This sermon was preached at Glenwood and Canoe Ridge Lutheran Churches, Decorah, Iowa on February 10, 2019. It’s based on Isaiah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; and Luke 5:1-11. If you’d prefer to listen to it, find it at https://soundcloud.com/stacey-nalean-carlson.
Isaiah 6:1-8
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Luke 5:1-11
1Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Have you ever been in a situation where you were powerfully aware of God’s presence? Something suddenly made sense? You were overwhelmed by beauty? You felt, deep in your bones, truly loved? You felt connected, part of something vast and mysterious? You saw God’s abundance, God’s provision in your life? You felt heard, healed, whole? You saw God in another’s eyes, in a loved one’s last breath, in a baby’s first cry?
How do we respond to such encounters with God?
Our readings for today might lead us to believe that the only appropriate response to God’s glory is awareness of our own sin.
Isaiah’s response to seeing the Lord? Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!
Peter’s response to the miraculous catch of fish? Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!
And then there’s Paul, who describes himself as the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because [he] persecuted the church of God.
Before we consider whether or not this is truly the only appropriate response to God, let’s look at what happens after these declarations.
Isaiah’s confession calls forth forgiveness: one of the seraphs touches his mouth with a live coal and says, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. And having experienced that forgiveness, Isaiah is able to respond to God’s call: Here am I; send me!
Peter’s protest is met not with a declaration of forgiveness, but a command and a promise: Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.
And Paul acknowledges that it is the grace of God at work in him that has enabled him to respond to God’s call with such fervor. By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.
For all three of these men, an awareness of their sinfulness paves the way for their response to God’s call. But is this the only appropriate response to God’s glory?
Immediately after this scene at the lake shore, Luke tells the story of Jesus healing a man covered with leprosy. The leper doesn’t focus on his sinfulness when Jesus comes near. He is in need of healing, and out of that need he confesses his faith: Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.
Later in Luke, Jesus encounters a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years. When Jesus called to her and healed her, she immediately stood up straight and began praising God.
Mary, when visited by the angel Gabriel, doesn’t tell him to get away because she’s sinful. She wonders about her calling to be the mother of Jesus, but she doesn’t consider sin to be an obstacle.
The Samaritan woman at the well, after her encounter with Jesus, is in such a hurry to share her experience with others—to become an evangelist—that she leaves her water jar behind. And many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of her testimony.
There is no one right way to respond to the powerful presence of God in our lives. There is no one model for how we are to be transformed by an encounter with Jesus. The only certainty is that we will be changed.
Maybe, in the presence of God, we will indeed be overwhelmed by our sinfulness. And laying our brokenness at the feet of our Savior, we will experience true and transformative forgiveness, freedom, release.
Maybe, in the presence of God, we will be bold to beg for healing of body, mind, and spirit. And when we are raised up—in whatever form that takes—we will be unable to keep quiet about God’s goodness.
Maybe we’ll experience God’s creative glory in worship, or in nature, or in a relationship with one of God’s beloved, and we’ll respond with creativity of our own—singing, baking, building, sewing.
Maybe, in response to God’s calling, we will doubt how God could possibly use us and what we have to offer. But in the end, the Spirit will give us all we need to say Here am I, the servant of the Lord.
Maybe our testimony—our witness to what God has done in our lives—will change the lives of others. We will be so eager to share the good news of Jesus that we will leave behind water jars, and fishing nets, and all that stands in our way.
Or maybe we’ll walk away from an encounter with Jesus eager to recommit ourselves to the life we’ve been given—filled with gratitude for the water jars and the fishing nets and all the responsibilities with which we’ve been entrusted–aware that every last bit of it is a gift from God.
Maybe God’s call to us will be to share the good news of God’s abundant grace right where we are.
The whole earth is full of God’s glory.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.