In the Presence of the Holy One
Sermon Texts for February 4:
Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 5:1-11
Isaiah had prepared all of his life for the privilege of entering the holiest place in the Temple, the room behind the vale that held the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred altar. The “Holy of holies” was only entered once a year and then only by a single priest who offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. Every priest dreamed of being chosen the one to enter that sacred place.
But being the chosen one was not pure joy, it was also frightening, because no one knew what might happen. It is said that the priest who was chosen had a rope tied around his waist before he went behind the curtain, so his friends could retrieve him if something terrible happened. Being close to God brought a mixture of fear and desire.
Even so I doubt that Isaiah had any idea how his life was going to change when he stepped behind the curtain to offer the prayers and perform the sacrifices on behalf of the people. He could not have known that he would come face to face with God. Isaiah tells us in his own voice how terrible and frightening it is to be that close to holiness. He said, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” Accompanying God were heavenly creatures called seraphs whose job seems to be simply to praise God. Isaiah says, “And one called to the other and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” He continues, “The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah’s experience with God is frightening. His description of the smoke-filled space and the quaking of the Temple are his attempt to help us grasp his absolute terror. He fears for his life because in comparison to the holiness of God, Isaiah stands convicted and deserves a death sentence. He is a holy man among his people, but in the presence of God his holiness is not holy at all. Isaiah can’t even stand the sight of himself, and he is moved to confession. “Woe is me. I am lost for I am a man of unclean lips!” Isaiah is in mortal terror. “I am lost”, he says.
In Luke 5:1-11 Peter has a similar reaction to Jesus. The crowd around Jesus has grown so large that Jesus is in danger of being pushed into the Sea of Galilee. At that moment Peter and his partners bring their boats into shore. They have been out fishing all night and they apparently fish like I do, because they have caught nothing. All that remains of the day’s work is to tend to their nets. While Peter works on his nets Jesus gets into the boat and asks him to push out from the shore.
Jesus finished his lesson from the safety of Peter’s boat and then tells Peter to put out into deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Peter’s tone seems sarcastic – “We’ve fished all night and caught nothing …. By the way Jesus I’m the fisherman here, you are a builder…. But if you say so .…“ Soon, Peter’s nets are so full of fish that they begin to break. There are so many fish that they fill Peter’s boat, and suddenly it occurs to Peter that Jesus is no ordinary man. He is in the presence of holiness and he doesn’t like it. Peter falls to his knees (and must be up to his chin in fish) and exclaims, “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man.”
Peter cannot stand to look at himself in light of Jesus and like Isaiah before him he confesses his unworthiness. “Woe is me”, says Isaiah. “I am a sinful man”, says Peter.
I wonder if you have ever had an experience like this. You sense the grandeur of God and feel small and unworthy. Maybe you have looked across one of our famous vistas and sensed the presence of the Creator and offered your own version of the Psalm, “What are we that you are mindful of us?” These special moments do not leave us unchanged.
Many years ago our family was having a particularly bad time. Our oldest son was diagnosed with a mental illness and his doctors told us he might need to be hospitalized for years. We felt guilty. We felt that we had failed as parents and as Christians. The diagnosis also meant having to move to be near wherever he was hospitalized. It meant leaving jobs, friends, our congregation, a house we had just remodeled. And we were grieving. The pain was incredible.
In the middle of all of this turmoil I was given access to a condo in Jackson Hole so I could read, pray, and write. One day I drove into the Tetons and stopped at the Church of the Transfiguration. I went inside to pray and as I stood there looking at those ageless peaks I knew I was in the presence of the Eternal One. And I was surprised to realize that I was quoting Psalm 51 which I didn’t know I knew. “Have mercy on me O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
It wasn’t that I was aware of being more sinful than usual. Rather I sensed holiness and eternity and I felt small and unworthy. In that moment I wanted to lose myself in God’s love. And I sensed both distance and closeness to God, worthy and unworthy all at the same time. Maybe that’s something like Isaiah and Peter felt in the presence of the Holy One.
As we come to the Lord’s Table, let us sense the presence of the Holy One and know ourselves as we are known. Let each step to the table be our confession, and the elements of bread and wine be the assurance of God’s love and acceptance.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 5:1-11
Isaiah had prepared all of his life for the privilege of entering the holiest place in the Temple, the room behind the vale that held the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred altar. The “Holy of holies” was only entered once a year and then only by a single priest who offered sacrifices on behalf of the people. Every priest dreamed of being chosen the one to enter that sacred place.
But being the chosen one was not pure joy, it was also frightening, because no one knew what might happen. It is said that the priest who was chosen had a rope tied around his waist before he went behind the curtain, so his friends could retrieve him if something terrible happened. Being close to God brought a mixture of fear and desire.
Even so I doubt that Isaiah had any idea how his life was going to change when he stepped behind the curtain to offer the prayers and perform the sacrifices on behalf of the people. He could not have known that he would come face to face with God. Isaiah tells us in his own voice how terrible and frightening it is to be that close to holiness. He said, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.” Accompanying God were heavenly creatures called seraphs whose job seems to be simply to praise God. Isaiah says, “And one called to the other and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” He continues, “The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah’s experience with God is frightening. His description of the smoke-filled space and the quaking of the Temple are his attempt to help us grasp his absolute terror. He fears for his life because in comparison to the holiness of God, Isaiah stands convicted and deserves a death sentence. He is a holy man among his people, but in the presence of God his holiness is not holy at all. Isaiah can’t even stand the sight of himself, and he is moved to confession. “Woe is me. I am lost for I am a man of unclean lips!” Isaiah is in mortal terror. “I am lost”, he says.
In Luke 5:1-11 Peter has a similar reaction to Jesus. The crowd around Jesus has grown so large that Jesus is in danger of being pushed into the Sea of Galilee. At that moment Peter and his partners bring their boats into shore. They have been out fishing all night and they apparently fish like I do, because they have caught nothing. All that remains of the day’s work is to tend to their nets. While Peter works on his nets Jesus gets into the boat and asks him to push out from the shore.
Jesus finished his lesson from the safety of Peter’s boat and then tells Peter to put out into deep water and let down his nets for a catch. Peter’s tone seems sarcastic – “We’ve fished all night and caught nothing …. By the way Jesus I’m the fisherman here, you are a builder…. But if you say so .…“ Soon, Peter’s nets are so full of fish that they begin to break. There are so many fish that they fill Peter’s boat, and suddenly it occurs to Peter that Jesus is no ordinary man. He is in the presence of holiness and he doesn’t like it. Peter falls to his knees (and must be up to his chin in fish) and exclaims, “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man.”
Peter cannot stand to look at himself in light of Jesus and like Isaiah before him he confesses his unworthiness. “Woe is me”, says Isaiah. “I am a sinful man”, says Peter.
I wonder if you have ever had an experience like this. You sense the grandeur of God and feel small and unworthy. Maybe you have looked across one of our famous vistas and sensed the presence of the Creator and offered your own version of the Psalm, “What are we that you are mindful of us?” These special moments do not leave us unchanged.
Many years ago our family was having a particularly bad time. Our oldest son was diagnosed with a mental illness and his doctors told us he might need to be hospitalized for years. We felt guilty. We felt that we had failed as parents and as Christians. The diagnosis also meant having to move to be near wherever he was hospitalized. It meant leaving jobs, friends, our congregation, a house we had just remodeled. And we were grieving. The pain was incredible.
In the middle of all of this turmoil I was given access to a condo in Jackson Hole so I could read, pray, and write. One day I drove into the Tetons and stopped at the Church of the Transfiguration. I went inside to pray and as I stood there looking at those ageless peaks I knew I was in the presence of the Eternal One. And I was surprised to realize that I was quoting Psalm 51 which I didn’t know I knew. “Have mercy on me O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
It wasn’t that I was aware of being more sinful than usual. Rather I sensed holiness and eternity and I felt small and unworthy. In that moment I wanted to lose myself in God’s love. And I sensed both distance and closeness to God, worthy and unworthy all at the same time. Maybe that’s something like Isaiah and Peter felt in the presence of the Holy One.
As we come to the Lord’s Table, let us sense the presence of the Holy One and know ourselves as we are known. Let each step to the table be our confession, and the elements of bread and wine be the assurance of God’s love and acceptance.
Copyright © 2007 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 6:21 AM
1 Comments:
I have felt that same feeling, both knowing I was so low a human being that I had to look up to see bottom, and being so filled with the amazing love of the Lord, I was truly awe struck. When I knew that He loved me because I was Carmen, not because I was good, or could ever be good enough to earn His love, that's when I really felt it, and some days today, I feel it again. Not so much now, it's been really tough physically, but I remember that feeling of awe and the warmth of His love during these times and I smile.
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