The lessons for the fifth Sunday after Epiphany are taken from Isaiah 6:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:12-20; and Luke 5:1-11.
Isaiah knew he was in big trouble when he saw the Lord. Or should we say, because Isaiah saw the Lord seeing him. Peter had the same reaction after the great catch of fish. Isaiah said, “Woe am I because I am a man of unclean lips.” Peter said, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinner.” Isaiah, Peter, and Paul were acutely aware that our human nature is the same as stubborn Israelites who refused God’s Word with such determination that finally, they could not hear God’s Word, no matter how clearly or how often it was spoken to them.
Paul warns about the corruption in our human nature: always ready to co-opt God’s will and gifts for us, to ruin life by self-service instead of experiencing real life by serving others. Thus, Paul’s second warning that we should be infants when it comes to doing wrong but mature in understanding.
The Lord helped Isaiah and the fishermen come to understand that the will of God and His proper work is to save, not to destroy. There is our epiphany for today. Not only does the Word of the Lord cleanse us from sin, like the coal from the altar cleansing Isaiah’s lips, but the Word of the Lord regenerates our souls so that God’s will and work is now also ours—to extend His saving grace to others, which draws them into His kingdom of love (like a net gathers fish).