Isaiah 6:1-8(9-13); Psalm 138; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-1
The Rev. Candice B. Frazer
King Uzziah was one of the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. For those less familiar with the history of Israel, here is a brief overview:
After Moses lead the people out of Egypt, Joshua helped them conquer the Promised Land. That land was divided among the twelve tribes, each corresponding to one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Over time, as threats from foreign invaders increased, Israel felt the need for a more centralized form of leadership, rather than a loose confederation of tribes. Soon they began to appoint judges to offer guidance and unify the people.
However, internal pressures such as economic struggles and political maneuvering made them feel insecure as did threats from their enemies. They decided they needed a king—after all, other nations had one, so why shouldn’t they? They petitioned YHWH for a king. Although God initially denied the request, he eventually relented, and Saul became the first king of Israel—which is great until it isn’t. It seemed promising at first, but Saul’s reign ended in madness. David succeeded him, followed by Solomon. After Solomon’s death, Israel splits in two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
From then on, scripture evaluates each king’s legacy simply: either they did right in the sight of the Lord, or they did evil in the sight of the Lord.
Uzziah was one of the kings of Judah, the Southern Kingdom. His father was assassinated, and at just sixteen years old, he was made king. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He sought the Lord, he learned about him, he worshipped him, and God prospered him. Uzziah defeated the Philistines, Ammonites, and other foreign enemies. He expanded Judah’s territory, built cities and fortified Jerusalem. He had herds, farms, vineyards, soldiers, and military might. He invested in infrastructure, weapons, and defense. He grew wealthy, powerful, and began to idolize those things over God.
Whereas once he sought the Lord, now he thought himself above God’s law. Uzziah entered the temple to make an offering—something reserved only for the priests consecrated to do so. His actions were not only unethical and illegal, but heretical. As he stood in the sanctuary of the temple, Uzziah was struck with leprosy on his forehead. He fled the temple and lived out his remaining days in a separate house from the palace and exiled from the house of the Lord.
He died alone as a leper, his accomplishments fading into mist and shadow due to his pride, on the same day that Isaiah would respond, “Here I am,” to God’s call to him.
On the day that King Uzziah died, Isaiah had a heavenly vision in which the Lord called him to prophesy. While Uzziah’s life had been marked by success and accomplishment, Isaiah’s would be marked by persecution and rejection. Isaiah warned the people of unclean lips, calling them to repent from idolatry, social injustice, and hypocrisy. He called out their failure to care for one another, their abandonment of the law of the Lord, and their irresponsibility to those who were less fortunate. But the people did not listen. In the end, Isaiah would be killed during the reign of King Manasseh, sawed in half for his faithfulness To follow God’s call is not to live an easy life.
In Luke we read the story of the calling of Simon Peter, James, and John. Jesus takes them fishing and when their nets are filled to overflowing, they are not simply in awe, they discover that they are unworthy. In their humility, they turn to Jesus and want to push him away, but instead, they will drop everything to follow him. Their call like Isaiah’s, would not be easy. Yet their faithfulness would mirror Isaiah’s. Like Isaiah, they recognized their sinful nature and the unworthiness of their idol worship, before they accept the call to do God’s work.
It seems that perfection is not a prerequisite for discipleship. Instead, the recognition of where we are falling short, what idols distract us from God and intrigue our egos, and our willingness to pay attention to the divine is all that is required for conversion. Isaiah was simply doing his priestly duties when God appeared to him in a vision. Simon Peter, James, and John were exhausted after working all-night fishing on the lake of Gennesaret when Jesus appeared to them and had them cast their nets to the other side of the boat. None of them were expecting a life-changing moment, but all of them were prepared to respond to God’s summons and allowed their lives to be transformed.
The disciples had just experienced the greatest catch of their lives—this was something they had only dreamed of. It was the equivalent of winning the lottery for them. Instead of capitalizing on their success, they realize they have been chasing the wrong dreams all of their lives. They humbly ask Jesus to have mercy and walk away from their careers to follow this fellow they just met.
Unlike King Uzziah, who became consumed with and idolized his own power and success, the disciples passed the test. They released the image of who they thought they were supposed to be in the world and what power and success were supposed to look like and, instead, embraced that whom God was calling them to become. They released their own idols.
It may seem easier to be a king and have unlimited power, but the temptations are not that different. Just as real ordinary people struggle with their own distractions and idols, so do those with power—maybe even more so—placing their idols before God. The true challenge of following Jesus is about whether we will succumb to our idolatrous cravings be they success or power or control or wealth or security or whatever or will we respond faithfully to God’s call to come and follow him.
Isaiah, Simon Peter, James, and John invite us to consider our own response to God. Will we walk away from the idols that distract us and follow Jesus? Or will we, like Uzziah, fall into the trap of pride and be consumed by those idols?
Amen