Faith for Pandemonium by: Emmanuel Philor Sr.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

 

Faith for Pandemonium

On December 31, 2019, Christians all around the world gathered in their meeting houses and began praying for the year ahead. We all had high hopes for what this upcoming year would bring. We prayed for many things, which included good health, prosperity, and a sound mind. Before we got settled into the New Year, we saw that this year was going to be very different than any other year we had ever seen. Preachers delivered a sermon that told us that 2020 would be the year of vision and manifestation. Intercessors told us that this year we would see God much clearer than before. Prophets told us that the scales would be falling from our eyes. While hearing this, we all were excited; thinking that this focused vision on God would lead us to a place of triumph. We saw this year as a platform that would push us towards our desired destiny. Hearing these different attributes of 2020 made many of us rejoice because with foresight it is easy to see the projecting of the word without considering the process. Yes, we want to see God clearer. Yes, we want a clearer vision and the manifestation of God’s promises. Yes, we do want the scales to fall. But, at what cost? We find ourselves, five months into the New Year, wishing that the effects of this year would dissipate.

Despite what we want to believe, every description of 2020 has been accurate. We have seen God clearer, the scales have fallen and we are beginning to see the manifestation of God’s glory. With this reassessment, I wonder again what the price is for this vision. Our lenses have been focused by the tragedy of separation and its effects. In this place of pandemonium, we have all found ourselves wrestling with the things that we have taken for granted. Throughout this segment of 2020, we have all grieved the separation as we have had to cancel and reschedule things that have been planned for years. Weddings have been canceled/postponed, Birthday plans have been canceled, Churches have been closed, Religious People have been out of work and so much more. My true fear of our current context is that people are dying from something that there is no cure or remedy for.

I can’t believe we are here. In 2020, I thought we’d have flying cars, teleports, and the accoutrements of an advanced society, but we are working through the kindergarten curriculum of safe living. Coupled with this reality, some of us are quarantined with people that we wished we could be separated from. Houses are filled with children while parents work from home. Essential Workers at local hospitals are fearful of bringing home some illness. Pastors are doing ministry in a very different manner than two months ago. Despite our accolades or access to creature comforts, no one hasn’t been affected by this pandemic. Everyone has been affected by the novel Coronavirus. Yes, this is pandemonium and all of this has caused us to look for God. We are looking to God for answers on when this will all be over. We are looking to God for a cure and find ourselves looking towards God but missing the glory. The truth of this is found in our text.

The text begins with informing us that King Uzziah died and in that year something major had happened. King Uzziah wasn’t like every other king, who had ruled before him, rather he had a heart for God. King Uzziah was one of the few kings that did what was right in the sight of the Lord. King Uzziah consulted the lord on all things, which is why this death is so tragic. Uzziah sinned against God by entering his temple to burn incense, without the approval of God. As a result, he was struck with leprosy, which would isolate until the time of death. As the prophet, who he had listened to and worked so closely with him; I’d imagine that this was difficult. Throughout the entirety of Uzziah’s reign, he had been faithful and made one mistake, one misstep that caused his death. Isaiah is a state of mourning a king that loved God, who died due to a moment of disobedience. Isaiah had to be puzzled. Where is God? Where is the God I know? These are questions that had to be plaguing his mind. Isaiah finds himself in a place of emotional instability. King Uzziah, who had grown to the position of friend, had died. And the cause of his death points back to God. As if grief is not enough of a weight to carry, the circumstances couldn’t be worse.

In that place of sorrowful mourning, Isaiah is looking for God and in that year, during that season of grieving; Isaiah saw the Lord. I, for one, struggled with this. I can’t imagine where Isaiah’s mind was racing to but the text says that it was in that season that Isaiah saw the Lord.  This is the place that many Americans, like myself, have found ourselves in. I will be honest, when I first heard of the Coronavirus, I had faith that God would deliver us but I never considered what that deliverance would look like. Working in a hospital, I thought there was no illness that could bring our system to its knees but I watched as it did. I witnessed hospital workers join in spirit as we have tried to make it through the day. I wrestled through the fears of many staff members and I deal with the issues behind the scenes. Beyond this moment, I have seen the number of people losing their lives in our hospital. With this sense in mind, on April 10^th, I too tested positive for the Coronavirus.

In that moment, I found myself just like Isaiah, wondering where God is. I couldn’t find him in the religiosity of my past or the pain of that current moment. I wondered if God was there and if God was there, I wanted God to spare mine and my family’s lives. But I came to realize that like Isaiah, it wasn’t that God wasn’t there but rather it was that I hadn’t seen God. God was there but I was so distracted by my fears and concerns that I couldn’t see God. Once the distraction disappeared, I found myself confounded with the reality that God is there, despite my ability to see God.  The powerful aspect of this text is that it doesn’t end at the seeing. Isaiah has the opportunity to not only see God but to also engage with God’s presence.

The stage is set: Uzziah has died but now he sees the Lord and the Seraphs. But the Lord isn’t just there, the Lord is seated on a throne that is high and lofty. Lofty suggests that the throne is lifted. Why is it important that the throne is both high and lifted? In the midst of pandemonium, God is lifted higher than we normally lift him. The higher we lift the Lord, the smaller our problems seem. Amid pandemonium, we need to see the Lord lifted. I don’t want to see the Lord seated at my level. I want to see the Lord lifted above my problems and sorrows. I want to see the Lord lifted the way that Isaiah saw the Lord. But I love the way the text sets up the scene. Isaiah realizes that He is not the only person in the room with the Lord. Isaiah saw some six-winged Seraphs that were lifting the Lord by crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah sees what is before him and realizes that he is not worthy of being in this room. He sees the Lord lifted, the company of Seraphs, and finally sees himself. In his place of pandemonium, where everything that could go wrong has, he sees his own faults. I wonder, in this pandemic, if we as a country will see the err in our ways. When will we see the way we have oppressed every ethnicity that isn’t white? When will we see that we mistreat anyone that doesn’t identify as male? When will it be legal to be Black in public? When will the needs of the impoverished of our country be met? When will it be okay to be running while black in public and not be murdered? When will pandemonium be a thing of the past? The fact that these questions are current questions should cause us to say “Woe unto us, for we are undone”. Isaiah gives me hope after this because upon realizing that he was unworthy, he willingly went through a cleansing process, which prepared him for the journey that is ahead of him. What is faith for pandemonium? It is the willingness to go into the unknown, simply because the Lord told you to go. It is not being satisfied with just seeing the Lord. It is being satisfied with going where the Lord leads, despite the fear of the unknown. That, my friends, is faith for pandemonium. Are you willing to go?