Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Isaiah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 5:1-11

Pastor Gayle M. Pope

Revelation, Repentance, Reassurance, Response

In the three Scripture readings for this morning, we heard of three different “epiphanies” – three different stories where people were struck by the profound realization that they were in the presence of God.

First Isaiah, then Paul, then Peter. Each circumstance was different, and yet each brought a similar response.

Isaiah was in the temple in Jerusalem when God revealed himself in a glorious vision on a lofty throne attended by angels.

In the reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul makes reference to that day when the risen Christ appeared to him in a flash of light on the road to Damascus, when he heard the Lord’s voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

In the reading from Luke’s gospel, Simon Peter has been with Jesus in Peter’s own boat for some time when, suddenly, a miraculous catch of fish makes Peter aware that this Jesus is much more than just a rabbi who speaks with authority.

Three different settings – the temple, a road and a boat – but similar in that God chooses to reveal himself to men who, by their own admission, are clearly unworthy.

For that is the next similarity we notice in each story. In the presence of a holy God, the corruption of sinful humans becomes painfully obvious.

Isaiah says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

Paul says, “I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Simon Peter fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

In each case, revelation of the Lord’s glory leads to recognition of human sinfulness, which then leads to repentance, and then to reconciliation and reassurance.

Isaiah’s lips are touched with a hot coal by an angel who says "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out."

Paul, we know from the account in Acts 7, was blinded for three days then miraculously healed at the hands of a believer named Ananias. And now says, “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.”

To Simon Peter, Jesus says, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

And in that sentence, we see not only the reassurance, but that which always comes next – the call to mission.

Isaiah heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Paul talks about handing on what he in turn had received – the proclamation of the good news of salvation.

In each of these stories, the epiphany moments became turning points in the lives of those to whom God revealed himself.

Peter, James and John, “when they had brought their boats to shore, left everything and followed Jesus.”

Paul, who previously persecuted anyone who proclaimed the name of Jesus, immediately began to proclaim Jesus himself in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

And since then, he has not stopped proclaiming this message in which, he tells the Corinthians, “you also stand, through which you also are being saved.”

The message Paul proclaims is that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,” and that he appeared to many people.

It is by God’s grace, Paul says, “that so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.”

So – here’s the pattern:

Step 1: Epiphany – revelation of God’s holy presence.

Step 2: Recognition of human sin, unholiness, separation from God.

Step 3: Repentance – admission of unworthiness

Step 4: Reconciliation with God, and reassurance of God’s graceful acceptance

Step 5: A call to mission

Step 6: Acceptance of the call

Step 7: Transformation of life

Step 8: Proclamation of good news.

Now, we need to ask ourselves: “Where am I in this story? How has God revealed himself to me? Have I seen the Lord? How have I responded?

Not many of us – if any – has experienced miraculous revelations like Isaiah and Paul and Peter, though some of us could speak of times when God touched us in powerful, life-changing ways.

I can point to a transforming experience of God’s presence in my life 30 years ago this month at a Cursillo retreat – and another in 1991 when I received my call to ministry. But most of the time it’s not like that.

More often, it seems, the Holy Spirit tugs at our hearts in more subtle ways, prodding us along in our lives and our missions through fits and starts, ups and downs and what appear to be failures and successes, which might actually be just the opposite from God’s perspective.

You can see the same dynamic in the lives of Isaiah, Paul and Peter, too – they certainly had their days of monotony and frustration and apparent failure. But they kept at it – they remained faithful to their call, by the grace of God at work in them.

Perhaps that’s the message for us today. The stories of miraculous epiphanies and major life transformations are reminders and testimonies for us that God IS present among us and God CAN and DOES work in powerful, life-changing ways.

Let us always be open and ready to see God’s presence around us, to repent of the unholiness in our own lives, to hear God’s call to mission, to respond in obedience and faithfulness, and to proclaim what God has done for us in Christ.

And in the meantime, let us trust that God is at work in and through us and will give us whatever knowledge and understanding and revelation we need to carry out His purposes.

Let us keep at it. And may the Lord find us faithful and trustworthy in pursuing the mission he has given to us. Amen.