Isaiah 6: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty"

 

“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

These words from Isaiah 6 have been a permanent part the Eucharistic Liturgy in much of the God's Church since the 4^th Century AD.  They would seemingly pull us toward a posture of praise, but note that upon reciting this scripture, the Celebrant at the Lord's Table is bowing toward the ground.  This is because the context of these words is Isaiah being confronted with the awesome holiness of God, upon which he says, “Woe is me, I am lost.  I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Isaiah falls on his face in humility and awe before the Lord.  In the Eucharist, we too are awed by the presence of God in our midst, and we, like Isaiah, humbly bow before our God.

                         Fr. Rob