If Not Me, Who?

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!’ -Isaiah 6:8

At St. James, the call of Isaiah story holds special meaning. We know that it was this passage that Jonathan Daniels heard at an evening prayer service, along with the Song of Mary in the gospel of Luke, known as the Magnificat. These two readings inspired him to say yes to Martin Luther King’s call to come down to Selma. And it was likely the same two passages that kept whispering in Jonathan’s ear, so that he came to realize that he was called to return and help with the voter registration drive that was going on in Alabama.

We look up to Jonathan Daniels, not only because he was a member of our congregation, not only because he’s been named as a saint of the church, but because when a cry for justice rang out in his world, he did not simply say, “Yeah, someone should definitely do something about that!” Instead he said, “Here am I, send me.” How can I help? How can I get involved?

When Isaiah felt the glory of God pulling him into ministry, he cried, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!” But God equipped him, purifying his lips, and Isaiah rose to the occasion. I’m sure Jonathan had his own reservations. He’d have to leave seminary. He’d have to take a very unexpected and dangerous detour in his life. But in the end, he trusted that God would equip him for the journey and rose with Isaiah to say, “Here am I, send me.”

Is there something going on in our community that breaks your heart? Racial inequality certainly broke Jonathan’s heart. Is there something you also feel passionately about that needs some energy and attention in this world? It doesn’t have to be a dramatic martyr’s journey as Jonathan’s was, but it would likely make a huge difference to others nonetheless. As this Sunday approaches, August 14, the feast day of Jonathan Daniels, I invite you to pray about where and how you, too, are being called to bravely stand.

The readings this Sunday are:

Isaiah 6:1-8

Psalm 85:7–13

Luke 1:46-55