Those who look to this well-known Old Testament lesson for some new insight on the interrelatedness of the Persons of the Godhead, look in vain. There is nothing here that especially commends this text for Trinity Sunday. However, there is much for our consideration. "In the year that King Uzziah died ..." These opening words may seem incidental to the rest of this autobiographical account, but they are not. They fix the time of this spiritual experience. In this, they give us a particular historical setting. These opening words tell us that there are events in our lives too, that ignite a reaction, a response. King Uzziah is dead! That announcement, in 742 B.C. in Jerusalem, put terror into the hearts of some. Why?

All kings must die. Yet the title, "King," is a reference to power. When t…