• "It is Necessary to see Jesus as He Is"
• Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity
• July 11, 2004
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

A common theme of the Bible stories in which people see God is that their vision of God leads to humility and repentance. To see God as he is leads us to see ourselves as we are by contrast.

This explains Peter's reaction to the miraculous catch of fish in the gospel (Luke 5:1-11). Taken merely at face value, the miracle might have led Peter to say, "Hey, Jesus, do you think we could meet here again tomorrow morning?" However, as the fruitless night became an abundantly fruitful morning by the command of Jesus, Peter perceived the presence of the very Word who brought forth the creation in the beginning. He "fell down at Jesus' knees saying, 'Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord'."

Peter's reaction calls to mind Isaiah 6. Isaiah had a vision of God in the temple. He saw the Lord sitting on a throne. He saw the seraphim crying "Holy, Holy, Holy." He saw smoke (yes, heaven is high church). He saw the doorposts shake at the sound of the heavenly voice. And Isaiah said, "Woe is me for I am undone! Because 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."

In the New Testament, Jesus appears to people, twice, in glorified form after his ascension into heaven. On the road to Damascus, Paul saw Jesus. The luminous glory of Christ's presence caused him to fall to the ground, trembling (Acts 9). Because of this encounter, Paul described himself as "not worthy to be called an apostle" (I Corinthians 15:9) and the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

In Chapter 1 of Revelation, John had a vision of the glorified Jesus. John writes, "His eyes [were] like a flame of fire" and "His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength" (1:14-16). Seeing this, John "fell at his feet as dead."

Now, Jesus does not reveal himself to people in this manner for the purpose of making people cower, like some exalted Wizard of Oz. When Jesus reveals himself to people, he lets people see him as he really is. Jesus is, indeed, glorious and almighty. He is the eternal Word of God.

When the Son of God became man, his eternal glory came to be veiled beneath the flesh of his humanity. His genuine humanity made him look like an ordinary man. In the miraculous catch, Peter saw through the veil.

It is necessary for us to see Jesus as he is-to see his eternal power, glory and holiness-so that we might see ourselves as we really are by contrast. By nature, we are filled with the sin of pride, which we inherit from our first parents. Pride makes us think that we are the center of the universe. Pride makes us blind to our own sins, even as it gives us the eagle eye to see the sins of others. Most of all, pride afflicts us with spiritual blindness so that we cannot see God. God made the world. God made us. God is reflected in every glory of the creation. Pride causes us not to see this.

When we are given the grace to see Jesus in all his glory, the bubble of our pride is burst; our pretense to importance is destroyed; all the things by which we would commend ourselves are revealed, in the light of the divine presence, to be but filthy rags (cf. Isaiah 64:6). We are given the gift of humility. We are brought to repentance.

Paradoxically, just as the divine presence fills us with a sense of fear, Jesus says, "Fear not!" Jesus does not reveal himself to us in order to destroy us. He reveals himself to us in order to restore the relationship that was lost by sin. Pride severs that relationship. Humility and repentance restore us to communion with God.

After Isaiah made his confession, God sent one of the seraphim with a hot coal from the altar. He touched Isaiah's mouth with it and said, "Behold this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven" (Isaiah 6:7). Then God commissioned Isaiah to be a prophet.

The liturgy captures all these themes. As we lift our hearts to heaven, we see the glory of the thrice- holy God. We see, by contrast, that we are not worthy even to gather up the crumbs from under God's table. And we experience grace. The sacred gifts that come to us from the altar cleanse us and prepare us for new and fruitful life in the service of God.

We remember that Peter needed another miraculous catch of fish, another vision of Jesus and another experience of grace to renew his vocation (John 21:1-19). Thus, we continue to gather around the altar "until his coming again."