Breaking through Rock
Looking into Unknown Horizons
Looking into Unknown HorizonsIn 1962, John Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. He had a perspective on the earth beneath, and space beyond, that nobody had ever had. John was suddenly aware of the big picture of his own existence; his tiny lifeform on the backdrop of an infinite universe. He commented: “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is, to me, impossible.” Two and a half thousand years earlier, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah had a similar experience…..
The Old Testament Reading for Trinity Sunday – Isaiah 6.1-8
“1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
“2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
“3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
“4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
“5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
“6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
“7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
“8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Breaking through Rock
Looking into Unknown Horizons
In 1962, John Glenn was the first American astronaut to orbit the earth. He had a perspective on the earth beneath, and space beyond, that nobody had ever had. John was suddenly aware of the big picture of his own existence; his tiny lifeform on the backdrop of an infinite universe. He commented: “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is, to me, impossible.” Two and a half thousand years earlier, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah had a similar experience…..
The Old Testament Reading for Trinity Sunday – Isaiah 6.1-8
“1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
“2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
“3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
“4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
“5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
“6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
“7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
“8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Isaiah Looks into the Beyond
Although Isaiah did his best to explain this moment, it’s obvious he is struggling to find the right words and pictures. The core of this experience of the beyond is the three words “Holy, holy, holy” (Hebrew: Qadosh, qadosh, qadosh) which speak of an aeon or dimension outside of human experience. Isaiah is seeing something that defies description and explanation. He is taken beyond anything he had previously conceived of, or even imagined – into the ineffable glory of the LORD. He realises that God isn’t an old man in the clouds, but the dynamic Truth behind the universe; beyond the deepest human perception or wisdom.
Breaking through Rock
My favourite Western film of all time is “Pale Rider.” Clint Eastwood plays a mysterious stranger called the “Preacher.” Nobody knows who he is, where he came from, or where he’s going – only that he pauses in his journey to help a tiny community panning for gold, oppressed by a bullying prospector and his henchmen.
As the group search for gold in the creek, they are hindered by a huge boulder in the stream, which they have chipped away at with their hammers, over many months. The Preacher takes up the hammer, and, with one forceful blow, breaks the rock asunder, allowing the men to search out the gold.
Isaiah discovers Gold
Like John Glenn’s experience, Isaiah realises the fragility of his existence, and the immensity of eternity. His life comes into focus – the foolish way he has been living; as if faith and truth had just been happy accessories. Now Isaiah sees God in all His mercy, His love, and His boundless grace. He chooses the LORD.
The rock – the resilience, which was in Isaiah, is broken by the LORD. Isaiah’s sin, the bedrock beneath his uncleanness, is dealt with – the negative mo
tivating and constraining forces within him are laid to rest by the power of the Qadosh – the Holy One – the LORD. Now God can reveal the gold in him. Now God can use him.
Break me! Melt me! Fill me….Spirit of the Living God
In the early 1900s, a new Christian denomination appeared in England – The Pentecostals. These Christians trust the Lord to live in the fulness and entirety of the power of the Holy Spirit, as described in the New Testament. The song on the left became one of their favourites. Pentecostal believers realised that the gold was only found when the rock was broken.
Could you pray the prayer contained in these courageous words? Could you trust Jesus enough to ask Him to break you, to melt you, to mould you, and to fill you to overflowing with the Holy Ghost?
O Thou who camest from a above, the pure celestial fire to impart, kindle a flame of sacred love on the mean altar of my heart. There let it for Thy glory burn with inextinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source return, in humble prayer, and fervent praise.
Amen. Amen. Amen.