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College Hill’s 2011 Congregational Watchword comes from Isaiah Chapter 6. In the passage, the prophet Isaiah is worshiping in the temple- kind of like most of us worshiping in church on a Sunday morning. But what happens next is anything but typical. Suddenly Isaiah’s eyes are opened in a heavenly vision, and he ‘see’s the Lord’. Two “Seraph’s” (awesome fire-angels) in the periphery of Isaiah’s vision put words to Isaiah’s what Isaiah sees. Their words, from Isaiah 6:3, are our 2011 Congregational Watchword: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isaiah catches a fresh vision of God.
We might think this would inspire Isaiah, but instead, glimpsing God in all God’s holiness first awakens Isaiah to his own un-holiness (or un-whole-ness). He cries out in despair “Woe is me! I am lost!” But far from condemning Isaiah’s very real faults, the Holy God responds in compassion and mercy, cleansing Isaiah’s sin with a burning coal from the sacrificial altar. Next, God shares his heart with Isaiah (“whom shall I send?”). Finally, blown away by God’s glory, cleansed by God’s mercy, and glimpsing God’s heart, Isaiah can’t contain his eagerness. He wants to be a part of what this Holy and Glorious God is doing in the world, so he speaks up “Here am I, send me” (“Pick me! Pick me!”).
As shared in worship on January 9, when hearing this word, it can fill us with longing to catch a ‘fresh vision of God’ like Isaiah did. As pastors, our longing is that all of us, together, might catch such a fresh vision in the year to come. What would it be like if all of us, like Isaiah, caught just a glimpse of God’s real magnificence? What would happen if, after being made conscious of our sins and failures, we suddenly experienced God’s healing and cleansing forgiveness in a way that felt just as real as a burning coal touched to our lips? What would it be like to receive a fresh glimpse of God’s heart for the world, and a new opportunity to act on that glimpse in a meaningful way?
May we all be given a fresh, eye-opening, cleansing, heart-awakening, opportunity-offering vision of God in the coming year...
Pastors Dave and Cynthia
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College Hill Moravian Church
