Sermon title: The God Who Calls
Sermon text: Isaiah 6:1-13

Sometimes, God appears too close for comfort and unrelenting (Jonah 1), other times aloof and distant (Isaiah 6). The picture of God in this week’s lectionary passage might even be exasperating. And yet, if we have experienced the futility of trying to change or control people, we might have some appreciation for how God is acting in this passage. We see God both “letting go” and “holding on.” God lets the people’s callous hearts go on with their harmful, unjust ways. God also never stops making a way where there appears to be no way. Where we see waste and ruin and stumps, God plants seeds that will become a new grove of trees. 

Reflection Questions

  1. Have you ever experienced “letting go” as a means of grace? 
  2. Where and how do you see God and other people “holding on” in these challenging times? 
  3. In what ways are you being called to “let go” and “hold on”?