Sermon for Holy Trinity
A Thorough
Mouth Cleaning
Isaiah
6:1-7
Isaiah finds himself before God
and he exclaims, "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.@
You know, I feel for Isaiah.
To be before God in all His glory and majesty, I can see exactly why he would
say such a thing. I can imagine myself
in his shoes, I can envision how I might have responded, “Heavenly Father,
beloved Son, and Holy Spirit; in fits of rage, I have taken Your holy name in
vain. In attempts to be funny, I have soiled my lips with profanity and vulgarity.
With the mouth you have given me, I have belittled and made fun of others whom
you created and for whom Your beloved Son gave His life to redeem in pain and
suffering on the cross. Woe is me! I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.@
Lest you think this is a new phenomenon, James records that which the Spirit has inspired Him to write some 2000 years ago, saying. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Dearly beloved of God, this
is so very true. How often has it been
that you and I have been hurt, sometimes deeply, by the uncaring words flowing
through the mouths and past the lips of others? It hurts even worse when it is
from the lips of family members or from the mouths of close friends?
Oftentimes, words hurt even more than physical pain.
But lest we caught up in pointing
fingers at others, we must remember that as we do so, three fingers point back
at our own mouths. When was the last time you told a joke which you would not
have told in the presence of your mother or in front of the pastor? How often
has your mouth caused you to apologize for your “French”? What words or off
color jokes flowing past your lips would have had your parents threaten to wash
your mouth out with soap? Which of your friends have you hurt by your mouth
revealing a secret? Who has been emotionally scarred by the belittling words,
or the vile atrocities which flowed from your mouth? Which of your enemies has had their name and
reputation drawn through the mud, by what has passed through your lips?
Dare I even suggest it, has
the mouth by which you have received the precious body of Christ, also spewed
forth God=s name without thinking? Has your mouth, which has drunk deeply of
Christ’s precious blood, also had God=s name
passed from it in anger and vile cursing?
Indeed, our lips are often
engaged without thinking, and in so doing befouling our whole body with ungodly
speaking. All too often, our mouths are a restless evil, full of deadly
poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who
are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.
My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
God=s servant, the prophet Isaiah despaired of the same
sins, "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.@
It is in the midst of his
despair that an angelic messenger flies to the altar and removes a burning coal
with tongs, and brings it to Isaiah. He touches the coal to Isaiah=s mouth and says, "Behold, this has touched
your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.@
It is upon the altar that
sacrifice is made. God=s heavenly altar holds the most holy sacrifice ever
given, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The coal, drenched
in the blood of the Lamb, removes the guilt from Isaiah. Christ=s own sacrifice atoning for his sin, and granting him
righteousness.
Whenever we gather together
to celebrate the feast of the Lord, this text proclaims the truth of that feast.
When we gather together around the table of the Lord, we are gathered around
God=s throne. In all His glory, Christ reigns upon the
table that is He has set before us. With angels, and archangels, and all the
company of heaven, we join in the eternal song of praise singing; holy, holy,
holy, Lord God of Sabbaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Christ Table, our altar, was
prepared on Calvary when Christ bore the sins of our
lips. The cross was the brazier on which the sacrifice was made, the Lamb of
God, touched by the flames of hell, and our sins were consumed in the
conflagration.
God=s messenger, the pastor, takes the very flesh of the sacrifice and places it into our mouths. He pours from the cup into our lips, the very blood of the Lamb. He proclaims, take eat, the body of Christ – take drink, the blood of Christ – shed for you for the forgiveness of sin.
"Behold, this has
touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.@ Amen.
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