Sermon and Video of Divine Service - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
1 Corinthians 14:12-20
Luke 5:1-11
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
When we go into a particular venue, we bring with us certain expectations about what will happen there. For example, when we go to a sit-down restaurant, we expect that the dishes be clean, that we be served by competent wait staff, and that our hot meal be presented to us hot; and that our cold meal be cold; and that it looks like the picture in the menu and tastes good.
While we have these perfectly reasonable expectations, we know that serendipitous events do happen. For example, when we go into said sit-down restaurant, we see people we have not seen in a while and have a good time visiting and catching up. Or, when we sit down with our people, perhaps news is shared that we did not expect. For example, I was in a car accident; I was promoted; I am being transferred to a different job location. A particularly happy announcement is that “We are getting married.” Or, after they are married and have moved in together, you receive the pleasant and exciting news, “I am pregnant.”
The prophet Isaiah is more than a prophet. He is also a priest who has official responsibilities in the temple in Jerusalem. Isaiah is also a statesman. He is a political insider. And, as evidenced by the content of the 66 chapters that encompass the writings of Isaiah, he is a poet.
When the Holy Spirit inspires the canonical writers to write, He uses their natural talents and abilities to convey His Word that creates and sustains faith. Isaiah’s God-endowed talent shines forth through the ages.
Because Isaiah is a priest, entering the Temple, and specifically, entering the Holy of Holies is a normal part of His life. This is one of the ways by which Isaiah serves the Lord. No priest can take these responsibilities lightly. Built into the act of serving at the Altar is a series of preparations. Those preparations include a period of fasting and prayers confessing one’s sins. One does not casually walk into the temple’s Holy of Holies. The expectation that Isaiah has when stepping behind the curtain that separates the Holy of holies from the rest of the worship area, is that the altar, candles, additional adornments, and tools necessary for the daily sacrifice will be present. Yes, God is there, but you cannot see Him. The priests fulfill their duties in and with faith.
King Uzziah of the southern kingdom died in 740 BC. In that year, Isaiah fulfilled his priestly responsibility by entering the Holy of holies. The Lord chose to lift the veil that normally prevents us from seeing the heavenly host and the Lord. Isaiah saw far more than what he had ever seen before. The Lord blessed him with a glimpse of heaven and that heaven reaches down into the earth. The Lord sits upon His throne. His garment fills the temple. The Lord is both in and apart from the earth. The seraphim is present. A hymn of praise is sung.
This unexpected and unsought vision led Isaiah to become more keenly aware of his earthly, sinful, nature, and the sin that permeates his culture. In fear and humility, he confesses his sin before heaven. The Lord sees Isaiah’s sins and forgives him. His sins are atoned for.
While Isaiah did not expect this vision nor did he expect a personal assurance that his sins are forgiven, it does make sense that this would happen within the temple. People go to Temple because that is where the Lord is. On that day, Isaiah attests that the Lord was truly present.
There are similarities between Isaiah’s experience in the temple and Simon Peter’s experience with Jesus. For example, Isaiah and Peter are both called into a unique ministry. Isaiah will prophesy. He will speak God’s judgment and teaching. Peter will bear witness to Jesus’ ministry and then become a fisher of men, meaning that he is going to tell the Good News of Jesus through preaching and teaching. Peter will have the responsibility to proclaim that in Jesus is the last sacrifice that the Father will accept. Jesus’ death on the cross is for all people: past, present, and future. Peter and the other Apostles will preach the Good News of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection, and the Holy Spirit will work through that preaching to create faith to receive the Good News as the gift of grace that it is.
There is another similarity between Isaiah and Peter. Both adult men, because of their proximity to God, become intensely aware of their sinful nature. Neither man has time or the inclination to make excuses to justify themselves. No eloquent or fancy words come forth. Before the purity of God, Isaiah and Peter know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are an ugly, dark, unpleasing, stain and scourge of humanity. Where Isaiah does not want to speak. Simon Peter simply wants Jesus to go away. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter knows he cannot run from God, so he must simply request that God go away. Peter cannot bear Jesus’ holiness.
Part of what makes this comparison between Isaiah and Peter interesting is the lesson of expectations. If there is a vision of God to be had, one can rightly expect it to happen in a holy place like the Temple. The people experienced God’s blessings there. This is where one went to dedicate the firstborn child and receive ritual purification and to offer a sacrifice. Things by, for, and about God happen here. Isaiah’s vision, while startling in its grandeur, is not surprising.
What is surprising for Peter is that he is nowhere near the temple. He is working. Unsuccessfully plying his trade as a fishman. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus and Simon Peter have already met. But, Peter has not yet been called. So, when the crowd finds Jesus and he needs to create space, he teaches and preaches from Peter’s boat.
A new thing is happening. God comes to the people. The people do not have to go to the temple to see God. Jesus comes to them. From Peter’s boat, God in the flesh, Jesus, speaks God’s Word. Faith is kindled through Jesus’ words. Faith in Jesus explains to me why an experienced professional fishman would act upon the suggestion of a well-meaning carpenter and cast the nets again. Amazing! A miracle occurs in broad daylight.
God defies expectations and comes to Peter’s place of work. In faith, Peter sees Jesus for who he is. He is overcome with his own unworthiness before the purity of the living God. God has come to Him. Peter cannot run from God. He can only beg that Jesus would leave. “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”
In Jesus, God defies conventional expectations. Jesus does not depart, he stays. The good news for us is that He keeps staying.
The bad news, which I think is truly good news, is that there is no safe place for us to be a sinner. God enters the fullness of our humanity in Jesus. He knows first-hand all our limitations, all of our struggles, all of our temptations, all of our sins. While he made all the right choices, he knows from personal experience all the ways that we can and do go wrong.
The good news is that despite this personal knowledge, Jesus goes onto a cross to die for our sakes anyways. On the third day, he announces his triumph over the forces of sin, death, and the devil, with his resurrection. He carries his intimate awareness of our humanity up with him into heaven. We are told in the Letter to the Hebrews, that Jesus knows our every weakness and he prays for us. He continues to intercede for us.
There is no safe place to be a sinner. God is with us in the most unlikely of places: work, play, in the car, in the diner, wherever. Jesus promised that he would be with us always, we trust that promise.
While God is with us always, we still have the privilege of going to God. That is the gift of a church building. Here, we gather, to formally confess before one another and the Lord that we are sinners who are undeserving of the promises that God gives to us. Here, we receive absolution. Here, we have the privilege of hearing and reading the Word of God so that the Holy Spirit may convict us, lead us anew into repentance, and, here, we receive God’s forgiveness. Here, we are blessed to encounter Jesus sacramentally. Today, we have the joy of receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.
We go away from this place, renewed by the promise of God’s tenacity and stubborn refusal to let us die in our sin. He gives us life through his forgiveness so that we can be with him forever.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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