Other translations of the sermon:
(Sermon tex t: Isaiah 6: 1-13)
Isaiah's vision of the Lord
ı 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.
2 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.
3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and which filled with smoke the house.
5 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!"
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 And hey touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Isaiah's Commission from the Lord
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'whom shall I send, and who will go for cUS?' Then I said, ' here I am! " Send me."
9 And he said, "go, and say to this people: "keep on hearing, but do not understand;"keep on seeing but do not perceive.'
10 make the heart of this dull, people 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.
11 then I said: "How long, O Lord?" And he said: until icities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. "
13 and though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or on oak, whose stump remains when it is felled."
The holy seed is its stump.
Dear Congregation,
Car journeys with children can sometimes bring quite unexpected challenges. We were prepared for everything – had the right CDs packed and had not forgotten the favorite drinks - a three and a half hours drive, needed to be planned. But then it the surprise came: When the little girl had just fallen asleep and I was looking forward to a smooth and rapid progressive ride, our older son, nearly nine years old, suddenly said: "Why is God actually holy?"
My wife and I looked at each other. This early in the morning our minds had not yet focused on religious questions. I countered with a question: "What is as holy for you?"
A moment of silence followed, then the older one replied: "Well, various things. That we get along with each other quite well. That I can have peace for myself at times. Well, and things that are very important to me, are also sacred. I pay particular attention to these. But what has this got to do with God. Does He also sometimes wants to have peace for himself?"
In the mean time Isaiah had occurred to me and I told my son of the Prophet who had a strange dream perhaps 2700 years ago. In fact, he dreamt that he saw God, how one imagined a King to be. God sat on a lofty throne. Angels and other beings around Him. And how the messengers of a King they called out: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. The whole earth is filled with his glory." Isaiah, I explained, interpreted this dream for himself, that God is particularly important, especially meaningful, extremely great. And that He is more important than even the most powerful king. For Isaiah, this dream was so important that he changed his life. He became aware that there is a very different reality, which people themselves cannot create. And this changed his life to such an extent that he only wanted to serve God.
In this way I tried to explain in simple terms what our Bible text tries to describe. More for the adults one can also try to explain it in this way: In the year 736 B.C, the Prophet Isaiah actually saw God. And he heard the call of seraphim, in fact, he even spoke to God. This was so exceptional that he specifically indicated the year in which this happened to him: It was at that time, I still recall it specifically. The Lord sits giantlike on a very high throne, and the hem of his garment fills the whole temple. Seraphim, the dragon-like beings who serve him, fly with three pairs of wings, to and fro over the Lord. Their faces and feet are not visible because they are covered by wings: Before the holiness of God, one must cover one‘s face out of reverence and take off one‘s shoes. This is how it described in ancient accounts. The seraphim call out to each other: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. The whole earth is filled by his glory." This thrice holy, which we sing after the Seraphim at the Holy Communion - combined with the "blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord", was understood by Christians as referring to God's Holy Trinity. And this is why it is today‘s sermon text. Originally the three times Holy means an increase in intensity: God is so Holy like no one else. Isaiah experienced something unique: the actual taboo of the direct proximity and the sight of God. No mortal can endure it. Therefore he fears death: "'Woe is me! y For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips..."
But one of the Seraphim purifies him of all that which could bring death to him because of his proximity to God. Now Isaiah may speak to God and answer Him: "Here am I, send me!" He is so fascinated by this encounter, that God takes him into his service and he is prepared to do it.
But now back to the religious discussion in the car. "Therefore God is holy, because he is infinitely great. "But then he is quite far away from us" our son rejoins. "How do we even get to know something of Him at all?"
Again I tried to answer: If God is holy, he does not necessarily have to be far away. I believe that his Holiness means that we should not simply abuse him for our own purposes. He is always greater than what we can think of. But the angels in Isaiah's dream also call out: "The whole earth is full of his glory" - this means that this holy God is evident everywhere. He does not remain remain far off not sitting on his throne, but turns to the people. Not only is God holy, but also the life that comes from God. Every person has something of God's Holiness. Whatever may happen in one‘s life, with God it retains its own undestroyable value, regardless of all deeds, all services, all affiliations. And then I told our son what it was like at the time when he was born. That it was such a moment, where I felt something of the holiness of God, as I held him the first time in my arms. Infinitely grateful.
After a long period of silence my son said "Therefore, God is also infinitely small". "Yes," I replied "so small that he can reside in every heart." Again we were silent. And hence I realized that this holy God, great and infinitely small, right now was infinitely with us - in our speech, our thinking, and our silence.
Amen.