"In the Year King Uzziah Died"

 

The protests are beginning to happen now as we ended Week Three of the new administration. Democratic members of Congress are now being denied entry into government buildings such as the Department of Education, which is in danger of being shut down completely. The unelected president of the United States, Elon Musk, is busy destroying the USAID program which helps our farmers deliver necessary food resources to nations facing famine. He's also accusing the Lutherans, who have been very active for decades in helping to resettle refugees in this country, of being a money laundering operation. Wow. 

All of this motivated a wave of protests--50 in 50 state capitals on one day--to raise our collective voices against this authoritarian takeover of our country. 

And it made this week's First Reading from Isaiah more relevant than ever. The Gospel provided a nice touch, too. 

See what you think. 

Texts: Is.6:1-3; Luke 5:1-11

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I think all of us have those moments where we can remember where we were when some major newsworthy event happened.

We know where we were when we heard about the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Or the attack on September 11^th.

Or when major figures of the 1960s…such as JFK or Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated.

Or even moments of human triumph like the moon landing in 1969.

Big historic events punctuate the timelines of our lives.

Which is why the first seven words of our First Reading this morning from Isaiah are critical for us to take some time with and consider.

Because these words have resonance not just with the prophet Isaiah but with us today.

So let’s just start with who is King Uzziah…Azariah…I’m sticking with saying, “Uh-ZYE-uh.”

Uzziah was king of Judah…the southern kingdom.  Israel was the northern kingdom. That split between the two happened after the death of Solomon.

Uzziah ruled Judah for 52 years from 791-739 B-C-E.

Under Uzziah’s leadership…the southern kingdom had a lot of prosperity.

They acquired land and had a good agricultural economy.

He fortified their cities such as Jerusalem…and modernized their military…building watchtowers and the invention of catapults.

Things were looking very promising for them…despite the regional tensions of the Assyrian empire…which existed in the areas mostly to the north and east of Judah.

 The Book of Second Chronicles…has lots of praise for all the marvelous works of King Uzziah.

But like so many leaders…both then and now…pride and his own sense of self-importance…got the better of Uzziah.

He decided that as the king…he had the right to enter the temple in Jerusalem and offer incense… a role restricted to the priests.

A politician claiming a religious role.

Eighty priests confronted the king and the chief priest denounced him for violating the sanctity of the space.

At that moment…Uzziah got struck with leprosy.

He was hustled out of the temple…and serves out the remaining final years of his kingship in seclusion…as his son takes over.

Needless to say…things for both the kingdom of Israel and Judah began to spiral downward.

In less than forty years…Assyria would invade and takeover both kingdoms…scattering the Israelites and conquering their land.

The death of Uzziah indicates a time of great uncertainty and political turmoil.

And it’s into this period that the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God…one that is so overpowering and awesome.

Just the hem of God’s robe filled the whole temple.

Seraphs…these six-winged creatures are flying around and singing praises to God’s holiness.

This vision is overwhelming.

This scene of such a powerful figure…leaves Isaiah feeling every bit of his total inadequacy to be in this space.

He’s trembling inside…wondering…

” Why me? How am I in this place…seeing the Holy One? I am not worthy of any of this!”

Friends, this is the most honest and appropriate response to those moments when we find ourselves in a place where it feels truly holy.

I remember having this same sense of awe when I was standing by one of the lakes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Surrounded by these natural structures of weathered granite rock several thousand feet high…I felt how small and vulnerable I was while also admiring and appreciating these old mountains of creation.

Isaiah is scared out of his wits.

The belief in his day was that no one was to see God and live…let alone a man of “unclean lips.”

This is a pretty typical response of anyone who finds themselves being called by God.

Lots of prophets…Moses…Jeremiah…Jonah…try to wiggle out of being a prophet.

You might even remember that Mary was a little on edge when Gabriel came to tell her that she was going to give birth to the Son of the Most High.

Prophets have the difficult task of being messengers for God.

But when the Holy comes calling… no amount of arguing or pleading is going to get in the way of God accomplishing God’s purpose.

To Isaiah’s protest…God basically responds…

“Unclean lips? Hmm…OK…Seraph: do your job. Touch his lips with a hot coal! Now your sin…your perceived inadequacy is removed…so who will now do what I need to have done?!”

And we get those famous words from Isaiah: “Here am I: send me!”

Yay!! Isaiah is accepting the assignment! Cool, right?

Now…we had the option to stop the reading there.

And that would’ve been acceptable…maybe for some of us…even preferable.

But mean priest decided we needed to hear what came next.

Because…again…this is important for Isaiah’s time…and our time as well.

The assignment given to Isaiah is to go to the people…in this time when Uzziah has died…and they’re in the middle of political and cultural transition…and speak to them.

These are a people who have become pretty comfortable and complacent in the prosperity they’ve been enjoying.

Isaiah must tell them to get ready for some dark and troubling times.

And they won’t listen.

And they won’t understand.

They’ll refuse to see what is coming and what is coming is going to be the invasion of a very powerful and methodical Assyrian force that will up end their lives.

It’s a pretty terrifying prophecy laid upon Isaiah to deliver.

But even in that litany of horribles…God…who is the one constant in this story…also gives the promise that all will not be lost as things are falling apart.

There will be that remnant who will rise up out of this upheaval.

These are the ones who stick with God…follow the path that leads in a Godward direction.

That path…as the prophet Micah tells us… is the one that is about doing justice…loving kindness…and walking humbly with God.

This is the hope that has kept countless generations going and surviving through periods when the political and cultural worlds are feeling desperate…uncertain and even dangerous.

This is the same hope we need to keep alive in our own lives and with our own communities as we face some of the most difficult and unsettling events in our lives.

But it is often amid times of great uncertainty and peril…that God shows up.

Such is the case here with Isaiah.

Isaiah didn’t just wake up one day and strike out on his own.

God comes to him…and Isaiah…confessing his limitations…is nonetheless empowered by God and encouraged by God to go.

Speak up.

Have courage.

We’re in a moment where the church as a whole…and individuals in the church in particular…are sensing that God is calling us to not sit by but to stand up.

50501 protest at the Florida Capitol February 5, 2025.

We’re being sent to be the beacon we have promised to be…to do justice…be merciful…defend the defenseless.

The church is charged through the love of God to be like that bright beam of a lighthouse cutting through the fog to help those lost in the sea of hurt and hopelessness to find their way on these choppy waters.

Which brings us to Jesus with Simon in the boat.

Notice how Simon doesn’t have much luck catching fish in the same waters that he and the others have been trolling with their nets day after day.

That’s when Jesus tells him to go out further….go a little deeper…get away from the shore.

And—voila—Simon is catching so many more fish that other boats need to come and help bring in the haul.

Because the fish…or as Jesus notes…the fishing for people…means we need to not to stick to the same places we’ve always been.

Jesus is calling us into deeper waters.

As we are being sent out….we need to be ready to take the message of loving the neighbor…no matter who that neighbor is…what language they speak…who they love…or how they identify.

And even as we go out…we need to be prepared that our message may not be received.

Indeed…loving the foreigner may not be welcomed in some quarters.

So take that message out further… and wider.

There are others beyond our own kin that need to experience the true love of Christ.

And we are the bearers of that light.

God is calling us to this task.

May we be ready to respond to God with Here am I; send me.

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.

 

 

 

The Brave Light: A Sermon for Candlemas

 

Another week of navigating a landscape that seems to be falling apart under our feet. The unelected South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, angered that he wasn't allowed to have access to sensitive personal data of Americans such as our social security numbers, has basically staged a coup from his make believe Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and shut out workers from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) computers. 

To say this is outrageous is an understatement. 

In addition to this evidence of a coup, Americans were shocked and in horror when an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet as it approached DC's National Airport Wednesday night, sending both into the Potomac River and killing all 67 people on both aircrafts. The next day, a small medical airplane crashed into a northeastern Philadelphia neighborhood, killing seven more people. The President blamed the Democrats even though he just fired the head of the FAA, who had dared questioned Elon Musk, the shadow president of the United States, about the safety of his Space X billionaire rocket boy toy program.

In cities and communities across the United States, Mexicans and Venezueleans and other Latino/as have been demonstrating, waving their national flags and calling out the MAGA movement for its racism and attempts to deport people legally allowed to be in the country. There have been reports of round ups of workers at restaurants and factories by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. It's causing fear and some places have reported that school children are absent from their classes, likely because their parents are in hiding. Even the Episcopal Church took a hit from the anti-immigrant attitude of the administration. The Church's program that helps to resettle refugees has been forced to furlough almost two-thirds of its staff. 

All of this is supposed to make America "great" and fix our "ruined" economy that was doing fine. But people said their eggs were too expensive post-pandemic. Last time I checked, eggs were still almost $8 for a dozen.

We are in February....Black History Month...although the President has now ordered that federal agencies are not allowed to hold any kind of recognition of it...or Women's History Month...or Pride Month...

That doesn't apply to churches. So today...I was using Howard Thurman's words to bless candles...quoting Amanda Gorman in my sermon...and singing the spiritual "This Little Light of Mine." 

If there ever was a time for people to look at the stories of Jesus in the Gospel and seek the strength and courage to stand up to the bullies and tyrants...it's now. 

Text: Luke 2:22-40

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We’re all familiar with Christmas…and the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem.

We all know that Epiphany is the day that we rejoice that the Magi…three wise Gentile scientists from the East…follow the star to find the Jewish Jesus and hail him as a king.

We are in the midst of marking the season AFTER Epiphany…with all the many revelations and moments of seeing who Jesus is…and in turn…finding out who we are in this big ol’ body of Christ.

And tucked away in the middle of this After Epiphany season is today’s celebration… the day Mary and Jospeh present Jesus at the temple.

Secular society doesn’t care about this particular holiday.

We don’t have any special chocolate candies or decorations.

Nobody is going to have a “Presentation of Our Lord” Toyotathon sale event.

But we mark this day…calling it Candlemas…with the blessing of candles and celebrating this “Light that has come to enlighten the nations.”

This day in the life of the very ordinary Jewish parents of Jesus was simply part of their traditions and keeping with the law of Torah.

Mary’s period of purification…as prescribed in Leviticus Chapter 12…has finished.

She and Joseph bring their first-born child…Jesus…along with two pigeons as sacrificial offerings to the priest at the Temple.

Now…we might not think much of this…but there’s a reason Luke wants us to know these details.

It’s again…that reminder that Jesus is not one of the “in” crowd…the wealthy of his society…and neither were Mary and Joseph.

His parents are dirt poor.

Really…really poor.

Most Jewish parents would be able to afford to bring a lamb and a turtledove.

Maybe they’d have to settle for a couple of turtledoves.

But the Mosaic law outlined in Leviticus also made room for those who didn’t have anything to speak of…so they could bring a couple of pigeons instead.

For the society at this time…nothing in this scene is abnormal.

But then…some new characters come in.

Simeon…a devout old man in Jerusalem…and the prophet Anna…who represents a descendant of the lost tribe of Asher…a region in the far northern region.

A character from the North…and one from the South…both encounter this newborn baby.

And both of them have that moment of seeing… in this child.. something that they had longed for.

Freedom.

Release from the tyranny and corruption of the Roman Empire.

A renewal and revival of their spirits and the hope they’ve been seeking while dealing with the day-to-day indignities of their situation.

I’ve said it before: babies are signs of hope.

Babies represent new life…a future.

And so…when Simeon takes Jesus into his arms…his whole body seems to get flooded with those hopeful feelings.

Looking into the face of Jesus…he sees in him that candle…the flame of the Spirit…that will lead the people out of this gloom and despair.

And…once more…Luke…our evangelist, the musical lyricist and composer…has him burst into what we have turned into a song—the nunc dimittis—which we just sang a version of before this Gospel reading.

For Simeon…looking into the face of Jesus…he knows he can go in peace…because in Jesus he sees a future of freedom.  

This child will grow up to be that Messiah he’d been waiting to see all these years.

The light he sees in Jesus is enlightening his own soul.

At the same time…Simeon knows there will be a cost.

Not everyone is going to rejoice and understand the message of Jesus.

Some will resent it and rebel against it.

Their inner thoughts…their jealousies…pettiness…their desire to have power over others…will get exposed.

He tells Mary, “This is going to hurt you, too.”

Simeon exits the scene…and now in comes Anna…an old woman and prophet who was apparently a Temple regular.

She sees Jesus.

And…just like Simeon…this old lady from the north…looks at this baby Jesus…and is overcome with joy and filled with hope.

Now Luke doesn’t tell us what she said.

But we know that she is looking around the Temple…at all of these people who are living under a cloud of heaviness from the Empire…and she’s telling them:

“This is the one! This is the light that will cut through this fog of oppression!

He is our redemption!

The favor of God is upon him!”

This light that Simeon and Anna saw…this is why we mark this day with blessing candles.

And it’s the reminder that each one of us has that light of Christ within us that gets revived and refreshed when we encounter Christ.

In the hearing of the Word.

In the receiving of the Bread and the Wine.

In the way we interact with each other.

Because the Light that came into the world to lead the nations didn’t do it as a one-off and a singular event.

This light has been passed on throughout generations.

It’s what we share with each other both within this sanctuary space and what we carry back out of our red doors into our local communities.

Back when I was leading a chapter of PFLAG…I used to encourage the parents and friends at the meetings to take the things they were learning about how to be a friend and ally to the LGBTQ community back out into their workplaces…their homes…churches and synagogues.

I would remind them…these people who loved their LGBTQ children and friends: “it’s good that your light is shining brightly in your own house. But I need you to take that light out into the streets because it’s really dark out there in the world.”

The same is true for us in the church.

If the church wants to do what it is called to do…to do justice…love kindness…and walk humbly with God…then it begins with us tending to the wicks of our own lanterns and candles…shine that light of Christ…and pass it on to those who are waiting to see Christians show up.

And show up as Jesus did.

With love and compassion.

With justice and mercy.

With a desire to burn as bright as that lantern held up by the Statue of Liberty as she welcomed the newly-arrived immigrants from war-torn and famine-ladened countries of Europe over a century ago.

There is a tremendous need in this time for us to bring forth the light of Christ and not retreat back into the shadows of fear.

I want to end with the words I heard again when I was in Morning Prayer this past week.

The Reverend Jan Cope…Provost at Washington National Cathedral…was meditating on Jesus as that Light to the nations…which is also in all of us.

She read from Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb”:

“When day comes, we step out of the shade,

Aflame and unafraid.

The new dawn blooms as we free it,

For there is always light,

If only we’re brave enough to see it,

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

In the name of our One Holy and Undivided Trinity.