Isaiah 6:1-13. The amazing call of God 4/2/07
Luke 5:1-11. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. {2} Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. {3} And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." {4} At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. {5} "Woe to me!" I cried. "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." {6} Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. {7} With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" {9} He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' {10} Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." {11} Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, {12} until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. {13} And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
This weeks readings all deal with God’s revealing of himself in amazing ways as he calls various, but unworthy, people to carry out his difficult and challenging work here on this earth. As we listened to those readings, surely we found them to be not only truly awesome in the full sense of its meaning, but at the same time quite disturbing. Here in this reading God said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. For Peter and Paul we also know of the rough time they went through as God’s spokesmen. Awesome and tough!
Today, we find this part of things very difficult to handle. We don’t want to come to grips with the seeming negative and harsh message which God has for us all. We want a nice, easy and soft message. We want a God who ‘is my mate’ and who is all loving and accepting of us no matter what we think and do. Today we also want our church to preach like the false prophets of Isaiah’s day; “Peace, peace when there is no peace.” ‘We have God and the temple therefore we can do as we please. We are Abrahams children therefore God will see to it that no harm comes our way.’ They like many today had taken God for granted, and thought nothing of it. Even when challenged they wanted only hear that which was good and positive.
Yet here Isaiah himself is called to preach exactly the opposite message. To preach in a way which hastens the destruction of Israel. To preach; 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant. God was out to punish his own people for their unbelief. Even though they claimed they were God’s people, they did not want listen to God or follow his ways: they had become fat, complacent and selfish which resulted in their never understanding and never perceiving. They were determined that they would not listen to or follow God’s way, so he sets about bringing about their destruction. But even there, there was the proclamation, the holy seed will be the stump in the land. There is still the promise of hope to those remanent that look to and trust in God, no matter how tough things get.
However lest we think that this is just an Old Testament Isaiah speaking to an ancient situation, let us reflect on both Peter and Paul who are referred to in the other two readings. They too preached to many who also claimed to be God’s People, but who just did not want to hear or follow what God had to say to them. They wanted their own religious ways and where not prepared to listen to the truth. So Peter and Paul equally proclaimed destruction for those who were self-secure in their own righteousness.
However most clearly we see this message come to the fore in Jesus Christ himself. Not just in his preaching and confrontation with many of those he came into contact with, but with his very being. Here God himself comes, fully as a human-being, identifying with us in every way and he takes God’s punishment on a wayward, rebellious people; you and me. Here God’s punishment is complete and total. Jesus is destroyed for our never understanding and our never perceiving. Here we see the depth of the depravity of each and every one of us. That is what we deserve. Humanity does not have a ‘leg to stand on.’ Our destruction is complete. In ourselves we are dead.
How can we be anything but. We stand before a holy and awesome God. The Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." This holy God cannot have in his presence anything that is less than perfect. They will be destroyed by his greatness.
On top of that, we are reminded in the Gospel reading that the God who stood before Peter and gave him a huge catch of fish, where there was none to be caught, has the power over nature and much more. He can do that which is impossible. Peter realized this, so much so, that he says, ‘Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ He knows that he cannot stand before God in his own sinful state. So do we think we can stand before this God, playing our petty games. Trying to be our own little gods.
Before this awesome God surely we too can only say: "Woe to me!" "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." Go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful person.
But then there is the most awesome of all the revelations of God himself. There is this one Jesus, who was God come as a human being, who died on the cross, in our place, just as he promised he would. This Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, (1 Cor 15:3-6)
This God is truly awesome. This very Jesus came back to life, assuring us of the forgiveness of all of our sin, plus life and salvation, no matter who we are or what we have done. He accepts us back as his very own children. All who are connected to him through baptism and belief into everything that he has done for us and won for us, can have certainty that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This Jesus himself says: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) How truly great that is: God accepts those who simply cling to Jesus and all that he has won for us.
However that brings us back to where we began. Do we want to believe? Do we want to hang on to Jesus Christ and follow him? Or do we want to continue on our own merry way; ‘She’ll be right mate. I’ve got it all under control.’ Surely there is no question as to what our answer would be. Surely this Jesus Christ is our all and our everything. He is our one and only hope for life and salvation.
The follow up from that is the same call of God to Isaiah, Peter and Paul: , "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Who is going to share this Good News with others? Who is going to be bold enough to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, even though the people’s ears, eyes and hearts are calloused and do not want hear that kind of message. But who simply want a nice fluffy god who will make them feel good and allow them to do as they please, and who will ensure health, wealth and happiness for us? Who is going to tell our wicked and adulterous generation, the truths of God himself, even though they don’t want to hear it? Who?
Knowing this great and awesome God who has revealed himself to us in this truly great way; and who has accepted and cleansed us despite who we really are; surely we can only say; "Here am I. Send me!" Send me, even though I am weak and frail and do not have the where-with-all to do it. Send me to my neighbour or my friend. Send me even though some people will find my message unpalatable and offensive. Send me, for I know that you are the Lord Almighty himself and you will work through my efforts and you will achieve what you want.
Yes God does and will work through us as we proclaim the truth of his Word. There will be life and salvation brought to some, but there will also be the hardening of the hearts of those who have wilfully chosen to ignore and rebel against God and his Word. Sadly for them their destruction awaits.
But for us who have been saved, we cling to our Lord and Saviour as our one true hope. For we know that because of the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. Our God is a great and awesome God who is supreme over all, and to whom alone belongs all glory and honour. May his name be honoured and glorified both in his salvation and in his destruction. AMEN
Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba
Luke 5:1-11. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. {2} Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. {3} And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." {4} At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. {5} "Woe to me!" I cried. "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." {6} Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. {7} With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." {8} Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" {9} He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' {10} Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." {11} Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, {12} until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. {13} And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
This weeks readings all deal with God’s revealing of himself in amazing ways as he calls various, but unworthy, people to carry out his difficult and challenging work here on this earth. As we listened to those readings, surely we found them to be not only truly awesome in the full sense of its meaning, but at the same time quite disturbing. Here in this reading God said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. For Peter and Paul we also know of the rough time they went through as God’s spokesmen. Awesome and tough!
Today, we find this part of things very difficult to handle. We don’t want to come to grips with the seeming negative and harsh message which God has for us all. We want a nice, easy and soft message. We want a God who ‘is my mate’ and who is all loving and accepting of us no matter what we think and do. Today we also want our church to preach like the false prophets of Isaiah’s day; “Peace, peace when there is no peace.” ‘We have God and the temple therefore we can do as we please. We are Abrahams children therefore God will see to it that no harm comes our way.’ They like many today had taken God for granted, and thought nothing of it. Even when challenged they wanted only hear that which was good and positive.
Yet here Isaiah himself is called to preach exactly the opposite message. To preach in a way which hastens the destruction of Israel. To preach; 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant. God was out to punish his own people for their unbelief. Even though they claimed they were God’s people, they did not want listen to God or follow his ways: they had become fat, complacent and selfish which resulted in their never understanding and never perceiving. They were determined that they would not listen to or follow God’s way, so he sets about bringing about their destruction. But even there, there was the proclamation, the holy seed will be the stump in the land. There is still the promise of hope to those remanent that look to and trust in God, no matter how tough things get.
However lest we think that this is just an Old Testament Isaiah speaking to an ancient situation, let us reflect on both Peter and Paul who are referred to in the other two readings. They too preached to many who also claimed to be God’s People, but who just did not want to hear or follow what God had to say to them. They wanted their own religious ways and where not prepared to listen to the truth. So Peter and Paul equally proclaimed destruction for those who were self-secure in their own righteousness.
However most clearly we see this message come to the fore in Jesus Christ himself. Not just in his preaching and confrontation with many of those he came into contact with, but with his very being. Here God himself comes, fully as a human-being, identifying with us in every way and he takes God’s punishment on a wayward, rebellious people; you and me. Here God’s punishment is complete and total. Jesus is destroyed for our never understanding and our never perceiving. Here we see the depth of the depravity of each and every one of us. That is what we deserve. Humanity does not have a ‘leg to stand on.’ Our destruction is complete. In ourselves we are dead.
How can we be anything but. We stand before a holy and awesome God. The Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." This holy God cannot have in his presence anything that is less than perfect. They will be destroyed by his greatness.
On top of that, we are reminded in the Gospel reading that the God who stood before Peter and gave him a huge catch of fish, where there was none to be caught, has the power over nature and much more. He can do that which is impossible. Peter realized this, so much so, that he says, ‘Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ He knows that he cannot stand before God in his own sinful state. So do we think we can stand before this God, playing our petty games. Trying to be our own little gods.
Before this awesome God surely we too can only say: "Woe to me!" "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." Go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful person.
But then there is the most awesome of all the revelations of God himself. There is this one Jesus, who was God come as a human being, who died on the cross, in our place, just as he promised he would. This Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, (1 Cor 15:3-6)
This God is truly awesome. This very Jesus came back to life, assuring us of the forgiveness of all of our sin, plus life and salvation, no matter who we are or what we have done. He accepts us back as his very own children. All who are connected to him through baptism and belief into everything that he has done for us and won for us, can have certainty that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. This Jesus himself says: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) How truly great that is: God accepts those who simply cling to Jesus and all that he has won for us.
However that brings us back to where we began. Do we want to believe? Do we want to hang on to Jesus Christ and follow him? Or do we want to continue on our own merry way; ‘She’ll be right mate. I’ve got it all under control.’ Surely there is no question as to what our answer would be. Surely this Jesus Christ is our all and our everything. He is our one and only hope for life and salvation.
The follow up from that is the same call of God to Isaiah, Peter and Paul: , "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Who is going to share this Good News with others? Who is going to be bold enough to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, even though the people’s ears, eyes and hearts are calloused and do not want hear that kind of message. But who simply want a nice fluffy god who will make them feel good and allow them to do as they please, and who will ensure health, wealth and happiness for us? Who is going to tell our wicked and adulterous generation, the truths of God himself, even though they don’t want to hear it? Who?
Knowing this great and awesome God who has revealed himself to us in this truly great way; and who has accepted and cleansed us despite who we really are; surely we can only say; "Here am I. Send me!" Send me, even though I am weak and frail and do not have the where-with-all to do it. Send me to my neighbour or my friend. Send me even though some people will find my message unpalatable and offensive. Send me, for I know that you are the Lord Almighty himself and you will work through my efforts and you will achieve what you want.
Yes God does and will work through us as we proclaim the truth of his Word. There will be life and salvation brought to some, but there will also be the hardening of the hearts of those who have wilfully chosen to ignore and rebel against God and his Word. Sadly for them their destruction awaits.
But for us who have been saved, we cling to our Lord and Saviour as our one true hope. For we know that because of the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. Our God is a great and awesome God who is supreme over all, and to whom alone belongs all glory and honour. May his name be honoured and glorified both in his salvation and in his destruction. AMEN
Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba
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