June 1, 2026

Today's Reading: Isaiah 6:1-7

Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 9:1-17; John 9:24-41

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

It can be easy to read Isaiah chapter six and gloss over just how intense the vision of Isaiah would have been. As the Lord called Isaiah to speak His Word, there is a lot going on. There are the Seraphim with their wings and their flying. There is the shaking of the thresholds at the voice of the One calling. There is the angel with the smoke and the coals. But what might have been the most intense was the realization of those words, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

We don’t think of holiness all that much in our day and place. For us, God is sort of a spiritual therapist. He’s there for when we might need something. He’s sort of in the background, just sort of letting the movie play out as it does. In short, He’s a buddy who’s there when we need Him, but otherwise He just sort of lets us be.

I don’t think that’s how Isaiah felt standing in the presence of the angels and the company of heaven. I don’t think that was the thought floating in his head when the angel brought the coal. In fact, I know it wasn’t. How? Because of Isaiah’s own words: “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!’” Isaiah wasn’t excited to see his buddy. He was nervous. Why? Because he knew of his sin. He knew of the sin of his people. He knew that this Lord of hosts, this Yahweh Sabaoth, was holy. He was not sin. He was perfection. He was the perfection that no imperfection can stand before. And so Isaiah was scared. He needed atonement.

But that’s what the angel brought to Isaiah. He brought it from the altar of the Lord Himself. This thrice holy God is good and perfect. But He is loving. This Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, He is holy and hates sin. But He is loving and desires people to have the cleansing from sin that they would become the objects of His love.

You, Christian, are the object of His love. He has sent Jesus to the cross to bear your unholiness. He has sent His Spirit into your heart through the Word, through the promise of Baptism, that you would know that you are His beloved. He has taken your unholiness and poured out His wrath against it on the cross, that He could give you His holiness that you could stand before Him in His heavenly temple forever. Thanks be to God.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna. Save us. Bless us with your holiness, that we would ever remain your beloved and holy children. Amen

Rev. Matthew Zickler, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Western Springs, IL.