I must assert my rights,” I say to myself, “I must get what I deserve.” And in whatever sphere of my life I happen to be—my professional life, my family life, my society life, my Church life—I protect my privileges, I hold onto what I ought to have. And I expect others to do the same. But in the ensuing mess and misery we bring on ourselves, others continue to take what is mine: so I act pre-emptively, I act against them before they can act against me, and my wealth is preserved. “Do unto others,” is our motto, “before they can do unto us.”
When I act in such a way, I am taking part in a long tradition of humanity: from as far back as we can tell, members of our race have been trying to preserve their rights over others. Yet there are still the oppressed, still the marginalised, still the afflicted: further, despite all the scientific and technological advancements we have made, we are still subject to death. This way of life just does not work.
“As you wish that men would do to you,” says the Lord, “do so to them.” Christ turns on its head the paradigm of life in this world. Lest there be any confusion in what he is commanding us, he goes on,
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.”
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Services this week
Friday 7th October
Discussion on the Apocalypse, 8 pm
Online only
Saturday 8th October
Vespers, 6.30 pm
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Sunday 9th October
Divine Liturgy, 9.30 am
At St Francis’ Hall, Eastleigh
Online session is via Google Meet: please get in contact for the details.
Please join us: all are welcome, come and see.
Attending Church
We will be meeting at St Francis’ Hall, Nightingale Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9JA. Come and See.
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I am here for you, you need only ask. Is there a way I can support your life of faith? Get in touch.
Can you help the mission?
Yes, absolutely. Offer yourselves to the Lord: pray! Make available to him all your talents and ask him how he would like you to use them — listen for his reply.
Your prayers!
With love in Christ
Fr Alexander
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