Isaiah 6:4-7 (NIV)

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. ”

Reflection:

What a vision! The seraphim were speaking and declaring with such strength that the doorposts and thresholds shook. The sight and sound of the seraphim worshiping and praising the holy Lord was so powerful that Isaiah suddenly sees his utter unworthiness. He is a prophet but his lips are unclean: “Woe to me! I am ruined!” What is to be done? A seraph burns away the guilt and sin from the mouth of Isaiah, and Isaiah is no longer to speak mere worldly things. Isaiah was cleansed so that he could shift to speaking God’s word.

Responding to the Transmission:

How can we possibly speak of things that are holy and true? We are men and women of unclean lips, and we live among a people of unclean lips. But may we see the Lord, may we see ourselves, and may we confess this. May the Lord take us from speaking mere worldly things to now speaking His words.