5th Sunday - First Reading - Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8 – And I heard God ask, who will I send?

1. Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for
educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

2. 1 In the year King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord
seated on a high and
lofty throne, with the
train of his garment
filling the temple.
2 Seraphim were stationed
above; each of them had
six wings: with two they
veiled their faces, with
two they veiled their
feet, and with two they
hovered aloft.
3 “Holy, holy, holy is the
LORD of hosts!” they cried
one to the other. “All the
earth is filled with his
glory!”
4 At the sound of that cry, the
frame of the door shook and
the house was filled with
smoke.
5 Then I said, “Woe is me, I
am doomed! For I am a man
of unclean lips, living among
a people of unclean lips; yet
my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of hosts!”

3. 6 Then one of the seraphim
flew to me, holding an
ember which he had
taken with tongs from
the altar.
7 He touched my mouth
with it. “See,” he said,
“now that this has
touched your lips, your
wickedness is removed,
your sin purged.”
8 Then I heard the voice of
the Lord saying, “Whom
shall I send? Who will go
for us?” “Here I am,” I
said; “send me!”

4. King Uzziah died about 740
B.C. of leprosy.
The story of Uzziah is a story
of pride and arrogance much
like the story of King Saul.
Uzziah became king when his
father was murdered.
He had many victories over
Israel’s enemies but he
became prideful and
arrogant which eventually
led to his destruction.
The Priests were the only ones
authorized to burn incents to
the Lord at the temple altar.
Uzziah’s pride got ahead of his
brain and instead of
listening to the warning of
the High Priest he
arrogantly to force his way
to the altar and burn the
incents.
The Lord then afflicted him
with the leprosy which
would eventually cause his
death (2 Chronicles 26:16-
22).
The outlook for Isaiah and his
country was depressing.
His beloved king had died, his
nation was in danger, and he
could do very little about it.

5. Isaiah knew that God was
still on his throne and still
reigned as the supreme
ruler of the universe.
From heaven’s point of
view, “the whole earth”
was “full of His glory”
(Isa. 6:3; see Num. 14:21-
22; Ps. 72:18-19).
When your world seems to
crumble before you, it is
good to look at things
from a heavenly point of
view.
Verse 2 is the only reference
found in scripture to the
seraphim.
The Hebrew word seraphim
means “fiery ones,” and
seems to tell about their
burning love for God.
They are shown as “standing”
above the King as he sits
on his throne, and they are
ready to minister or do his
will.

6. This is why they repeat,
“Holy, holy, holy”
before the throne of
God.
Their appearance mirrors
that of human form,
except for wings.
Some think the seraphim
mentioned here are the
“living creatures”
described in Revelation
4:6-9.
At this point Isaiah has a
vision and is called to his
vocation as a prophet of
the Lord.
Israel was in desperate need
of a servant to lead the
people to the Lord.
Isaiah humbly admits his
sinful ways (v. 5), he is
forgiven (v.6) but doesn’t
understand why the Lord
has chosen him to be a
prophet, a mouthpiece, for
the Lord.

7. Recognizing the grace and
merciful blessing of
having his sins forgiven
he now offers to serve
the Lord.
We should never
underestimate what God
can do with a willing
servant.
All the ministers both
clerical and lay have all
answered God’s call to
serve his people.
Don’t forget the service of
God begins in the home
with your family and
spreads to the world.
Will you accept God’s call to
be his witness in your life’s
vocation?