In the Presence of the Almighty 5 Epiphany C Isaiah 6:1-8 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.  (Isaiah 6:5-7 ESV)

Prayer: “All glory, Jesus, be to Thee  For this Thy glad epiphany;  Whom with the Father we adore  And Holy Ghost forevermore.”  Amen.

Dear continued celebrators of the Epiphany.

People respond to the holy in a number of ways.  Sometimes they claim, “That’s not for me!”  Other times, “I can’t understand.”  You’ll also hear when something’s real religious, “It’s too Catholic.”  And unbelievers will counter the holy with, “I don’t want my life-style choices to be interfered with.” What I find significant is when someone says, “Away from me – for my sins are too many!”

Throughout the Bible we find people who are fearful of the almighty –of the holy.  The disciple Peter in our Gospel Lesson this morning cries out after the Lord’s miracle of the great catch of fish, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord”. (Luke 5:8)

Isaiah responded in much the same way.  In today’s Old Testament reading the prophet is permitted a vision that reveals to him the throne room of God.  There he describes to us in mysterious words what can only be what the Apostle Paul later writes about in his First Letter to the Corinthians, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Of course he is just quoting Isaiah who wrote, “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:4)

This vision of Isaiah’s leads to the initial response of fear and contrition.  He is afraid of what he sees and he is sorry that he is a sinful man. “And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’”

Yet, God has work for Isaiah to do. This portion of Isaiah’s prophecy is known as The Call of Isaiah.  The prophet is telling us God how called him to the prophetic office that brought God’s Word to his people during very difficult times. 

In Isaiah, we hear the promise of the birth of the Savior by a virgin.  We hear how he will be at the same time the ‘Mighty God” and the “Prince of Peace.”  And in Isaiah chapter 53, we have the description of the suffering Savior –which so vividly describes our Lord’s suffering, crucifixion and death, that it reads as if the prophet Isaiah was right there.

But before Isaiah could do all which God intended for him to do he had to be cleansed. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” (Isaiah 6:6-7)

How about you?  What are your lips like in particular?

In one congregation I served there was a very prominent man who served filling various offices with distinction including chairman of the congregation.  When a disagreement came up in that congregation one person who was dead set against the man and was on the completely opposite side of the issue came to me and tried to totally discredit him by saying, “You don’t know what that man is really like.  In church he is real holy and acts like he is better than everyone else. But you should here how he swears on the fire department!”

Would your co-works recognize you by the words you are praying and singing today in church?  Would the other people gathered here in church recognize you if they were to hear the words you use at work?  When you are playing?  At home?

 James writes,

“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:7-10)

What kind of reptile or nasty beast is your tongue at times?

The disciple Peter, who, as I already mentioned, in our Gospel Lesson is fearful in the presence of Jesus –after he has seen the manifestation of Christ’s glory as the only begotten son of God come in human flesh- cries out to him to leave!  Why is Peter so afraid?  Yet we also know that, when three years later, Peter was questioned about Jesus by a little servant girl in the high priest’s court yard, he denied knowing Jesus and that he began to curse and swear.

What keeps you from having a clear conscience before God?  Nothing should.  For like Isaiah, we are encouraged to confess our sin in order that we might be forgiven.  At the beginning of this service we heard the clear word of God that tells us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

For Isaiah this was shown by the coal taken to his lips.  Ours is our Baptism.  There we received the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)  Our Baptism does not just wash away dirt and grime.  It is a saving washing that removes the stain and spot of sin.  It does it by the blood of Jesus Christ –which cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Baptism changes things.  The Holy Spirit uses the Sacrament to change us.  We heard the Apostle Paul tell us how differently things are when we cleansed by Jesus, our sins atoned for and we are filled with the Spirit.

Paul had to address the problem of people who were puffed up with gifts.  They were lacking in humility and Christian patience and understanding towards the others in their church.  Their mouths ran without first engaging their minds.  This essentially negated any good they were doing.

“Strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:12-20)

 After his cleansing, Isaiah heard something else.  It was a call to service to God.  “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’  Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.””

That call has been answered by God servants and people down through the ages.  For Simon and the others it was when Jesus said they would become fishers of men.  Enlightened, sanctified, and kept in the one true faith, men and women are emboldened to serve the Lord.  Each of us has a calling to serve God and neighbor. It may not be as impressive as Isaiah’s first call. 

But we are granted a presence at his Altar this day. Forgiven, strengthened and refreshed by the Body and Blood of our Lord, we are, like Isaiah,  sent from here.  With hymns and prayers on our lips we have been in the presence of the Almighy.  And as the renewed people of God, we are empowered to say with Isaiah about whatever might come our way, “Here am I! Send me!” Amen.