He
touched my mouth with it and said, “See, 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!”
Isaiah 6:7-8
Therefore,
do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor
secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the
light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid
of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Matthew 10:26-28A
Piety
Love this pic! There's so much heaviness
weighing on our society and I believe our world and all of us in it are in need
of prayer. Regardless of your religious affiliation,
we can all pray for love, peace, and harmony. "At the center of
non-violence stands the principle of love." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
#loveoneanother
#peace
#lovenotwar
#instagram
#photoftheday
#nomorekilling
(Posted by Tamara Bibby on Facebook)
Study
Courage in the face of the odds. Isaiah needs
a heap of it to attempt to convert the people.
Even though he knows he is a sinner, once purified, he sets about the
task the Lord intended for him.
Likewise, we find the disciples in need of an
ample dose of courage. Jesus attempts to
inspire them with the message delivered to us via St. Matthew today. Go out.
Do not be afraid. Proclaim. Reveal.
Speak. Light.
Yet, Isaiah did not find people willing to
cultivate the Word of God. He found:
Gross is the heart
of this people; they will not hear with their ears; they have closed their
eyes, so they may not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and
understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.’
Yet….yet…yet the Lord continues to heal and
purify.
In continuing to weave together various inspiring
and provocative posts from social media, my cousin Mary Downes shared an image
quoting Dr. King. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish
together as fools,” said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Still, others shared his line: “It is not
possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice
for all people.” Isaiah was not. We cannot.
Action
Send me?
Yes!
Today the Lectionary (or the Internet Machine
version of the Lectionary) serves up a very active message. The Lord purifies the lips of His servant
Isaiah for the work ahead. He also will
purify us for His work. Jesus does not ask us to sit at home watching EWTN (or
worse ESPN).
When the blood of the law and the blood of
the innocent run together in the streets we may need a healthy dose of the same
courage needed by Isaiah to face the odds as well. We all know the message of
love. Yet people instill hate and
fear.
This morning, fellow blogger and Cursillista
Melanie Rigney posted a Gordon Lightfoot tune in her Summer of Song
series. She explained that it was Lightfoot's
indictment of the 1967 Detroit riot that began on July 23. On this, another
horrific July morning, his words ring just as true: "And you say, 'How did
it happen?' And you say, 'How did it start? Why can't we all be brothers, why
can't we live in peace?' But the hands of the have-nots keep falling out of
reach."
The image of the hands of the “have-nots”
keep failing to reach…to reach justice, to reach truth, to reach equality, to
reach respect. Just two hours later, friend
Tamara Bibby shared the image and words reprinted above.
Our hands continue to reach out to purify our sense
of indifference. Isaiah faced the same deaf ears. Isaiah’s words give evidence
that he attempted in every way, through admonition, threat, and promise, to bring
the people to conversion. The hardening
that he faced reflects the refusal of the people, more particularly the
leaders, who were supposed to “see,” “hear,” and “understand,” a refusal which
would then lead to a disastrous outcome.
Can our outcome be any different unless we
heed this word and bring it to life? The privilege of the
disciple/Cursillista is “blessed are our eyes, because we see, and our ears because we hear.” Where will you take his message today?
How will you bring it to life? It’s on us. Not our politicians or police. Not our prophets or priests. Us. Do
you believe that we can? Here I am. Send me.
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