Copyright 2010  Lauri Lumby Schmidt

In the year king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple.  Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  He touched my mouth with it.  "See," he said, "now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged."  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?"  "Here I am;" I said, "send me!"  And he replied, "Go..."

Isaiah 6: 1, 5-9

This reading from the prophet Isaiah uses spectacular, metaphorical language to represent an important stage in the human spiritual journey.  This reading, also referred to as "the call of Isaiah," depicts the interior process that Isaiah underwent in order to be prepared to take on his call to be prophet to the Hebrew people.  When first receiving this call, Isaiah became acutely aware of the inner wounds, fears and false perceptions that have held him back from freely and enthusiastically accepting this call.  He verbalizes this awareness in the following words: "Woe to me, I am doomed!  For I am a man of unclean lips..."  Isaiah then finds himself participating in a process of spiritual alchemy in which his fears, false perceptions and ego attachments are purged and released, allowing him to enthusiastically receive the Divine call extended toward him. 

This process of spiritual alchemy is a natural and necessary stage in the journey toward living and being the men and women God has called us to be.  Each and every one of us has been gifted and called to reveal the love of the Divine in our own unique way.  Unfortunately, the fears and ego attachments that arise out of the false perception of separation from God stand in the way of our ability to freely and openly accept that call.  As such, a critical stage in our spiritual growth is to be open to naming these fears and allowing ourselves to be open to their healing and release. 

This process of healing and release is best represented through the sacred element of fire.  Fire is the element that transforms that which is no longer life-giving into something that can provide the foundation upon which new life can begin.  In the reading from Isaiah, the flaming ember was the imagery used to portray this process.  The thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, fears and attachments that no longer serve to support a life of compassion and love are released so that the fullness of our giftedness can begin to emerge and so that the love of the Divine can be more fully revealed in our broken world.

As we journey into the coming week, we are invited to look within to those attachments, attitudes and behaviors that stand as an obstacle to our own journey of freedom.  We are invited to name those areas of fear and constriction and offer them up to the Divine flame of transformation so that we can step more fully into the life that God knows to be in our highest good, and be vessels through which the healing love of the Divine can be more fully revealed in the world.