Saved from woe

Sermon for Sunday Feb 7, 2010  Crows Nest Lutheran Parish (W.Logan)

Isaiah 6:1-13

A man of high culture, Isaiah the prophet was thought to have royal blood. This meant nothing when he was given a glimpse of God: Isaiah wrote in chapter 6 of his book:
“In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the LORD…sitting on his throne, high and exalted… the edge of his robe filled the whole Temple… flaming creatures were around him… calling out "Holy, holy, holy! The LORD Almighty is holy! … their voices made the foundation of the Temple shake, the Temple was  filled with smoke… I cried out: “I am doomed!”

About 700 years later another man with no royal blood but lots of confidence and bravado, a fisherman called Peter, was also given a glimpse of God. Luke records in chapter 5 that Jesus got into Peter’s boat and used it as a platform to speak to a crowd. Then he said, ‘Let’s catch some fish.’ Peter said, ‘Look, we worked all night and caught nothing…but ‘spose we can give it a go.’ They put out the nets and were swamped with fish! Shocked, Peter fell at Jesus’ feet and cried out, ‘Go away, Lord, I am sinful!’

Both Isaiah and Peter were suddenly aware that they were sinners in the presence of a holy God. A God “whose eyes are too pure to look on evil and who cannot tolerate wrong” Habakkuk 1:13. A God whose breath sustains us… as Psalm 104 says, in verses 28-30: “The eyes of all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand,    they are satisfied with good things. When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”
It is right to feel vulnerable in the presence of God. And yet, because God chooses to be kind, we can approach him with confidence, for he rules from a throne of grace. Hebrews 4:12 says God’s Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing deep, discerning the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.
v. 13  …no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. But there is good news: we have a great high priest Jesus, the Son of God, who offered himself up as the sacrifice needed to pay for our sins. Because of Jesus, we may approach God’s throne with confidence.

Isaiah cried out “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 Himself!"
Luke 6:45 “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  (Good News version) Unclean lips betray an unclean heart. But by the grace of God every unclean heart can be made pure.
One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah, with a burning coal taken with tongs from the altar. He touched Isaiah’s mouth and said: "Look: this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

A coal from the altar. Beasts were sacrificed on the altar in the temple as a symbol of the one sacrifice that takes away our sins. By the sacrifice of Christ, Isaiah was forgiven. 

Like Isaiah, Peter was laid low, devastated in the face of an unexpected miracle, an abundance he knew he did not deserve. Instead, he deserved to be thrown out of God’s presence. But to Peter the Lord said, ‘Don’t be afraid. I’ve got a future planned for you.’

A future that would involve fishing for people.

Fish belong in water. When we catch fish, it marks the end of their life. But when God’s Spirit works through us to catch people, it means escaping death. The murky water of sin and ignorance of God is like a toxic sewer. Unless we are rescued and made clean by Jesus, there is no hope.

How good it is, to be caught by God! To be washed! To have our sins burnt up on the cross of Christ! To become new people… and to be able to receive this newness each day.

Having been forgiven and restored into fellowship with God, Isaiah was able to hear God’s voice say "Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?"
Isaiah answered, "I will go! Send me!"

The gospel saves us, reconciles us to God, and makes us willing to serve.
This is the motivation and energy we need. Not a big stick or heavy obligations of duty and tradition, but the sweet liberating love of God in Christ that gives us peace with him and fills us with a passion to know him, serve him, and share his love.
Amen.