THE RECOVERY OF HOLINESS

Isaiah 6: 1-8; Luke 5: 1-9

Today I pose the sermon title as a question: do you believe we need a recovery of holiness in churches across the nation and in our lives? And what do you think is meant by “holiness?” Today’s texts will remind us of what Theologian Rudolph Otto called “The Idea of the Holy.”

Let me illustrate: back on January 5, 1987 in the journal called the “Presbyterian Outlook,” there was an article called “Holy Ingenuity.” It said “Holy Ingenuity” is the piece of an old broom handle that holds the window open of the church social hall; or the piece of a wood chip that holds a sanctuary door open when a repair to the opener costs too much. The article went on to describe a specific problem in a specific church: “When a small crack developed in the stained glass window, daylight could be seen right through St. Peter’s left foot! An expert came and examined the window thoroughly. His conclusion: the whole lower quarter section of the window would need to be replaced, and this is a direct quote from what he wrote, ‘all the way up to Peter’s knees and part of John’s gluteus maximus.’ After receiving the cost estimate the preacher promptly said, ‘Forget it!’ The next day the crack was fixed. The writer goes on to say: ‘You can’t really tell that there was ever a crack there, and you have to get your nose up real close to Peter’s foot before you can smell the faint scent of bubble gum. It not only saved the church a lot of money, but it also saved John’s gluteus maximus.’” Holy ingenuity does hold the church together- both in faith and work.

Today our texts indicate to us that when prophets and disciples were being called for a holy event- for Isaiah it was God’s call to prophesy, for Peter it was Jesus’ call to faith and belief- they both joined the preacher who had the bid from the stained glass window repair man. “Forget, it!” they exclaimed, one to God, one to Jesus. “Forget it!” They were afraid of the holiness of God. Now, what’s your is your idea of holiness? For some it is a reverent church service, with people dressed in church clothes, a communion table set properly, the institution of the Sacrament carried out reverently, and music that is neither bombastic nor boring. Holy may include lighted candles and a lighted stained-glass window that has not yet developed cracks. Holy may be quiet prayers or reverent entrances into the sanctuary. But for other Christians, holy is the ecstatic utterance of speaking in tongues- “It’s a Holy Ghost Party!” they cry out to others. For them it is singing about an Awesome God over and over in a mind-numbing but heart-enhancing way. For them it is raised hands and swaying bodies. Holiness for still others is that which is blessed by priests: an altar, confession, marriage, a sanctuary- fragrant from the application of incense. But according to the Bible, our own descriptions of holiness are like that pastor’s creative fixing of his church stained glass window with gum; all highlight humanness more than holiness when compared with Scriptural descriptions. Listen to how holiness is described in Scripture: it is threatening, searching, cleansing, judging, and totally other-worldly when compared to our mortalness.

Either in a vision or a dream, (where most of our frightening times play out), Isaiah says he saw the Lord, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Kings used to wear massive trains at royal events. Can you imagine the Lord God, the Holy One who is blazingly pure, entering the scene like a King with an unimaginable train? Why God would be the three-in-one dream teams of dream teams! Above the Lord were seraphim, the fiercest of angels, not the sweetest: and they have great power and the majesty of flight. Out of those fearful creatures come the words that the earth needed to hear: “Holy, holy, holy, (three times for emphasis) is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Is the earth really full of God glory now? Was it full of glory back then? No; not in Isaiah’s day; not in our day. This is a dream of perfection; fearful perfection brought on by holiness. The theophany (appearance of God) was an earthquake and smoke poured through the house. Isaiah the great prophet was terrified of the holiness of God; how would you feel? With perhaps knocking knees like the film depiction of the Cowardly Lion before the “Wizard of Oz,” Isaiah said haltingly: “Woe is me! For I am lost; I made a wrong turn somewhere! I’m an unclean man: I’m not supposed to be in your presence Lord!” One burning coal pressed to his lips later, and Isaiah had endured and been forever marked by his terrifying brush with holiness. That’s Biblical holiness. There is another scene like it in Revelation chapter 4 when John did not just see an Emerald City, he had a vision of a Heavenly Court with countless jewels and dazzling gold. It was an awesome place, and not in the overused sense of “awesome.”

But there was another picture of holiness described today. Did you catch it? Jesus sees two boats coming ashore after a rather fruitless night of fishing. He gets in one, the one that Simon Peter was in, and asks him to push off so he can teach the crowd without them crowding him as much. As the crowd gazed on from shore, they had an object lesson: “Cast your nets!” Jesus requested of Simon. The tired fisherman and his crew, bedraggled and tired, must have looked at Jesus like he was a fool. But something in the eyes of our Lord, or the tone of his voice, or perhaps the way he stood, made them not question him further. “We’ve caught nothing all night (pause), but because you ask it, we’ll do it one more time.” And immediately they were in the presence of a holy event, as God chose to intervene, revealing a holy sign at just the perfect time. A chill must have gone up their back, as if caused by a brisk wind or a frightening moment, like when an animal sees a predator. They were amazed and, at the same time, terrified. The one they called Lord had just brought heaven to earth for one brief moment. Their nets were nearly tearing this time from so many fish, and I picture the color draining from Simon Peter’s face. “Go away, Lord, for I am a sinner!” Isn’t there a part of each of us that joins Peter and Isaiah, in wanting to turn away from holiness like that? Yet holy is what God calls us to be: not like God, but always trying to put sin behind us, praying for the clean heart, since, unlike animals or flowers, we are uniquely able to choose God and to come into the holy presence with song, or with prayer, with praise, or even with complaint. As we come to Holy Communion, remember that our Holy God is present as we partake of this holy food; how awesome is this place when we feel God’s presence. Remember also that our Holy Jesus, who could perform miracles for others, still humbled himself and took the cross for us. God has revealed glimpses of holiness sometime to soothe us, but at other times it is to challenge us and call us.

So you wish churches would take time to be holy a little more often? Be careful what you wish for. The shudder up your back may indeed be the brush of angel’s wings who whispers to you: “There’s holiness is in the air.”

Jeffrey A. Sumner February 4, 2007