The Rev. Paul J Cain, Jr.
Isaiah 6:1-13
Holy, Holy, Holy
The Holy Trinity, First Sunday after Pentecost
07 June 2009
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
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. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Isaiah would prophesy during the reigns of four kings of Judah, the southern kingdom. King Uzziah is dead. That sets this vision over 700 years before the birth of Christ. That’s a mundane but necessary detail. Words can hardly express what Isaiah sees.
The Lord, Yahweh Himself, is seated upon His throne in glory and splendor, high and exalted. The heavenly temple is filled with the train of his glorious robe.
And there are angels—seraphim, to be specific—unlike angels are commonly portrayed artistically. Six wings—not two. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet. With two more they were flying. And… And they were calling to one another! Angelic words from angelic voices would certainly sound like music to our ears! The words were powerful, for at the sound the foundations of the thresholds shook. The house was filled with the smoke of incense.
What did they say? They are words very familiar to you. We usually sing them at the beginning of the Liturgy of Holy Communion after this introduction: Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!
This angelic hymn is called the Sanctus, the Latin word for “holy.” There is often another foreign word in this canticle: Sabaoth. SAH-bay-oth is Hebrew for “Angel armies,” not to be confused with Sabbath, the ancient day of rest observed on Saturday. God of Sabaoth, Lord of hosts, Lord God of power and might, Lord of angel armies—all these mean the same thing. The Sanctus gives you an opportunity to sing with angels—to join with them in an unending hymn. Here, in the Divine Service, heaven and earth meet and sing together in praise to the Lord.
In most liturgical settings of the Sanctus, Isaiah 6:3 is combined with Psalm 118 verses 25 and 26. Hosanna! Or, save us now, O Lord. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the Highest. Lord, You who dwell in the highest heaven, save us now. Not only do we call upon the Lord, the only One who can save us, but we acknowledge that the Savior will be present, according to His Word and promise, in His Body and Blood, in, with, and under the consecrated bread and wine.
Quite a vision isn’t it? Isaiah sees the Lord. Isaiah records an angelic hymn that has been sung ever since in the synagogue and then taken into the Christian Divine Service. No matter what setting we sing, the Sanctus is there: the page 15 service, now on page 184, as well as the musical service from Lutheran Worship, now on page 151. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heav’n and earth are full of Thy glory; Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Please turn to hymn #960 in the back section of Lutheran Service Book. I’ll explain why in a moment. During the Reformation, Martin Luther retained the best that the western church had to offer, especially the form of the traditional mass, or Divine Service. He removed those elements contrary to Scripture, which were therefore dangerous to faith. The largest deletion was the long prayer, named the canon of the mass, which Luther, in his typical strong language, called a “cesspool.” You know what’s found in a cesspool. That’s the kind of false theology it contained. In addition to (his Formula Missae) the revision of the traditional Latin mass, Luther published his German Mass in 1526 after using it for nearly a year at Wittenberg.
The German Mass was different, because for the first time in centuries, the clergy and laity were allowed to hear the Word of God and celebrate the Eucharist in their own vernacular language! The people were again allowed to sing the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei using their common language. With that said, here is Luther’s German Sanctus, LSB #960...
(hymn sung here)
A hard hymn? Perhaps. Beautiful? Certainly. Martin Luther on both the words and music. Substantial? Yes. The music lends support and majesty to the words that are filled to overflowing with Isaiah 6. Worth learning? Definitely. Perhaps someday.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. We’ve heard this already. The thresholds are not the only things shaken. Listen to poor Isaiah!
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 knows that he is a sinner. Isaiah, the prophet, like a pastor today, is also aware of the sinfulness of his people. A holy God cannot tolerate sin in His presence. Isaiah’s reaction is understandable.
Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ feet with similar words. We said something like it earlier this morning: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Isaiah then writes, Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.
Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
A burning coal sears. That’s painful! Confession hurts, too—especially when we confess our pet sins, secret sins, sins encouraged by or at least tolerated by society. They’re still sins. And the Lord God calls for repentance and confession. Cauterization is often used to begin the healing process. Confession also begins the healing process. Jesus came, as John the Baptizer said, to baptize you not only with water, but with the Holy Spirit and fire! Jesus is the burning coal that has touched your lips, has taken away your guilt, and has atoned for your sin.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
And [Isaiah] (I) heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Hark, the voice of Jesus calling, “Who will go and work today? Fields are white and harvests waiting, Who will bear the sheaves away?” Loud and long the master calls you; Rich reward He offers thee. Who will answer, gladly saying, “Here am I. Send me, send me”?
Isaiah said, "Here am I! Send me." By faith, we do, too. And the Lord said, "Go, and say to this people: " 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
We’re bored by the familiar. The media kindly obliges us by always giving something new, pushing the envelope, exposing us to things often solely for shock value. The hearts of mankind are dull, ears are heavy, and eyes are blind. Are you still listening, or has there been some kind of malfunction? Narrow is the way of salvation. Many hear but only a few believe. The Lord proclaims His commandments, but many ignore them, harden their hearts to them, and are in danger of fires more intense than a single burning coal.
The Law is preached for a purpose—to bring about repentance. The Lord, the pastor, and the congregation don’t rebuke, scold, or call to repentance in order to be mean—it’s always supposed to be done out of love, to save you from yourself and the traps and snares of the devil. Even withholding the Sacrament from someone for as long as they do not repent of a public sin is designed by the Lord, out of love, to bring about repentance so that that person may again receive the Gospel in their ears and in their mouth. Even excommunication, the heaviest law given to a pastor and congregation to exercise, has as its ultimate purpose, restoration. But if someone will not listen, we shake the dust off of our feet and preach to those who will listen.
Then [Isaiah] (I) said, "How long, O Lord?" Good question, we say. How long will this preaching of the law unto repentance go on?
And [the Lord] (he) said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled." The holy seed is its stump.
In the midst of this proclamation of judgment upon Judah, and by extension today, all sinners, there is some Gospel, some hopeful news. Did you catch it? “And though a tenth remain in it…The holy seed is its stump.” One. There will be a remnant. Two. Out of the stump, the nation will grow again. Jesus, the new branch, grows out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David.
Even in view of these snippets of Gospel, there is a subtle warning: “And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again…” Even the remnant, if it is not faithful, is longer a the remnant and faces judgment. If someone rejects the Lord and His gifts, it doesn’t matter if he or she was baptized, confirmed, and even a member of a Lutheran Church. The remnant must remain faithful, tied as branches to the Vine, Jesus, in order to remain. Repentance is not something that cannot be ignored.
Remember what Isaiah said earlier, his heart moved in repentant and reverent awe: "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!" But that wasn’t the end of the story was it? Then one of the seraphim flew to [him] (me), having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched [Isaiah’s] (my) mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
I say to you, Behold! His Word has reached your ears and your heart. His sacrament will touch your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
