Devotional for the week of February 9, 2025

Too Small God?

Does the Lord’s presence make you uncomfortable? This question may seem odd: after all, don’t we call our worship spaces “sanctuaries”? Our readings today, however, feature people who, in their contact with God, are moved to express their unworthiness. A vision of divine glory overwhelms Isaiah with the holiness of “the Lord of hosts,” before whom he is “a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). After condescendingly agreeing to follow Jesus’ fishing directions, Simon discovers just how little he knows and cries out, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). Paul tells how he had rejected what God did in raising Jesus from the dead. All three faced revelations of God’s greatness that dwarfed their expectations. These surprises evoked responses quite foreign to our culture of self-affirmation: a consciousness of their own unworthiness before such a glorious God.

While we probably don’t want people diving under their pews during worship, a God before whom we feel fully composed and confident is not the “holy, holy, holy . . . Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3) seen by Isaiah. Do we settle for a tame God, one who happens to approve of everything we do and disapprove of whatever we don’t like?

As these stories continue, they show us that a full vision of God’s holiness need not leave us shaking in terror. God’s true glory is mercy. A heavenly being cleanses Isaiah’s lips, and he is sent to Israel as God’s messenger. Undeserving Paul becomes an apostle. Jesus tells Simon, “Do not be afraid,” and he receives a vital role in the Savior’s mission (Luke 5:10).

The gospel reveals that God’s holiness does not destroy sinners but, rather, consumes sin through forgiveness. Before we could ever deserve it, the waters of baptism wash us with grace. God’s greatness becomes small for us in the Christ child, in the simple words of absolution, and in a taste of bread and wine. Forgiven and healed, we—blessed despite our unworthiness—are now sent to share the good news.