If you could
drop into any place in the Bible and be part of any Bible story - you would be
what Hollywood would call an "extra", in the scene but not one of the
major players - what would you pick? I suspect many would select the Christmas
or Easter narrative; maybe you would pick last week’s Old Testament lesson to
watch the bones turn back into a crowd of living people or the Pentecost
miracle of tongues and fire. Still others might choose to be present at one of
Jesus' miracles. To be present at the beginning of time and watch creation
begin - now there would be a story for the ages! Maybe you would want to watch
David go against Goliath, or to be present when the ark first bobbed on the
rising waves. Watching Elijah go head-to-head against the prophets of Baal in a
bar-be-que cookoff (Elijah won, hands down). There are lots of great events in
the Bible that I would love to visit. I guess I need to talk to the kid on the
Doritos commercial to see if I can borrow his time machine.
This
morning’s Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah chapter 6. In my list of Biblical
accounts to witness and be a part of, this one doesn't make the list. That's
right - one I wouldn't want to see is the calling of Isaiah. The scene scares
me. Let me explain.
Isaiah was on duty in the temple. Isaiah isn't listed as a priest, so I suspect he is one of the Israelites who is there to worship, or perhaps he helps with the cleaning and maintenance of the temple. But he was there, doing what he did, and he sees this incredible vision.
Angels swirled around the heavens - two wings were stretched out, carrying the angels across the skies. Two wings were covering their faces, two other wings covered their feet. In their midst was the Lord, Yahweh Himself, sitting upon His throne, His royal robes so vast that the throne room was filled by it.
As if that weren't enough the angelic chorus sang the Sanctus – “Holy, holy holy, Lord God Almighty." Perfect harmony, perfect pitch, perfectly beautiful in tone and volume. Take any human chorus you have ever heard and multiply it by perfection, and you'll begin to understand the magnificence of the song that echoed in the Temple that day.
The scene is - literally - perfect in every possible way. But Isaiah, the son of Amoz, is terrified. He cried, "Woe is me - I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips... I live among people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord almighty." Why?
Because that is what happens when sinful man comes in direct contact with the almighty God. God cannot abide sin and sin cannot survive in God's holy presence. "No man can see me and live," God had said. And Isaiah was terrified - He had just seen God! I imagine he expected to be vaporized! After all, when Moses went up the mountaintop, and God's presence settled on the mountain in fire and smoke and cloud, the people were terrified. They didn't want to meet God face to face - they were pleased and relieved that Moses was offering to go in their stead. When the priests carried the ark into Jerusalem, when one slipped and an innocent member of the crowd reached out to catch the ark so it didn't hit the ground, he was killed instantly because he was not sanctified, he was not cleansed, to be an ark-bearer. When the priests entered the temple, they had bells attached to the hem of their albs and a rope to their ankle; if the bells stopped jingling, the people assumed the priest was unclean and - therefore - had died in the presence of the glory of the Lord, and used the rope to pull him out of the temple. Yes, Isaiah was right to be afraid.
God does want us to fear him, but not to be afraid of him. In the mercy of Almighty God, even as He sits on His glorious throne surrounded by winged seraphs, He acts. The Lord sends one of His angels down to the temple and, picking up a burning coal from the burning altar, touches Isaiah's mouth.
Now, I find this fascinating. Your lips are one of the most sensitive areas on the body. Get a pimple or fever blister on your lip and your whole face is impacted - try smiling sometime if your lips are chapped. If my lips are a problem, I get the Carmex or Vaseline to make them better. If I have morning breath, I brush my teeth and if I need to freshen my breath during the day, I keep peppermints on my desk and gum in my truck. Those sound soothing, those sound pleasant to my mouth. But God chooses fire. Fire is good. Fire cleanses, illuminates, warms, and cooks. But, if you've ever burned your lip on a hot cup of coffee or cocoa, you know the discomfort. Why does God use fire?
Fire is a symbol of the Lord and His presence: a bush burning brightly, yet not being consumed; a pillar of fire leading Israel by night; an altar burning brightly; the candles lit in the Holy of Holies. Here, God does not send fire in anger, but in His mercy, He reaches down and cleanses Isaiah's mouth. It’s as though the coal cauterizes the sins from his tongue. But, more than that - God doesn't destroy Isaiah because God is going to use Isaiah's mouth for His purpose. Isaiah will become one of the most famous of Old Testament prophets and the Lord will use his mouth to proclaim Law and Gospel to Israel. God's presence - His Word - will enter the mouth of Isaiah and He will speak God's word into the ears of His people.
The reason the Lord showed Himself to Isaiah in this dramatic way was to force Isaiah to his knees in repentance. He needed Isaiah to see his own sinfulness and weakness before he could stand and say, “Here I am.” He needed Isaiah to know that he is a man, a sinner, who is saved by grace and in no way is he above those whom he will serve. He needs to see, feel, and know the fear of the Lord first before he can preach the fear of the Lord among Israel.
Isaiah was on duty in the temple. Isaiah isn't listed as a priest, so I suspect he is one of the Israelites who is there to worship, or perhaps he helps with the cleaning and maintenance of the temple. But he was there, doing what he did, and he sees this incredible vision.
Angels swirled around the heavens - two wings were stretched out, carrying the angels across the skies. Two wings were covering their faces, two other wings covered their feet. In their midst was the Lord, Yahweh Himself, sitting upon His throne, His royal robes so vast that the throne room was filled by it.
As if that weren't enough the angelic chorus sang the Sanctus – “Holy, holy holy, Lord God Almighty." Perfect harmony, perfect pitch, perfectly beautiful in tone and volume. Take any human chorus you have ever heard and multiply it by perfection, and you'll begin to understand the magnificence of the song that echoed in the Temple that day.
The scene is - literally - perfect in every possible way. But Isaiah, the son of Amoz, is terrified. He cried, "Woe is me - I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips... I live among people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord almighty." Why?
Because that is what happens when sinful man comes in direct contact with the almighty God. God cannot abide sin and sin cannot survive in God's holy presence. "No man can see me and live," God had said. And Isaiah was terrified - He had just seen God! I imagine he expected to be vaporized! After all, when Moses went up the mountaintop, and God's presence settled on the mountain in fire and smoke and cloud, the people were terrified. They didn't want to meet God face to face - they were pleased and relieved that Moses was offering to go in their stead. When the priests carried the ark into Jerusalem, when one slipped and an innocent member of the crowd reached out to catch the ark so it didn't hit the ground, he was killed instantly because he was not sanctified, he was not cleansed, to be an ark-bearer. When the priests entered the temple, they had bells attached to the hem of their albs and a rope to their ankle; if the bells stopped jingling, the people assumed the priest was unclean and - therefore - had died in the presence of the glory of the Lord, and used the rope to pull him out of the temple. Yes, Isaiah was right to be afraid.
God does want us to fear him, but not to be afraid of him. In the mercy of Almighty God, even as He sits on His glorious throne surrounded by winged seraphs, He acts. The Lord sends one of His angels down to the temple and, picking up a burning coal from the burning altar, touches Isaiah's mouth.
Now, I find this fascinating. Your lips are one of the most sensitive areas on the body. Get a pimple or fever blister on your lip and your whole face is impacted - try smiling sometime if your lips are chapped. If my lips are a problem, I get the Carmex or Vaseline to make them better. If I have morning breath, I brush my teeth and if I need to freshen my breath during the day, I keep peppermints on my desk and gum in my truck. Those sound soothing, those sound pleasant to my mouth. But God chooses fire. Fire is good. Fire cleanses, illuminates, warms, and cooks. But, if you've ever burned your lip on a hot cup of coffee or cocoa, you know the discomfort. Why does God use fire?
Fire is a symbol of the Lord and His presence: a bush burning brightly, yet not being consumed; a pillar of fire leading Israel by night; an altar burning brightly; the candles lit in the Holy of Holies. Here, God does not send fire in anger, but in His mercy, He reaches down and cleanses Isaiah's mouth. It’s as though the coal cauterizes the sins from his tongue. But, more than that - God doesn't destroy Isaiah because God is going to use Isaiah's mouth for His purpose. Isaiah will become one of the most famous of Old Testament prophets and the Lord will use his mouth to proclaim Law and Gospel to Israel. God's presence - His Word - will enter the mouth of Isaiah and He will speak God's word into the ears of His people.
The reason the Lord showed Himself to Isaiah in this dramatic way was to force Isaiah to his knees in repentance. He needed Isaiah to see his own sinfulness and weakness before he could stand and say, “Here I am.” He needed Isaiah to know that he is a man, a sinner, who is saved by grace and in no way is he above those whom he will serve. He needs to see, feel, and know the fear of the Lord first before he can preach the fear of the Lord among Israel.
Today is
Trinity Sunday but you notice I haven’t said much to try to teach or explain
the Triune God to you. It’s a difficult concept to teach; an even more
difficult thing to understand. We confess the Trinity, and this is a necessary
part of the Christian faith. In a few moments, we’ll use the Athanasian Creed
to confess this trinitarian faith. You’ll notice, the Creed will state that it
is necessary to believe this, not understand it, for salvation. The Trinity is
a mystery and, in a sense, it is something that I am not sure we can ever fully
comprehend. Thank God, our Lord doesn’t call us to understand it fully; He does
call us to believe it. But I appreciate this mystery because it helps us
maintain our sense of fear, awe, and majesty towards God. C.S. Lewis captured
this attitude in a few lines of his book, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE.
In the novel, he portrays Christ as a lion. A girl, Lucy, meets two talking
beavers.
“Is he a man?” asked
Lucy.
“Aslan a man!” said Mr Beaver sternly. Certainly not. I tell
you he is King of the wood and the son of the great emperor-beyond-the-sea.
Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion,
the great lion.”
“ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite
safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake” said Mrs Beaver; “if
there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking,
they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs Beaver tells
you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s
the King, I tell you.” [1]
You need to
know this fear. You need to know the Lord in His full power and might. You need
to know the Lord and know that you cannot stand by yourself in this vocation
you will soon begin. You need to begin on your knees, with Isaiah, “I am of
unclean lips.” And, when you begin there, you meet the Triune God.
Now, I started
this sermon by saying I wouldn’t want to meet God. That’s true, if I were to
meet him by myself, on my own merits. But we have met the Triune God. You meet
God the Father who sent His Son to die for you, that by the power of the Holy
Spirit you might believe that you are saved by God’s grace and not by anything
you have done. To assure you of this, you are baptized at the command of Jesus,
just as He was baptized, and in that Holy Washing the Spirit descends on you and
the Father declares that you are His beloved child. You are continuously
reminded of that baptismal gift every time the sign of the cross is made and
you are forgiven of all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. You know the joy of hearing the words “Your guilt has
been taken away and your sin atoned for.”
With bodies washed in water and tongues seared in heavenly fire, we know the Triune God, Father, Son and Spirit as He has revealed Himself to us in Scripture. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you: when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior…I love you.”
In the Name…
With bodies washed in water and tongues seared in heavenly fire, we know the Triune God, Father, Son and Spirit as He has revealed Himself to us in Scripture. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you: when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior…I love you.”
In the Name…
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