Pentecost 4 [Mark 4:35-41]

This sermon was preached at St John's Lutheran Church, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (11 am).

Intro: Verbal question marks are neat. English has question words, but you can ask a question without them ("It's my turn." vs "It's my turn?"). The apostles here ask Jesus a question: “Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?” But after his death and resurrection, they and we “tell out the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness and into his marvellous light”, which is not a question, but a statement. For,

Jesus does what no one can do, so the only way the Church can say that for sure is by faith in him.

Transition: How can we say for sure that Jesus calmed a storm immediately, completely, and simply by saying “Be quiet!” (basically)? No one does that. It doesn't happen. But it did. So the only way we can say something so impossible happened is that these words come from a heart made sure by his words. And his words make sure of who he is, and what he has done. For,

Jesus does what no one can do. See, we call someone a great person if they can safely ride out the wind and waves. We call them pretty full of themselves if they think they are in control of the winds and waves. And someone stopping the wind and waves completely and in an instant? That doesn't happen. Except it did. If no one can do such a thing, who can? Here's how Psalm 107 describes those in danger on the sea: “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. ²⁹ He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. ” And what about today's Gospel reading: were there people crying to Jesus, did Jesus still the storm and calm the waves? Did this cause his disciples to say, “Who is this?” That's because he is God – true God and true man.

And everything else in Mark's Gospel (in the whole Bible too) only confirms this. He heals with a touch or a word. He casts out demons. In the next chapter he casts out the demons from a man who could not be bound and lived in the tombs – he does what no one else can do because that man Jesus is God. That demon-possessed man couldn't be bound, but Jesus released him. And Jesus in last week's Gospel told the parable that spoke of the strong man being bound, who is Satan. Jesus binds Satan because he does what no one else can do – in order to deliver you from your distress (of sin, death, and the devil).

And because Jesus is God who rules over all his creation, he takes it upon himself to deliver his creation which is fallen in sin. That's the promise given to Adam and Eve on the very day of the fall, that One born of woman would do the work needed to deliver all flesh. Christ makes this his own responsibility to make right what sinful humanity has made wrong, even as he has this charge from his Father. So don't go up to God in what you say and do telling him how you're such a good person. That won't clear you of any sin. For Jesus can do what no one else can do – your salvation, the forgiveness of your sins.

And remember that when it often doesn't seem like Jesus cares. For the fact that he does what no one else can do is actually proof of how much he cares. By virtue of his birth and his cross and by virtue of his gift of your Baptism, despite how it seems for you right now, Jesus cares and saves and relieves with a good conscience and the victory over all that would afflict you; and this victory is where he forgives by the sacraments. And these sacraments comfort and reassure you that he does care, because Baptism and the Lord's Supper aren't empty things because Jesus does what no one can do.

Transition: But here's what we can do: be timid and fearful and display great lack of faith. That's what we have the power to do. The disciples said to Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”. And after stilling the storm, Jesus says to the disciples “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”.

The only way the Church can assert what is true and real is by faith in Christ. When the disciples said, “Teacher, do you not care?”, they expected a positive answer. “Teacher, you care that we are perishing, don't you?” But they put it in the form of a question. But faith makes rock solid statements that are sure. Keep in mind that even the psalms writers who say, “How long, O Lord?” they're not asking a question of doubt. They direct their prayer to the Lord because they will proceed to make strong declarations: “The Lord has heard my plea”.

And so we don't bless doubt. We don't bless saying, “here's what we believe, but maybe we don't believe that” or “here's what we believe, but it's probably not important.” Asking questions is great – doing nothing more than asking questions, not so much. Eventually we realize the Apostles Creed has no question marks; the Lord's Prayer has no question marks; when we sing “O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world”, there are no question marks. [And keep this in mind when you hear talk of the Bible in the Church as 'being in coversation with the text in community', because that type of thinking never finally arrives at the strong conclusion of “We believe, teach, and confess”. But we do, and that's what we'll hear next week as we celebrate the Presenation of the Augsburg Confession.]

Transition: We believe all this knowing that, just like for the disciples, it's outside of our power to understand who Jesus is. But Jesus does what no one else can do. Indeed, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that -

Faith makes statements. Faith says, “Lord Jesus, you do care if we are perishing, and by your redemption we shall never perish. Amen.” And that's not a question. [Amen itself is a confident assertion, not in ourselves, our prayers or our faith, but in Christ and in his Word. To do this isn't to be full of ourselves but in fact to be humble before Christ. And to be humble before Christ makes us humble before the neighbor. We say “Lord have mercy” to the Lord, and turn to our neighbor believing what we've just said. saying “I stand here only because the Lord has had mercy on me. That makes me your servant, good neighbor.”]

But, keep in mind, the Lord doesn't send away the disciples with their questions, he keeps them where the answers are: where Christ is and speaks. (In the same way, we don't bless doubt, but bless the Lord who gives the Scriptures. And we point to the Scriptures, where they are read and preached and taught. God is able to make it so that the Scriptures are understood. He's in the business of doing things that are impossible, like calming wind and wave. He's in the business of joining water to his Word to work the forgiveness of sins. He's in the business of joining bread and wine to his Word so that what is put in your mouth is the body and blood of our risen Savior – that this gift is “for you, for the forgiveness of sins”. There we may doubt ourselves, but not Christ's words; for Christ gives sure words: “for you”.)

But the heart that doesn't fear, love, and trust in God above all things may indeed use questions but in reality: What unbelief knows is the opposite of what faith knows on the basis of Scripture (Faith confesses with the psalm writer: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” [Psalm 86:15]. But unbelief says there is no God and if there was he would be unmerciful] . Unbelief says the Holy Scripture can't be the Word of God in all its parts. And guess what lurks in our hearts. Unbelief is always lurking in our hearts [why do I complain? Why do I not praise? I am just like those disciples.].

But for the Christian unbelief is always fighting against faith. So faith looks to something stronger than our hearts, and that is Christ and all of his words [Why am I content? [use Paul's answer – Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”; or the author of Hebrews' answer – Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Heb 13:5 ESV)”] Why do I praise? [Isaiah 25:1 “O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”; and because Jesus is the sacrifice for your sin, the author to the Hebrews writes in 13:15 “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ”] ].

Conclusion: There is only one reason why Jesus could still the storm: he is God. And that's the very reason why the disciples didn't need to ask him if he cared – if he didn't care, he wouldn't have been born that he may die on the cross for your sin. So you can go to him with doubts, but the work of the Holy Spirit is to give the confession of faith: not “I believe in one God?” but “I believe in one God . . .”. Amen. 

Pentecost 3 [Mark 4:26-34]

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Lutheran Church, Karoonda (11 am).

Intro: When it's winter, it's time to be near the heater. And we call it the heater because that's what it does, whether it's the dual cycle or the wood stove or what have you. And we know that being by the heater is a good place to be, at least to avoid being cold. Even as we know that, and as we know that seeds come up automatically and that mustard seeds grow mustard plants, it's still up to the Holy Spirit to bring us Christ's words that in his Kingdom, the Word does what it's meant to do, and that his kingdom is a safe haven for sinners. Indeed,

The reign and rule of God is as certain as planting and harvesting and as reliable a place to dwell as branches for birds.

The reign and rule of God is as certain as planting and harvesting. Do you want a harvest? How do you get one? You plant seed, and then, after a while, you harvest when the grains say it's time. This is basically it. That's how you get a harvest, if you want a harvest. (Jesus doesn't mention all the troubles that can affect a harvest.)

Now Jesus tells the first parable so that you may ask, “What does God want?”. The first parable goes, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. ²⁸ The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”. And earlier in Mark chapter 4, Jesus told the parable of the Sower, and he later explained to the disciples that the Seed is the Word of God, and the soil is human hearts. So what God wants, his Word will bring about. He wants the sinner to live, to believe in him above all things. His Word brings this about. It does what it's meant to do, just like seeds do what they're meant to do; just like rain does what it's meant to do. The Word of God does what it's meant to do. When he wants a harvest of the forgiveness of sins, he sows his Word which brings it.

Isaiah 55:10-11 says the same thing: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”. Here the Word of God is like the rain. It does what it's supposed to do. That's why we're saying now, “if we get three nights of rain, that will help the fields.” The rain will do what it's supposed to do. This helps us to not be prideful and think that we have added anything to our salvation because of how good we are. How did God bring about the harvest of my faith, that I believe in him? He sent his Word and what sprung up was the forgiveness of all my sins for the sake of Christ alone, who died for me.

And so Jesus speaks about what his own words would bring about. But what did Jesus' words bring about? They got him killed – he said he was the Son of God. He said “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up”. He spoke the truth, but it got him killed. Jesus has the Word and he is the Word. So what do Jesus' words still bring about? Jesus' words both brought about his death for you and deliver how his death is truly able to exchange your sins for his holiness and purity. His Word does what it was meant to do, which is bring the light of salvation to you.

Transition: And we can have complete and total confidence in Christ's salvation because

Jesus is the Sower of the Word, which brings a harvest without needing our human might. This is good news because we would spread something different than the Word and would see no value when God does spread it. Left to our own fallen hearts we would spread a false word of “Just try your best, but remember, whatever you say is right is okay.” That's not a harvest to gather in because it's fruit is secure sinners, not repentant sinners. But when Christ's Word preaches true repentance, it makes us uncomfortable, because who wants to be wrong?

And the Sower is also the One in charge of the harvest. And when does Jesus gather in his harvest in complete fulfillment? Judgment Day. Yet when the harvest comes, you can be confident in Christ and his Word, that he will gather you in. That's what Jesus does with his rule and reign: the forgiveness of sins leads to life everlasting. Judgment day is a comfort. He gathers in the ripe grains. Jesus doesn't mention any troubles with the harvest, for he promises to keep his kingdom secure even in the midst of trouble. For,

And all of this is without human might. We rely on and trust in God's action. Just the same way no farmer would say, “Ok, when is the wheat coming?” only to hear “You didn't plant any”, in the same way no congregation can say, “Okay, let's be God's people.” only to hear from the Lord “Not without God's Word preached to your ears.” There are no hearers of the Word, which is how the Small Catechism names church members, there are no hearers of the Word without the Word. And there is no word unless God sends the Word. And the same way a farmer spreads seed, the Lord spreads his Kingdom – and his Kingdom is taught and preached.

Transition: Now the second parable has a few differences, even though we're still talking about seeds. Here the mustard seed is the kingdom of God – it is seen as small and therefore not of much importance. But it's a haven for the nations.

Jesus said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” The reign and rule of God is as reliable a place to dwell as branches for birds.

But you can have confidence that Jesus says, “when it is sown, it grows up”. This happens. It grows. Now, it doesn't grow in a way that the sinful world can measure rightly, that we can see its glory with our eyes, and it's not so great as to ignore the small, and as we kneel at the altar we say, “yes, that's me. Lord, have mercy.” But, as a mustard plant grows and its branches provide a dwelling place for the birds, the reign and rule of God grows and provides a haven for the nations, that we dwell where Christ forgives sins, where the Word does its work. What Christ has said is reliable.

We can have confidence in the reign and rule of God, though the Church looks small and poor. For where did Jesus grow up? Nazareth. Who were his apostles? Fishermen and such. It's never been any different for those who believe in Christ.

And today? Still the same (Christ's Church is actively looked at as very insignificant. His Word is looked at as very insignificant. The general opinion is basically 'what the Bible says is so much less important than what the culture says is important'.) (Sadly, look inside the church too: nice thoughts and little ways to improve my life are preferred and offered over and instead of Christ bringing you from death to life by the preaching of his cross, and Baptism in his name, and eating the risen body of our Lord who has won the victory over death).

It's a very good thing that the Church is in fact a refuge for poor sinners, because if it were left to our fallen hearts we would take refuge under the branches of that which is not the Kingdom of God and would call God's Kingdom a small and unimportant thing.

But the truth remains – mustard seeds do grow into large plants, and God's reign and rule is the place where we dwell, but we dwell here according to sins forgiven. We dwell here ready for Judgment Day. We dwell here listening to God's Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. We dwell here speaking and living according to God's Word by the wisdom which the Holy Spirit gives.

The kingdom is a harbor and haven because we are able to hear God's Word, as the people also heard Jesus' parables, because of God's work – only because he gives hearts to hear it. For the Holy Spirit brings wisdom to understand the Word and to delight in God's means of grace. So, confident that the Lord has planted and continues to plant his Word, we can look for the harvest of faith and hope and love. Confident that the reign and rule of God is a refuge for us , a refuge in the shape of Christ's cross, we rejoice that the kingdom of God is where his Word is preached and taught, and believed.

Conclusion: Even this cold winter, Christ's words are reliable. These two parables are a wonderful gift. Christ our Lord loves to strengthen you to believe that his Word does its work just as sowing leads to harvesting. He loves to strengthen you that a strong refuge for all sinners is to be found where his Word and forgiveness are given out, found where his cross is your glory. Amen.  

Pentecost 2 [Mark 3:20-35]

This sermon was preached at St John's Lutheran Church, Karoonda (9 am) and Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (11 am).

Intro: It's such a wonderful thing when a child grows up and repeats their parent's wisdom back to them: “You always say, 'family comes first; unless there's a work thing.'” “I have said that.” Jesus turns a lot of things on their head. He does this because his work is to bring to you things of lasting importance, and to bring you to what is of the highest importance. Because of this, you can firmly trust that

Through faith in Christ you are brought into a lasting family.

Transition: And what does this family say? Well, it doesn't say that Jesus is out of his mind. And it doesn't say that Jesus is in league with the devil or that he has an unclean spirit. In fact,

There is only one confession of Christ that the Holy Spirit works: Lord. (Now this one confession can be as short as “Jesus is Lord”, or as long as the very longest confessions of faith that are a correct teaching of all that Holy Scripture says. But, at the end of the day,) - the scribes didn't have it. “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." ” At first, we're a bit surprised by the name Beelzebul, but think of how many other titles the devil receives in the Bible – Satan, our adversary, the evil one, not to mention what we sing in A Mighty Fortress – the old evil foe. So this is just another of those. The second part of their attack has to do with his casting out of demons. As you read Mark, you see how the demons know who Jesus is. But that's not because Jesus is an agent of the devil, which is the charge of the scribes.

So Jesus calls them to him and deals with both of their attacks. First he deals with the issue of his casting out demons. First he gives some general knowledge – a nation embroiled in civil war can't stand. Everyone agrees on that. Then he gives an example – a household that is divided, will it stand? No. So Jesus says, “Given that and turning to the case in question – my supposed alliance with Satan – if in this particular case Satan has arisen in my ministry against himself and has divided himself and his forces, then he is of no effect and is finished. But that assessment is not true, since Satan is still active and is still a powerful force, a force that I am dealing with”. Basically - “you are totally wrong about what I am doing”.

That's why he then talks about the binding of the strong man. It's a simple comparison: Satan is the strong man, but Jesus is the stronger man. And the goods that Jesus carries off from the devil – are those same believers that he later says are his family. The goods are the Church, and he carries you off by completing his work of defeating the devil at the cross, where he shed his blood for your sins.

The scribes don't have the confession that says Jesus is Lord. They have the opposite confession. But then Jesus says, “"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-- ”. But we don't have to be confused by this. Mark explains: “for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit." ”. That's the difference between the scribes and Jesus' family. His family also didn't have the confession that Jesus is Lord. But they would. Jesus' family says he is out of his mind, but would later believe in him. They call what he is doing bad. And this is much like what Jesus says of the soldiers who nailed him to the cross, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” But the scribes, in saying that Jesus is an agent of the devil, are not only saying Jesus is bad but the devil is good. So they are speaking a blasphemy against what the Holy Spirit does – against faith. They are praising unbelief. So they are speaking something worthy of outrage about both Jesus and the Holy Spirit – they condemn faith and the forgiveness of sins and everything. To condemn these things is to be cut off from them. But that's what the Holy Spirit takes away in bringing the right realization of sin and the right comfort of Christ's cross which takes that sin and gives Christ's holiness.

Jesus talks about no less than plundering the devil, and the forgiveness of sins. What Jesus says to the scribes has to do with things that last. His words have this in common with today's Epistle, where we hear, “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”. It's important that the Scripture says these things, for we worship things that don't last all the time. When we say, “yes the Bible says that's wrong, but that was written so long ago, and I don't feel it's wrong for me” - that's worshipping the culture, which will pass away. In fact, all the surrounding culture can do is worship things that also pass away. But Paul says it so clearly in today's Epistle. And he can say that because Christ's gifts don't pass away. Forgiveness of sins doesn't decay; Baptism doesn't expire; and the Lord's Supper doesn't run dry. And Paul preaches that Jesus brings you to what is of lasting importance and of greatest importance: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” He brings you to heaven, and he says “we have a building from God”, for our Lord doesn't just bring you but he brings the Church.

And the ultimate issues are two-sided: just as important as God's relationship to you is, it's just as important that he breaks the claim the devil has on you because of your sin. He breaks this claim because the blood of Christ shed on the cross breaks his claim on you. Therefore the Holy Spirit brings about the trust that relies upon the Father above all things for the sake of Jesus the Son. And the Holy Spirit brings about the daily fight against sin and the devil, and all the devil's lies. Because, as we saw in today's Gospel, all the devil's lies are really one lie, and this lie always attacks Jesus' salvation for you. And that's why, with great humility, we identify and fight error in the Church. And we have a clear word for that: earlier here in Mark 3, Jesus sends the 12 to proclaim the kingdom and also cast out demons. And so the Church proclaims faith in Jesus and defends against all evil.

Yes, the only confession of Jesus which the Holy Spirit produces is: Lord. No confession at all is not something the Spirit works. No confession about Jesus is itself a confession against Jesus. But Jesus' mother and brothers had a confession: they tried to seize him, saying “he is out of his mind”. But it's not like he can say that his followers who are gathered around him are family because they have similar interests, because they get along so well. It's more than that. And so Jesus' family stand outside and call to Jesus. But Jesus' followers are inside with him. See that comparison of outside and inside?

Jesus with his family outside and his followers inside doesn't demonstrate how the Church is to be excluding, but he demonstrates the only way that the Church is inclusive. First, note that outrage over being inclusive or not comes from the culture. Second, don't be offended at what Jesus does when it's something you yourself would do. If someone wanted to join your chapter of the Lions club but said the club should change it's activities to include arson, you'd say no. It's the same thing for those who have no place for the forgiveness of sins for the sake of Christ alone in the Church (which isn't a club btw). For only the work of the Holy Spirit includes you into the Church, no matter your surname.

Because the thing was, it is up to Jesus to declare who his family is. In many cultures people say, “family comes first”, and “blood is thicker than water”. But Jesus points everything to what he has done for you on the cross and the Spirit that brings about this faith by which he declares you to be his family.

The Church is only made through the words and works of God. So we can confidently point to his Word which hits our ears, to Baptism and to the Lord's Supper and say – here are the words and works of God. If they are here, then his Church is here. Take heart, for the Lord has given you something better than a mere hobby, and joined you to something better than a mere club; Christ creates a family who by the Holy Spirit confess his works and words. And his works and words are what we believe in by the power of the Spirit.

And so he says, “"Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." ” And he doesn't say that to make our salvation depend on our works. Doing the will of God is what his believers do; this isn't something you accidentally do. You don't just blunder into it. It's the result of the new birth of faith. [Room for an illustration: it's not like going to the shop and getting yourself a Coke but you get home and your spouse says, “Oh, you got that Coke for me that I asked you to get”. “Why, yes”.] You do it because you have the heart to do it, and this you only have not by being under unclean spirits but by being under the Holy Spirit, even as Jesus bears the Spirit and sends the Spirit.

Conclusion: When Jesus brings you something of lasting importance, he brings you into a heavenly family. That family has one confession: that Jesus is Lord. The Holy Spirit brings about that confession, and the devil fights against it. But that family does the will of the Lord, living by the forgiveness of sins that is yours by the work of Christ's cross. Amen.  

Holy Trinity [Isaiah 6:1-8]

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran Church, Tailem Bend (9 am).

 Intro: There's two things we don't do (or shouldn't) on Trinity Sunday. One is we don't mention the Trinity for the only time all year. Two is we don't treat the Holy Trinity as a concept or body of information that we just pop open our heads, shove the information in, and close them up. This Sunday, as well as every Sunday, the Word goes out that the Holy Trinity brings you the forgiveness of sins in the only way you can get this forgiveness. So this year, with Isaiah we say,

Who takes away your uncleanness? The God whom angels and the Church confess as holy.

But as we hear today's Old Testament reading, the angels confess the nature of God as Three in One (triune), but the first thing that Isaiah confesses before God's face is something different. He says, “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!" ”. This is his confession that God's nature has only terror outside of the forgiveness of sins, for he is [thrice] holy.

For Isaiah couldn't get away from God's glory, as he saw God seated upon the throne, saw the heavenly temple. He couldn't get away from it because God's glory has no limit. This is seen in v 1, where Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ” It is seen in v 4 where we hear “the house was filled with smoke. ” These are God demonstrating his glory, as the angels call back and forth to each other “the whole earth is full of his glory!” Keeping this in mind, it's easy to see that Isaiah calls God “The Holy One of Israel” more times than all the other prophets. For holiness is God's hidden glory; glory is God's all present holiness.

And again, what is Isaiah's response to seeing the Lord? “Woe is me. 'Woe is me' because of my unclean lips. I am impure; I am not fit to be in the presence of God to see his glory. Because of my sin and guilt I'm as good as dead.”

This may not be such an issue for you, to see the heavenly throne room as Isaiah did. But we will all be in the presence of Christ who will judge the living and the dead. And no one has clean lips because Adam and Eve's lips touched what the Lord had told them not to eat. So Isaiah was terrified to approach God with his sins. In the same way, we should reject any attempt to approach God because of our good works or because of our self-invented worship, because to do that is not to receive the free forgiveness of sins but to reject it. We invent our own worship because it is a worship of God that has no need for the forgiveness of sins. But we approach the throne of glory through the blood of Christ, or not at all.

Because Isaiah didn't stand before God and say, “I'm a man of unclean lips. But leave it to me, and I will provide the way to purify myself.” God takes action, sending a seraph to take a glowing coal from the altar, which touches Isaiah's lips. God's Word points us back to this time and again every time we say in our hearts, “If I do “good” then God will be pleased with me. If I do “good”, then nothing bad will happen to me.” Even the angels used tongs to take the coal. When God forgives, it is something that only he can provide, not us, not even an angel from heaven. But the angel rejoiced to be the steward and servant of such a gift.

Or think of it like this. If you are invited to a big gala, if you spill a drink all over yourself, will you want to meet the host or the guest of honor right after? With that stain? How much more shame is there before God's face for even unclean lips!

This is because of God's holiness. The angels cry, “Holy”. But not just holy, but “holy, holy, holy”. This reading is chosen for Trinity Sunday for this reason. The beautiful Hebrew language which Isaiah wrote in uses repetition to show something that is best, without equal. If you wanted to say, “most very beautiful”, you would say “beautiful, beautiful” in Hebrew. But you only repeat it once. There is no other time in the Old Testament where a word repeats three times. But here it does - the one God is three times holy. The angels are speaking their special insight into the Triune nature of God. So of course, God says, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” He is displaying his Triune nature, which Christ will make plain before his Ascension.

Transition: So the forgiveness of sins makes all the difference when it comes to the glory of the Triune God. Notice Isaiah's words before and after the coal touching his lips [before: woe to me; after: here am I] – God hadn't changed, but Isaiah has received the forgiveness of sins.

Indeed, where there is forgiveness of sins, the Trinity is praised. Proper worship calls upon the name which alone saves. This name is given you in your Baptism – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Or just think of it this way. The holiness of God has no limit, but the holy God locates his forgiveness to make you holy. This is worthy of praise. So if you were at a party and spilled a drink on yourself, if someone applied one of those stain stick/instant stain removers to you, you would be very thankful and could stand with no shame before anybody. So if God applies the forgiveness of sins that Jesus accomplished on the cross to you, you would thank and praise him. And you would thank and praise him by calling upon his name in faith, happily speaking “I believe in God the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit.”

[“The doctrine of the Trinity is proclaimed constantly in Invocation, Absolution, Gloria Patri, Kyrie, Gloria in Excelsis, Collects, Creeds, General Prayer, Proper Preface, Sanctus, and Benediction.” We worship like Trinitarians because we are.  And this is a two way street - if we stopped worshipping like Trinitarians eventually we'd stop believing like Trinitarians.]

You can't talk about your salvation without talking about which God gives it (that is, only the God who is revealed in Christ the Savior – the Son begotten of the Father whose Spirit makes the Gospel stick in our hearts. That's the only God that can forgive you your sins). This only points out how much there is to celebrate on Trinity Sunday . . . and every Sunday. For,

Only the God who is proclaimed to be “holy, holy, holy” can order the burning coal to touch Isaiah's lips. This seems strange, but it was exactly Isaiah's lips that led him to say “Woe is me”, and we have the words which the angel spoke to interpret this action: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And there are two wonderful points about this burning coal. Okay, three. The first is that what is on the altar is holy, set apart for God's saving use. So Isaiah receives holiness from the Lord; it's not from Isaiah, not from his works, but from God. Second, what is charcoal made out of anyway? It's made from wood. How interesting that wood touches Isaiah's lips and brings forgiveness. We know one particular piece of wood by which Christ the Son offered the sacrifice that brings you the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And third, the coal is not plain wood, but it is a burning/glowing coal – it is united with fire. In the same way, we know of something that touches our lips and is put on our tongues that is not just plain but is united with something wonderful for God's saving purpose: The bread of holy communion is not plain bread because it is bread united with the living body of Christ because it is united to Christ's own words: This is my body. And as this coal brought forgiveness to Isaiah, the Sacrament brings forgiveness to sinners.

Looking at the above, we can say that Isaiah, writing over 700 years beforehand, saw Christ's glory. We can also say this because the Bible says this in just those words: In the verses after today's reading, the Lord speaks to Isaiah that his office of prophet won't be fun. But these verses are mentioned in John chapter 12, “Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, ³⁸ so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ^{. . .} Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.” And in Acts 28, Paul says, in so many words, that the Holy Spirit speaks these words of God in Isaiah 6 to people, “And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:” So the Holy Spirit speaks the glory of Jesus, whom Isaiah saw, and this is the glory that Jesus and the Holy Spirit share equally with the Father, ever one God, world without end. Amen.  So this is a high day of praise. For behold, heaven meets earth where there is the sacrifice for sins given out. The Trinity meets sinners where the sacrifice is given out.  Amen.  

Conclusion: Amen because

Who takes away your uncleanness? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit whom angels and the Church confess as holy, holy, holy. Amen.