Monday in Holy Trinity
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple…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!’” (Isaiah 6:1, 5)
In the Name of Christ. Amen. Do we really deserve God’s love? We don’t, but God our Father still goes out of His way to take care of us, even though we still bungle even the simplest things He puts before us.
There was Isaiah, going about his regularly scheduled priestly duties in the Temple when the unthinkable happened. He saw God Almighty.
Isaiah knew the rules. He knew what God had told Moses when he was on Mt. Sinai: “You cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.” There was no escape, and Isaiah knew it – the killing stroke was surely only a second or two away.
But it didn’t come. Even though Isaiah had plainly seen the God of creation, the King of the Universe and the same One who said no one would see Him and live, He clearly had other plans for this priest. Those plans started with this unmistakeable wake-up call. Like Paul’s “road to Damascus” conversion, this was a make-no-mistake announcement about who was in charge and who was setting the agenda.
Isaiah is spared death – one of the seraphs cleanses him with a burning coal from the altar – and set on the road to prophecy.
What did Isaiah deserve? Death for seeing the Lord God Almighty. What did he get? A new life from that day forward as one of God’s chosen prophets.
We may never be in those same circumstances, but we have the opportunity to see our God at work on a regular basis.
Certainly, it is nothing like the appearance of Yahweh seated between the seraphs, but isn’t that God’s hand dipping into the waters of Baptism at the font?
Isn’t that His voice in the read and preached Word? Whose voice is behind the pastor’s words, “I forgive you all your sins…?” And in the Supper, who is present there if not our Risen and Living Lord Christ?
We certainly don’t deserve the life we have, but our God and Lord is so gracious and loving that He gives it to us anyway so that we may live with Him in heaven forever. Amen.
Daily Lectionary
Proverbs 3:11-20 1 John 3:18-4:6 Matthew 11:1-6