The Glory of God in Heaven.Sýnishorn

The Lord Removes Your Guilt.

Rev. Patrick Feldhus

Is there a more awkward moment than when you say a nasty word in front of your mother? The look on her face pierces right through you. This is only a small fraction of the doom and gloom we deserve because of our unclean lips.

Think about all the unclean words you have spoken throughout your life … those unclean things you said in front of your parents, siblings, enemies, and friends. But even this does not compare to the unclean things that have run through your head that never came out of your mouth. Is it a shock that the great Prophet Isaiah would scream in terror because he saw the Lord? Even he admitted that he was a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips and that he deserved to be ruined and doomed because of it. Once you speak an unclean word, you cannot take it back.

What manner of doom and gloom were waiting for Isaiah? Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:6-7)

The Lord of Armies chose to cleanse Isaiah’s unclean lips. The Lord of Armies forgave Isaiah without Isaiah doing a thing! This is how our Lord of Armies reacts; he cleanses and forgives. Unlike Isaiah, however, the Lord washes our unclean lips and takes away our guilt by connecting us to the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus. Every stain of sin and guilt have been removed from you and replaced with holiness from the altar of heaven itself! This is how the Lord of Armies sees you now.

Prayer: Dear Lord of Armies, thank you for cleansing us through the waters of baptism. Calm our hearts and give us joy in the forgiveness that Jesus brings to us from his altar in heaven! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.