Trinity Sunday (May
27, 2018)
“Angels Bearing Witness
to the Trinity” (Isaiah 6:1-8)
In the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I once heard a true story about someone who
was raised as a Christian, baptized, confirmed, the whole package. Later, she married someone of the Jewish
faith. She went to synagogue with her
husband, was instructed, and eventually became a convert to Judaism. Why was she so willing to do this? Here was her answer: “When I was confirmed,
kneeling in front of the altar, with the pastor's hand on my head, I didn't see
any angels, so I figured it probably wasn't true.” If I had been there, my response would have
been, “Did you see angels when you converted to Judaism?” I highly doubt that she did.
By converting to Judaism, this woman
turned away from her baptismal grace and her confirmation vows. She denied that the Triune God and his
promise of forgiveness had anything to do with the water that was poured over
her head. She went back on her word to
be faithful to God for the rest of her life, the promise she made when she was
confirmed. Sadly, she now rejects Jesus
Christ as her Savior. To her, Jesus of Nazareth
is not God. He is not the Second Person
of the Holy Trinity. To her, he was just
a man … a wise teacher, yes … but just a man.
But as you know, Jesus doesn't leave us that option. If he was such a wise teacher, how would you
explain that he made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the
dead to live? How could you explain that
he turned water into wine, fed the five thousand, and stilled the storm? If he was such a wise teacher, how could he
make such claims as to be equal to God?
Wise teachers give credit where credit is due. They don't claim to be God, as Jesus did.
Now, I’m fairly certain that none of
you have ever seen any angels when you come before this altar. Not when you were baptized. Not when you were confirmed. Not when you kneel here to receive the Body
and Blood of Jesus. There was someone,
however, who once did see angels as they stood before God's Altar. It was the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah had a vision in which he was standing
in the temple. He saw the Lord sitting
on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the whole temple. Above the Lord were angels, or seraphim,
as they are called. Seraphim means
“flaming ones” in Hebrew. Perhaps this
means that they burned brightly with holiness and zeal for God. In Isaiah's vision, they had six wings. With two they hid their face, as if to say,
“As holy as we are, even we don't deserve to look upon the glory of God.” With two wings they covered their feet, a
sign of modesty and humility … their wings would reach around to cover their
feet, and in so doing would cover their entire body. With the two remaining wings they flew,
signifying their swift readiness to do God's will.
What can we learn from these seraphim,
these “flaming ones,” these holy angels?
First, let's consider their name: seraphim,
flaming ones, burning with holiness and zeal for God. Does that describe you? As God's baptized child, the Holy Spirit
empowers you to live a God-pleasing life with a heart eager to do God's will. But you and I still have our sinful nature
that tries to snuff out any flame of faith.
Sometimes we are more like a smoldering wick than a fiery flame.
Let's now look at what they did with
their wings. With one pair of wings they
covered their face and with another they covered their feet. In the presence of the Lord God himself, they
showed reverence and awe. If even the
holy angels in Isaiah's vision covered their faces and feet in humility, then
you and I ought to approach the throne of God with humble hearts. Too often, however, I think we take God's
love for granted. We worship and pray
half-hearted instead of humble-hearted, remembering that we don't deserve any
of God's gifts, but that he gives them to us out of pure grace.
With the third pair of wings, they
flew. In the Bible, angels were God's
messengers. That's in fact what the word
“angel” means … messenger. In Greek
mythology there was a god by the name of Mercury. He was the messenger for the other gods, and
he is often pictured with wings on his sandals.
This describes his swiftness in delivering his messages. Likewise, these angels in Isaiah's vision
have wings with which they fly. Now,
angels are spirits, so they don't literally have wings. But they are indeed quick to respond to God's
call and to deliver his Word … just like Gabriel announced to Mary that she
would be the mother of the Savior, like the angels who announced the birth of
the Savior to the shepherds, and like the angel at the empty tomb who said, “He is not here, but has risen.”
What about you and me? Are we quick to respond to God's call and
deliver his Word? We're more like Moses,
who found himself tongue tied and afraid to speak. An acquaintance or a classmate says
something, and there's a part of us inside that says, “Wow, what a perfect
opportunity to talk to them about Jesus!”
But we hesitate, because we might be afraid of what they will think of
us. They might think we're weird. Or they might ask a question about our faith
that we can't answer, and we'll be embarrassed.
And so the moment passes, and we don't say anything.
As we see these angels today in
Isaiah chapter 6, worshiping God with their three-fold “Holy, holy, holy” … pointing
us to God’s Triune being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit … you and I and all the
rest of us gathered here know that we're more like Isaiah than those holy
angels. Isaiah stood before God's altar,
and knew that he didn't deserve to be there.
And so, each one of us can say right along with him, “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.”
Thankfully, Isaiah's vision didn't
end there. One of the angels still had
more work to do and a message to deliver.
He went over to the altar where the priests offered the sacrifices in
the temple. He picked up a hot coal and
flew over to where Isaiah was standing.
Touching Isaiah's lips with the coal from the altar, the angel declared,
“Behold, this has
touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for." Isaiah was
forgiven. The sacrifices on the altar in
the temple covered over his sin.
Other than the angels in our text
today, you don't get to see any angels.
Two young people will be confirmed next week in our late service, and I
can guarantee that they will not see any angels as they kneel before the altar
to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for the first time in their lives. No angel is going to place a hot coal on your
lips today, and I bet you are glad of that.
But you do get to hear this messenger from this pulpit talking about
another sacrifice for sin. Your Savior
Jesus gave up his life for you at the cross.
He shed his blood so that your sins are covered over. He forgives us for the ways in which we are
not very humble or reverent, for the times when we are slow to do God's will,
for the times we close our mouths when we should be delivering the message
about Jesus. Because of Jesus, our guilt
is taken away and our sin atoned for.
And then, to assure you of your
forgiveness – and to deliver that forgiveness to you in a very personal way –
this messenger goes over to this altar, picks up some bread and wine which are
the very body and blood of our Sacrificed Savior, and touches them to your
lips, as you hear these words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of
all your sins.”
Isaiah was forgiven, and then he was
sent out for service. The angel touched
his lips with the hot coal and announced God's forgiveness. Then Isaiah heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And Isaiah was swift to respond, “Here I am! Send me.” And in a similar way, you and I are forgiven
and sent out for service wherever God places us, in our various stations in
life, whether it’s clergy or congregation member, parent or progeny, teacher or
student, employer or employee. Together
we can respond to God's love in Christ Jesus and say, “Here I am! Send me.”
INI
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