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 covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they hovered. 3 One cried out to the other: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! 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, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 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!” 9 And he replied: Go and say to this people: Listen carefully, but do not understand! Look intently, but do not perceive! 10 Make the heart of this people sluggish, dull their ears and close their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they turn and be healed.
“In the year King Uzziah died,” Isaiah begins, anchoring his vision in a moment of national upheaval (Is 6:1). Uzziah had been a strong and mostly faithful king, but near the end of his reign, he overstepped his bounds by entering the sanctuary to offer incense—something only priests were permitted to do. He was struck with leprosy and forced into isolation until his death (cf. 2 Chr 26:16–21). The death of Uzziah marked not just the end of an era but the beginning of growing instability in Judah. It is in this time of loss and uncertainty that Isaiah sees the Lord—not as a distant idea, but seated on a throne, high and exalted—His glory, the visible manifestation of His holiness and power, filling the temple.
What Isaiah sees is overwhelming. Above the Lord are seraphim—heavenly beings whose very name means “burning ones.” They cover their faces and feet in reverence and cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” (v. 3). The temple shakes. Smoke fills the space. This is no ordinary moment—it is an encounter with the living God, and Isaiah is overwhelmed by it.
“Woe is me,” he cries. “I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips” (v. 5). Isaiah’s first response to God’s holiness is not awe, but fear. He feels the full weight of his unworthiness—a reaction not unique to Isaiah, but one that any human would experience when standing in the presence of God's perfect holiness. In the Old Testament, to come face to face with God’s glory was thought to be deadly for sinful mortals. Isaiah stands not just before majesty, but judgment.
But then something unexpected happens. One of the seraphim flies toward him with a burning coal taken from the altar and touches it to his lips. “Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged,” the angel says (v. 7). Isaiah does not make himself worthy—he is made clean by God. The very place where Isaiah felt most unfit—his speech, his lips—is precisely where grace touches and transforms him.
Only after this purification does the voice of the Lord speak: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” (v. 8). And Isaiah, now made new, answers simply, “Here I am. Send me.” In both the Old and New Testaments, divine healing is never the end in itself—it is the beginning of mission. When God purifies, He also calls. Grace not only restores but commissions. But the mission he is given is not easy. God tells him to proclaim a message to people who will resist hearing it. “You shall indeed hear but not understand,” the Lord says, describing a people whose hearts have grown dull (vv. 9–10). This is not because God wants them to remain blind, but because He foresees their refusal to respond. When truth is resisted again and again, the heart hardens. And yet Isaiah must still speak.
This passage reveals the inner pattern of every true vocation—whether prophetic, priestly, or personal. First, there is the encounter with God’s holiness. Then, an awareness of sin and inadequacy. Then comes cleansing—not by our effort, but by divine mercy. Only then are we truly ready to say yes to the call.
Like Isaiah, we live in a world shaken by confusion and instability. But God still reveals Himself. He still purifies. He still sends people to speak His truth—even when hearts resist it. We may not all be prophets, but every Christian is called to witness. The words may not always be welcomed, but the message is still needed. And the grace to speak it comes not from ourselves, but from the God who purifies lips and hearts alike.
Lord, in a world full of noise and fear, help us to hear Your voice. When we feel unworthy or inadequate, remind us that it is Your grace that makes us ready. Purify our hearts, cleanse our lips, and give us the courage to say, “Here I am, send me.” May we bear witness to Your truth with humility, patience, and love—even when the world resists it. Amen!
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- Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
- The Navarre Bible: The Major Prophets, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§257–258, 2800–2802.
- St. Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 2, on the call to preach.
- Romans 10:14–15; Matthew 13:13–15; Revelation 4:8.
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