Isaiah 6:1-8
Introduction
If you have watched the late night talk-show Jimmy Kimmel Live! you are probably familiar with the segment “Celebrity Mean Tweets” where on occasion celebrities read aloud mean and harsh tweets posted about themselves. This has become a hilarious and favorite segment where the statements read are brutally mean! But when read by their targets actually become laughable.
For instance, this segment once featured Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe reading a tweet that said, “Daniel Radcliffe is God’s most unattractive creation since the aardvark.”
Another had pop singer Justin Bieber reading, “Dear God give us 2Pac back and we’ll give you Justin Bieber.”
CNN anchor Anderson Copper was on and read, “I’m not being mean but why does Anderson Cooper remind me of dinosaurs?”
And then there was celebrity icon Don Rickles who read, “Don Rickles looks like Yoda.”
Now I realize these tweets probably don’t seem “brutally mean” but understand I was extremely limited with the examples I could share from the pulpit on a Sunday morning—especially when it came to the mean tweets directed at women. So if you want to check out “Celebrity Mean Tweets” on your own, just know that unless you are watching these segments as research for a sermon, they are not safe for work because the things people tweet really are brutally mean—as well as vulgar, violent, racist, sexist, and downright hateful.
But admittedly, I appreciate this Kimmel segment because by bringing these comments into a broader public forum, and read by the person they are directed at, it reduces the power the comments have and turns the person who made the comment into the punchline.
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I bring all of this today, in consideration of our text from Isaiah, because I want us to think today about…words. As a preacher thinking about words is a huge part of the job because a lot of time words are my medium. Which is paradoxical because a lot of times a preacher needs to just be silent. (And now some of you are thinking, “Really? Then why isn’t this preacher ever silent at this time on Sunday morning?”)
Words are powerful. The old saying “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is a fallacy. Words do hurt. Sometimes even more than being beaten down by sticks and stones. And because words can, and do, hurt, we must be constantly mindful that our words—what we say and even how we say them— matter.
And because our words matter, we need to be asking ourselves, “If the words of my mouth matter so much, then what does God want me to say? And how does God want me to say it?”
Move 1
In our text for today Isaiah is seeing what few have seen, which is God seated on a throne and Angels and the glory of God are all around. Isaiah sees the unimaginable wonder and beauty of this heavenly sight and instead of saying any number of things a person might say…something even as simple as “Wow!” Or, “I can’t believe I’m seeing this!” Instead Isaiah says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Isaiah isn’t thinking he is the luckiest or most blessed person in the world because he’s in the presence of the divine. Instead he’s thinking, “Holy… I’m in the presence of the divine, but I’ve got unclean lips. I’ve used my mouth to say things I should not have said. I’ve used my mouth in ways that did not honor God.” This is the very first thing Isaiah thinks—“I’m not worthy of this because of the things I’ve said.”
Now I am all for self-awareness, but Isaiah has taken self-awareness to a whole other level. Which makes me wonder… If Isaiah is in the presence of the Divine—and all of its glory and majesty— but he’s thinking of all the he said that did not honor God…just what in the world did this guy say? And who did he say it about?! Right? I’m wondering… Would this guy have made it onto Jimmy Kimmel Live Celebrity Mean Tweets?
Maybe he said something like, “Hey Noah—two mosquitoes? Really?
“Know why Goliath was so surprised to be taken down by David? Because until then the thought had never entered his head.”
“Everybody loves Moses, but everyone forgets he broke all 10 Commandments at once!”
“Hey Jonah. How’s the weather in Nineveh? Still dark, gloomy, and smelling of rotting fish?”
“Hey David, maybe you should stop watching people takes baths and go back to tending sheep.”
But like all of us Isaiah knows he has used his mouth to say words he wishes he hadn’t said. And now he realizes he is a prophet—he’s called to speak the word of God; he’s called to be holy and pure and he realizes— he is to speak in such a way that he makes a difference—a positive difference in the lives of others. He is to help lead others have their own experience of the divine through his words. Which means words matter.
Move 3
We should never underestimate the power of what words can become. When crafted and ordered intentionally and carefully, words can carry a tremendous amount of weight and power. And you don’t even need a lot of words to make this happen. It takes a person just saying, “Four score and seven years ago…” for us to know these were impactful words of Abraham Lincoln, in a speech called The Gettysburg Address that was only 272 words long, and took just two minutes to give. And yet these relatively few words still resonate some 160 years later.
But just as words build up and inspire, they can tear down. We need only look to social media for examples—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok—take your pick, and see how a person doesn’t need even 272 words—with just 272 characters someone can inflict massive, and brutally mean statements that can tear a person down.
We’ve all heard stories about people who in 280 characters on Twitter, tweet a message they thought was funny or frivolous and then go to bed, only to wake up eight hours later and find out and they’ve been fired from their job and they’re the most reviled person on social media. And it’s all with just 280 characters, but if they would have just thought a little bit about their words, and asked themselves, “Do I really need to say this?” it might have saved them a lot of trouble and despair and pain.
There is so much divisiveness today and I don’t know about you but I have never one time read somebody’s political opinion on Facebook or Twitter and thought, “Wow. This post is so brilliant. It has completely reversed my whole thought process and belief.” That doesn’t happen. Which is why we have to think about what is the purpose of our words. Is it just to make ourselves feel better? Is it to make ourselves feel important? Are they to build us up while tearing someone down?
Or do they have meaning? What is the reason for these words? Do I feel called to speak these words or to write these words? What are they for? Are they there to uplift, to make people laugh, to make people smile, to make people think, or is it just a way for us to air whatever we happen to be thinking that day? And if so that’s ok, but is the purpose, the intent such that if we ever found ourselves in Isaiah’s shoes—standing in the presence of the Divine—would we be thinking of the majesty before us, or we would be thinking, “I am a person of unclean lips.”
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We live in a society where anybody can write a blog, anybody can put up a post, anyone can record a message from the front seat of their car and with the tap of a button put it out to the world. And because we can, we have to be intentional about letting the words we speak flow from our hearts—hearts we claim are filled with Gods love and God’s kindness and guide us to treat others as we want them to treat us. Our words matter.
Conclusion
As a person who is well aware of the power of words, please remember how I’ve said so many times… When I preach I am preaching to myself. And I think if I was ever in Isaiah’s shoes I’d probably think the same thing he thought—“I am a person of unclean lips.” (And that was as recently as last night while watching a certain baseball game. As justifiable as such was I’m not proud.) Which is why we should put ourselves in Isaiah’s shoes from time to time, and remind ourselves… words matter.
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I picked on David with my biblical mean tweet, so I want to conclude by making up for that.
Psalm 19:14, is a prayer that says “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight O Lord my rock and my redeemer.”
This is a prayer we can say each morning as a reminder to have our words be pleasing to God, to have our words be words of encouragement, kindness, constructive and positive direction—for when we speak our words—whatever words they are—we will indeed be speaking words that build up, inspire, are kind and loving— we will be speaking words of life.
And when we speak words of life we find out just how much words matter. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, October 16, 2022
Holy God may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing In your sight O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
Gracious God help us to have this be our prayer each morning–before we say any word to anyone, even ourselves–as a reminder we are called to share words that are pleasing to you, to have our words be words of encouragement, and positive direction. Help us share words of life.
Holy God may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing In your sight O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
We want our words to be the words you would have a speak. We want our words to be words that reflect the minds hearts and spirits of those who follow you, Who trust you, who have faith in you, who know about the power of your words that brought the universe into existence and how your word has changed our lives for the better.
Holy God may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing In your sight O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
We know the messages that flood the minds and hearts of people today–and rarely are they words of life. Which makes it vital for someone to make a difference by sharing words of life. Make us into those people each day. Make us into your prophets who speak your words of life.
Holy God may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing In your sight O Lord our rock and our redeemer.
Now O God, we ask for you to hear the prayers offered now, spoken with words deep within our hearts, in this time of Holy Silence.
Holy God may the words of our mouths, and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing In your sight O Lord our rock and our redeemer…offered here in this time, in the name of the Word who became flesh, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”