TEST: ISAIAH 6; 1 pt. “In the year that king Uzzich died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, a high and lofty…….”
v.8 – Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here I am send me.”
Over the past weeks, particularly on December 19, 2016 and January 11, 2017 we heard glowing tributes about the life of our brother James Ronald Webster. We heard about the pivotal role which he played in the history of our island in 1967 and in subsequent years leading to Anguilla’s separation from the Unitary State of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. We heard about his tenacity in the introduction of the Anguilla Social Security Scheme.
We thank God for raising him up along with the other pioneers for such a time. Their courage determination and perseverance will long be remembered. I am not sure if many of us really understand the risks involved in the events of 1967. Had the tide gone in the opposite direction, Mr. Webster and the pioneers of the revolution would have been charged for treason against the state. They could have received imprisonment or even death. God was on our side. God is always on the side of the marginalized and down trodden. For He is a liberator.
As the history of Anguilla is written, we must never overlook the contribution of the Ministers of Religion at that time – and here I am not seeking to score points. But among those ministers who were in the thick of the revolution were Canon Guy Carleton and The Rev’d Martin Roberts. There servants of God were members of the Peace Keeping Committee charged with the responsibility of ensuring that law and order were kept in a chaotic situation. They were the ones who made sure Anguilla’s case received attention in the international press. I think of the Rev’d John A Gumbs who took time out from his pastorate to be part of a delegation championing Anguilla’s cause. The Rev’d C Leonard Carty who took a sabbatical and returned to Anguilla to serve as the island’s Treasurer. For this action he was ridiculed. One gentleman was heard to say “Rev’d Carty has done the opposite to Matthew. Matthew left the seat of customs to follow Jesus but he has left following Jesus for the seat of customs.” But this patriot did not succumb to such remarks. He knew like all of us who have been set apart for special ministries that “insults and injury are all part of ministry” and ‘it is the road the Saviour trod should not his servant tread it too? Those of us who are called by Christ’s name – Christians – need to understand that wherever we are called to serve we are serving Christ. The problem is that we compartmentalize life. This part is for God and this part is for me or whoever.
Have you heard this adage?
Mr. Do Good went to church on Sunday but went to hell when died because of what he did on Monday?
and how about the verse of the hymn King of Glory, King of Peace?
“Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee……
E’en eternity’s too short to extol thee.”
In our text Isaiah begins…..”In the year that King Uzziah died.” That is the date of his experience. The year is 735 BC. Isaiah’s way of dating tells us that it was an anxious time in the Nation’s history. The King was dead and the battalions of the predatory Assyrians were on the march, edging closer to Palestine. Fear and foreboding were in the air. The prophet felt the chill of anxiety in his bones. External changes were triggering an inner crisis in Isaiah’s life. Was that the kind of feeling which gripped Mr. Webster and the leaders of the revolution in 1966 as the time for Associated Statehood with Britain drew near? In our personal life we can all relate to the experience of external changes triggering an inner crisis. We really cannot separate what goes on around us from what goes on within us. It was such an uncertain time of change and threat that Isaiah tells us. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty.” He experienced a moment of perception, of new awareness. That is what the biblical writers are trying to express when they use this kind of language. In the biblical sense, seeing is perceiving. Jesus often chided his disciples for having eyes but seeing not, ears but hearing not.
Some persons may have difficulty with the word throne. There is a disposition in some quarters to shy away from words like King, Queen, Lord and Master as not appropriate in this day and afar. Isaiah’s vision of the Lord upon a throne high and lofty remains. What he seeks to share with us here is a sense of the complete otherness of the Sovereign God. What he seeks to communicate is a sense of a transcendent order of reality. And this is precisely what is going into eclipse in our society. Someone has said that the mission of the church is to keep alive the fact that there is a God: a God who sees, knows, cares and judges. With the eclipse of a sense of the transcendent in society has come the absence of a sense of personal and collective accountability.
Say what you like about Mr. Webster, he believed in the transcendency of God. Among other things, he was regular at worship and Bible Study. He spoke openly about his faith and trust in God. Would to God that this was the case with all leaders, locally, regionally and across the world. There are those leaders who live and act as if they are untouchables. No time for God, worship and the things of God. They feel that they are self-made and have arrived. Leaders are servants of God. Statistics show that when the father of a household acknowledges God and worship God, others in the household follow his example. Our leaders need to set an example to the citizens of our islands that God must be given pre-eminence in our lives. If we forget God, we are doomed. We may put in place social programmes, economic programmes but if we exclude God, these will not prosper.
Here is a thought to roll around our head. When we lose a sense of the transcendent God, we also lose a vision of our own humanity. The human dimension goes into eclipse and this is reflected in many ways. The marketing inspired image of the person as consumer diminishes us. Pornography dehumanized our personhood. The adulation of the lifestyles of the rich and famous proclaims an inadequate message about what it means to be a successful human being. “What will it profit a man if gains the whole world and lose his soul?’ Indifference to the claims of divine justice and righteousness triggers social dislocation and chaos. God wills to disclose himself to us. Are we willing to accept him in our lives? God can bring about that transformation which we dearly need.
So Isaiah has seen the Lord, high and lofty. He has seen himself and his community in a new way and a flash of humbling insight. Now he hears what his ears had not heard before. He hears the pathos of God. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying “whom shall I send and who will go for us?” This passage has traditionally been identified as Isaiah’s call to ministry. But there is no direct call. No voice thunders out, “Isaiah, I have chosen you for a special task. Isaiah just hears. He became a listener and what he hears moves him to a response. – “Here am I; send me! Mr. Webster responded to a call in his life. He has played his part on the stage of life. He played it to the best of his ability. He is at rest from his labourers. Again, we give thanks to God for the contribution which he made to the development of our homeland and its people. It is fitting for us to pay tribute. Now it is our turn to continue to job of laying strong blocks for this home we call Anguilla. Do not look only to Government, which ever administration is in power to do everything.
In the words of Calypso Joe of Antigua,
“Every citizen to the cause of justice must rise.
We must build together and not fractionize
Dedicated to your country’s cause with body, mind and soul
We have a nation be build, a nation to build, a country to mould
We have a nation to build a county to mould.
Let us all put our hands to the plough. We have been called to serve God and one another. One of the reasons why the revolt of 1967 succeeded was this: Most Anguillians were committed to the task at hand and willing to give themselves, whatever it took, in the service of this land. Let us reach out in love and care for each other, especially the poor, the less fortunate, the stranger in our midst and care for the environment. God has given us a beautiful island. Let us not exploit and abuse our resources, but seek to preserve them and to pass them, better then we found them, to the next generation.
One of the buzz words in 1967 was Freedom. Through the valiant efforts of Mr. Webster and his band of freedom fighters we have attained a certain amount of autonomy. But sometimes I wonder if we really understand what freedom entails. For some people, freedom means freedom from – an oppressive regime, freedom from responsibility, freedom from traditional morality, freedom from tyrannical bosses, freedom from nagging spouses – the list goes on and on. Freedom from is not always bad. But there is another kind of freedom. A more exhilarating form of freedom. It is the freedom to eg. Freedom to be all God created us to be. Freedom carries with it responsibility – a responsibility to be honest, true and kind in what we do and say. Freedom does not mean licence to do or say what we like, when we like and how we like. Freedom carries with it responsibility. It carries with it respect for both great and small. Freedom does not mean arrogance and rudeness.
To our young people! Stay in school! Go as far in school as you are able. For most people education and ability equal freedom. You may think leaving school gives you “freedom from….” Freedom from grumpy and grouchy teachers, freedom from boring assignments, freedom from homework. But education is actually the path to freedom. The more knowledge you have, the greater your range of choices. Freedom from and freedom to are often in conflict. Sometimes we have to give up one freedom in order to gain a greater freedom.
There is freedom in things spiritual that comes from discipline and denial. How can we expect to enjoy the fruits of God’s grace without a measure of sacrifice and dedication? True God accepts us as we are. There is nothing we need to do to earn God’s love. Still without a commitment to living the Christ-life, we will never know the joy of our salvation. For in Christ’s service there is perfect freedom.
How much time do we spend in Bible Study? Are we spending sufficient time reconnecting with the One who is the source of life? Are we leading a disciplined life? Colin Campbell once wrote, “Wise persons have always recognized that freedom does not mean the absence of constraints or moral absolutes…….”
Have you discovered real freedom in your life? “You shall know the truth,” Jesus said, “And the truth shall set you free.” The truth is Christ himself. When we live our life in him, we discover a higher freedom than the world can know.
To Mrs. Webster and the members of the family of our brother, James Ronald Webster, be assured of our prayerful support as we commend you into the hands of the God of comfort.
