Sermon

Isaiah 6:1-8
2-4-01
5th Sunday after Epiphany

A Vision of the Lord Almighty

1. God Terrifies
2. God Cleanses
3. God Sends

Not long ago a survey was taken asking people why they attend church. That is, what purpose does worship serve in their lives? And one of the most common answers went something like: "I attend church to experience God's presence in my life." And I guess that's not a bad answer. In fact, maybe that's why many of you are here today. Maybe your goal is to kind of come into the presence of God. But have you ever thought about how you would feel if God were to allow you to fully achieve your goal? What if you were suddenly standing in the presence of God? What if, along with all the other people coming to worship today, the Lord Almighty were to suddenly show up as well? What if instead of an altar sitting up here, there would be a throne up here-with God sitting on it? How would you feel about that?

I think that there are a lot of people who would probably say, "Why, that would be wonderful! To be able to see God in person, to be and talk to God and put my arm around him and snuggle up to him there on the throne. What a heart-warming experience that would be!

Or would it? Before we get too caught up in all kinds of warm fuzzies about what standing in the presence of God would be like, maybe we had better check in with someone who really did spend some time in the presence of God. In our text for today, we have the account of Isaiah's experience before the throne of the Lord Almighty. Here in our text, Isaiah catches more than a glimpse of God. God offers a full blown revelation of himself in all his majesty. This morning, through the inspiration of Holy Scripture, you and I have a chance to share with Isaiah what we might call,

A Vision of the Lord Almighty

And as we will see, this vision may well have the very same effect on us that it had on Isaiah so many years ago. Here in the inspired Word, God still does three things to and for us and Isaiah:

1. God Terrifies
2. God Cleanses
3. God Sends

Here in Isaiah chapter 6, the prophet shares the vision God allowed him to see. Isaiah begins, "I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his rove filled the temple. Above him were seraphs (that is, angels), each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying." In other words, even though these angels were perfectly holy and without sin, still when compared to God's holiness, they felt unworthy. They covered up their faces and their feet in God's presence.

Isaiah goes on to say, "(The seraphs) were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." With this kind of triple chorus, the angels were acknowledging the glory and splendor of the three persons in one God. Their chorus was so overpowering that it shook the very foundation of the temple itself. "At the sound of their voices, the door posts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke." What a stunning sight and sound this must have been. Maybe some of you have witnessed a large choir sing something like Handel's Messiah. I think back to when I was in high school and the DMLC choir used to rock the auditorium with the strains of the Hallelujah Chorus. You could feel that music down to your bones. And yet even that magnificent human choir couldn't compare to the angelic choir that Isaiah was here witnessing.

And yet, how does Isaiah react to this glorious scene? Is he excited? Is he keyed up? No, he's terrified. "Woe to me!" he cries, "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!" Notice, when Isaiah stands in the presence of a just and holy God, how does he feel? He feels unclean. He feels unworthy. He knows the sinful thoughts his heart has contained. He knows the sinful words which have too easily rolled off his tongue. He knows that the God he stands before is a God who demands perfection. A God who describes himself as an all-consuming fire, a jealous God, a God who punishes the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations. Isaiah knows that King David wrote about this God in Psalm 5, "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong." Is it any wonder that Isaiah the sinner is terrified in the presence of this holy and all-consuming God?

And yet, would you and I feel any different? My friends, you realize, don't you, that Isaiah's God is still our God today? God still hates sin. God still punishes all who are evil. Therefore, who of us could feel comfortable standing in the presence of that holy and Almighty God? Not one of us. In fact, the more closely we look at God and then look at ourselves, the more we are compelled to say with Simon Peter in our gospel lesson, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man." Or as Isaiah puts it, "I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips." My friends, make no mistake about it, in and of ourselves, you and I are not worthy to stand in God's presence today. Standing before the Lord Almighty should leave us feeling terrified-unless, of course, God does something to change us. And he does. Here in Isaiah's vision, as well as in our lives, God not only terrifies. II. He also Cleanses.

Look at how God deals with Isaiah. While Isaiah is cowering in fear before the throne of the Almighty, what does God do? God sends one of his seraphs to the altar. The seraph picks up a hot coal, brings it to Isaiah, and then touches the coal to Isaiah's lips. The angel says, "See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Wow! What a dramatic turn of events. The man with the unclean lips has now been completely cleansed. His filthiness has been removed. His guilt has been covered up.

I want you to notice two things about that scene. First, notice what Isaiah did in order to be cleansed of his sins. He did nothing. Absolutely nothing. This act of cleansing was entirely God's doing. The same this is still true today. The forgiveness of our sins is not man's work. It's God's work. You and I cannot come to God. Instead, God must graciously come to us.

And how does God come to us? Well, that's the second thing I want you to notice about this scene in our text. Notice where the seraph gets the live coal that cleansed Isaiah of his sins. The seraph gets it from the altar. In Isaiah's day the altar was where animals were sacrificed to make atonement for the sins of the people. Yet all those OT sacrifices were simply foreshadowing one, ultimate, all-encompassing sacrifice for sins-the sacrifice that took place on God's altar, the cross. St. John speaks of that sacrifice when he writes, "Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world." Or as the writer to the Hebrews says, "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Christ once for all."

My friends, do you see the connection between Isaiah's vision and our lives? Even though you and I are unworthy to stand before God, still God comes to us with the forgiveness which Jesus Christ won for us by his sacrifice on the cross. And God transmits that forgiveness by means of the gospel in Word and Sacrament. Did God going to use a tongs to transmit his forgiveness to you? No, he used a handful of water in connection with his word at the baptismal font. And will God place a burning coal on your lips? No, instead he will use a piece of bread and a cup of wine to transmit to you Jesus' very body and blood. And in those words, "given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," you will hear the echo of angel's words to Isaiah, "See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Isn't that remarkable? To think that the infinite, eternal God would bind himself to something as ordinary as bread and wine, water and words, and in so doing transfer to each one of us individually complete forgiveness for our sins? To think that we who were once totally unclean, and unworthy of anything but God's condemnation, are now holy and blameless in his sight? To think that rather than being terrified in God's presence, we are comforted by the knowledge that we are his children, his ambassadors, yes, his willing servants.

In fact, doesn't that hit at the heart of why God has graciously cleansed us in the first place, namely, so that we can devote our new lives in service to God and our fellow man? Certainly that was the case with Isaiah. For after God terrifies Isaiah, and then cleanses Isaiah, he finally, III. Sends Isaiah.

The prophet recounts the scene, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" My friends, has there ever been a more fitting response to God's sacrificial love than these five words? "Here am I, Lord. I'm yours. You've washed me clean. You've set me apart. You've made me your own. Now, O Lord, use me. Send me out as your messenger, your herald, your servant.

You maybe realize that this scene served as Isaiah's commissioning as a full-time prophet of God. Isaiah went on to become a mouthpiece for God, foretelling both a time of judgment and a time of redemption for God's people Israel. And yet, the question which God posed to Isaiah is one he still addresses to you and me today. "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"

Who will take a bag of groceries to that needy family down the street? Who will spend a little extra time with the lady in the nursing home? Who will visit that couple living together out of wedlock and speak the truth in love to them? Who will serve as a role model for your children, who will bring them to church every Sunday, who will lead the devotion at the dinner table? Who will go over to that new member sitting by herself and welcome her as Jesus would? Who will carry an invitation to that unchurched person to come with you to church? Who will bring God's words of hope and encouragement to that fellow who just lost his job or is facing a difficult decision in life? Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?

My friends, if you listen carefully, you will hear God calling. He's calling you into his service. Maybe he's calling you into the fulltime ministry as a pastor or teacher. More likely he's calling you to simply serve him in different ways in your life, serve him by caring for the physical and spiritual needs of those around you. Whatever the case, be assured that God is calling. He's calling for you. May his cleansing touch in Jesus Christ, ever be your reason and mine to say with the prophet of old, "Here am I. Send me! Send me!" Amen.