Text: Luke 5:1-11; Isaiah 6:1-13
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
I have never touched a hot coal, let alone, place one on my lips. The hottest thing I ever ate was a burrito. Now I don’t mean heat in the sense of spice, I mean it was hot to the touch. I over heated it in a microwave oven. It was so hot that it burnt the roof of my mouth. In fact, a layer of skin came off. Now that was hot. Of course it was not as hot as a burning coal.
Heat does things. It destroys. It kills. We heat up food in order to kill bacteria. Whether it is boiling water drawn from a stream in the Jemez Mountains or frying ground beef bought from the store, we use heat in order to make our food safe to eat.
Yet heat in and of itself cannot destroy or kill our sin.
That being the case, why then do we hear of Isaiah’s sin being atoned for when a hot burning coal touches his lips?
You would think that a hot burning coal wouldn’t help the situation out at all. Isaiah said that he was a man of unclean lips, so how is it, that, a burning coal could help remedy his problem? This is in direct conflict with our logic. It just doesn’t make sense.
It’s like our Gospel lesson for the day, in which Peter had pulled his boat on to shore and was washing his nets after an unsuccessful fishing trip. Then Jesus takes him back out into the water and tells him to put down his nets. Peter responds with sound logic, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” (Luke 5:5 ESV). It just doesn’t make sense.
However, logic can only take you so far. At its core, it still consists of human reasoning and wisdom. There is a higher wisdom though. It is the Wisdom of God.
The Wisdom of God Himself was in the boat with Peter. Jesus is the Wisdom of God and it was His word that penetrated Peter’s mind. For this reason, Peter continues against his logic and responds to Jesus in faith when he finishes his thought by saying, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5 ESV)
It is the Word of God that brings the promise that makes all the difference in the world. Without the Word of promise, there is no complete assurance nor is there perfect confidence. But with the Word of God there is an unshakable level of comfort.
Without that Word, we are left in doubt, despair, and dread, especially when we are confronted with God’s holiness. To be holy is to be perfect. To be in the presence of perfect holiness means that there cannot be any imperfection or unholiness present.
Notice that when Peter caught the miraculous load of fish, he was struck with the awe of Christ’s holiness. His own unholiness weighed heavy down upon him. Here he stood in the presence of God. Thus, he responded “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8 ESV). Here he found himself in doubt, despair, and dread. In the presence of the sinless Jesus, he couldn’t help but dwell upon his own sinfulness.
Likewise, in today’s Old Testament lesson, we hear how Isaiah the prophet trembled in the presence of the Lord just like the foundation and threshold of the temple shook at the voice of the angels that declared, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3 ESV). Here Isaiah stood before the presence of the Holy Trinity. He confessed his sinfulness saying, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips”(Isaiah 6:5 ESV). Immediately, he fell into doubt, despair, and dread.
As human beings, when we come into the presence of the Holy Trinity, we can’t help but recognize our own unholiness. For this reason, when we gather to hear God’s Word, we stand in His presence and confess our sins before Him. We speak the words of Psalm 130 in the liturgy saying, “ If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?”
No one, not one person could stand before the Lord because of sin.
For this reason Jesus was incarnate and became man. Now He stands before the Father in our stead. Now this is Good News and this is the reason why we have come here this day to hear this Good Word assuring us where we stand with God.
As we stood at the beginning of the liturgy, not only did we recognize our sinful condition, but we also affirmed our faith in the promise of God’s Word by responding with the next verse of Psalm 130, “But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.”
Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. Jesus did not come into Peter’s presence to cause Peter to flee, but rather to cause Peter to cling to Him in faith. By the Word of Jesus, Peter was given hope, comfort, and assurance. For this reason, Jesus speaks the Word of promise. Peter to be received this Word with faith. Jesus comforts Peter by saying, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 5:10 ESV).
Such comforting words came to Isaiah the prophet also. Isaiah was told, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7 ESV). Isaiah could now stand before the Lord with the assurance that his sins were forgiven.
As Isaiah came into the presence of the Lord at the throne, we now come before the presence of the Lord at this Altar. The Word of promise declares that the holiness of Jesus is given to be our own. He makes us holy. Jesus has promised to be with us in His Word and Sacrament. Because of the promise, we see more than just a plain table. It is the Lord’s Altar where He wills to be present. That’s why we show outward reverence before this altar. That’s why we bow before it. That’s why we don’t run around it and do back flips off the table. We regard it as holy, sacred, and set apart.
We do not receive a burning coal from this altar to take our guilt away. That was specifically given to Isaiah at a specific time and it was not to be repeated. Instead, we receive bread and wine, the body and blood of our Lord. Our Lord bids us to do this, to take, to eat, and to drink. As the bread and wine touch our lips, we are actually receiving the very body of our Lord given for us and the very blood of our Savior shed for us for the forgiveness of all our sins.
Here again, this action does not make sense. It is not logically. How could bread and wine do such great things?
And here again, we submit our understanding to the wisdom of the Lord. For it is Jesus Himself who gives us the assuring Word and promise that we receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
The one who is worthy, is the one who believes these words, “Given and shed for you.” The one who believes has exactly what the Lord promises, the forgiveness of sins. And where there is forgiveness, there is life and salvation.
Therefore, when we gather around this altar we rejoice. In fact, we join in the song of the angels. That’s why we sing, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth adored” in today’s liturgy. We stand in the Lord’s holy presence because His holiness is declared to be ours. Amen. Now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understand, guard and keep your hearts in Christ Jesus. Amen.
