Thursday of the Second Week - Isaiah Homily
Isaiah 6:1-12
Often referred to as The Vision of Isaiah, this passage is a structural “stone” in the foundation of Orthodox Christian worship. So much of what we do during the Divine Liturgy and other services is a reflection of Isaiah’s vision.
I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple (Is. 6:1)
“The Lord” needs to be understood as “Yahweh.” When we are instructed by iconography that depicts the actions of Yahweh in the Old Testament, the image is that of the Incarnate Word, or, Logos of the Father. It is the image of the second person of the Holy Trinity whom we recognize to be Jesus the Christ that is the divine word and action of creation, the calling of Abraham, giving the Law to Moses, leading Israel through the wilderness, and so on.
In Orthodoxy, “the High Place” is the terminology most often used to name the place that is the farthest to the east of the temple, often the apse wall directly behind or to the east of the Altar in the Sanctuary of our temples. Depending on the design of the building, the iconography will usually be developed to accentuate the “high place” leading the worshiper to encounter the Lord enthroned, high and lifted up. This often reaches the pinnacle of the temple where a large image of Christ as Pantocrator, or, ruler over all. Since He alone is our great high priest, and any earthly representative of His priesthood needs to be a reflection of that high priesthood, the Bishop will occupy the high place in the Sanctuary when he is present there, and otherwise it is reserved.
Next, Isaiah describes the seraphim:
Above it [Yahweh’s throne] stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew (6:2).
And as they occupied this place near the throne of the Lord, they cried out to each other
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
(6:3)
And so, those who are gathered together for Orthodox worship quite often repeat these words in the petitions and hymns of prayer and Divine Liturgy.
In addition to the amplitude of this vocalization being enough to shake the posts of the doors of this temple or room, that place around the throne of the Lord Isaiah describes as being filled with smoke. We understand this to be the offering of incense as a perpetual accompaniment to the words and actions of Divine Liturgy. While the Old Testament testifies that the Lord grew tired of the various festivals, having to endure Israel’s iniquity and insincere sacrifices (the incense of which was an abomination [cf. Isaiah 1:11-15]), nevertheless, burning incense in His presence is what Isaiah witnesses. For it is not incense that is an abomination to God, but sin-filled and hypocritical worship. We Orthodox accompany our prayers with the offering of incense as well, often so much so that it fills the Sanctuary and spills into the Nave and Narthex, enveloping the gathering in a cloud that is seen, smelled, and associated as being among holiness.
Having witnessed all of this, Isaiah cries out in repentance for even being there. He knows that he is not worthy to be there, much less to have seen the Lord of Hosts. Not only does he repent for this, but he must surely think that he is not able to survive this experience. But, one of the seraphim removes a burning coal from the Altar with a pair of tongs, and comes and touches his lips with the burning coal and says,
Behold, this has touched your lips, your iniquity is taken away, your sin is purged (6:7).
Applying this to our Liturgy
Now, after the offering of bread and wine to the Lord in Divine Liturgy, after calling down the Holy Spirit to bless, to hallow, and to show it to be the Body and Blood of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and before Holy Communion is shared with the clergy and the faithful, this prayer is offered by the priest:
Attend, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, out of thy holy dwelling place, from the throne of the glory of thy kingdom, and come to sanctify us, O thou who sittest on high with the Father and art here invisibly present with us, and by thy mighty hand deign to impart to us thy most pure Body and precious Blood, and through us to all the people.
Having partaken of these Holy Things, the priest says:
Behold, this has touched my lips, it shall take away my iniquity, and cleanse me of all my sins.
Likewise, he says this to the Deacons who receive Communion at the Altar, and the faithful who receive Communion by spoon from the chalice taken to them from the high place.
Our Iconography
The image in the High Place at our church
At St. Cyprian of Carthage Orthodox Church in America, from the witness of Tradition and by the hand of Seraphim O’Keefe, this amalgamation of imagery and action is brought together on the apse wall and ceiling within the Sanctuary or Holy Altar. On the ceiling is the Throne of the Lord, and it is empty as a way to reflect that we have called the Lord to come and to sanctify us. Around the throne are “six-winged seraphim, borne aloft on their pinions” (from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom). Two of the host of angels, iconographically depicted as the archangels Gabriel and Michael, are in flight with what appear to be tongs directed toward the incarnate Lord, whose image above with His Mother has directly been linked to the chalice on the Altar that is depicted below. Like Isaiah of old, those who are gathered before the throne of the Lord of Hosts will be cleansed with the coal from the altar that is the precious Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
