Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
“Unclean!” We might associate this with the image of a leper traveling through a 1stcentury Jewish town or the dietary laws given through Moses. However, in today’s first reading we see Isaiah declaring his own lips and the lips of his people as unclean. What does this mean? I consulted a few resources. Came to no definite conclusion but thought that maybe I can offer just a few options.
The first source noted that Isaiah declares the uncleanliness of his lips after witnessing the praise of the Cherubim. In this way, he sees how far every word of praise he has ever uttered has fallen short of the true glory of God. This is a humbling uncleanliness that wishes to truly praise and proclaim the Lord.
Alternatively, we can link his uncleanliness back to the cry of the leper. Leprosy kills our capacity to experience pain, causing the afflicted to accidentally wound him or herself. The leprous lips suffer no guilt when they utter falsehoods or work duplicitously. For Isaiah to have unclean lips would disqualify him from the role of prophet for his words would serve himself and not the Lord.
I think we too can suffer from those same unclean lips. We can domesticate God to the point that we lose sight of his glory, the glory that made Isaiah realize, “God is God and I am not!” We also can use our words for our own means or we can become desensitized to falsehood.
Today, let us examine ourselves and see in what way we need our lips purified to fulfill our baptismal role of prophet. As you reflect on this, I recommend listening to Bethel's, Ever Be. For our unclean lips are corrected by God’s praise.
- Spencer Hargadon