Reflection on Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6 does not begin with Isaiah deciding to serve God.

It begins with Isaiah being taken into heaven.

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”

This is throne room language. In the Old Testament, to see the throne of God is to be admitted into the heavenly court. The Fathers read this as a true vision of heaven, not a metaphor.

What Isaiah sees next confirms this.

Seraphim stand before God. They veil themselves. They cry out antiphonally,

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

This is not random poetry. This is liturgical worship. The Trisagion hymn that the Orthodox Church still sings today comes directly from this vision. Heaven is worshiping, and Isaiah is allowed to witness it. Then the temple shakes. Smoke fills the space. These are classic signs of divine presence, the same signs seen at Sinai and later echoed in the Church’s liturgical imagery. Isaiah is standing where heaven and earth overlap. Only after witnessing the heavenly liturgy does Isaiah become aware of himself.

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.”

This is exactly the Orthodox pattern. Encounter with God leads to humility and repentance, not self-confidence. Then comes the most important liturgical act.

A seraph takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips. The Fathers are unanimous here. This is not symbolic encouragement. It is purification coming from the altar of God. Many Fathers explicitly connect this to the Eucharist, the fiery coal that cleanses and gives life.

Only after purification does Isaiah hear God speak, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

Notice something important.

The question is spoken within the heavenly council. God is addressing His court. Isaiah is no longer merely observing. He is now participating.

And only then does Isaiah respond,

“Here am I. Send me.”

In Orthodox understanding, this verse means that mission flows from worship. Obedience flows out of purification. Sending flows out of communion with God.

Isaiah is not sent instead of going to Liturgy. He is sent from the Liturgy.

This is why the Church reads this passage as a template for the spiritual life. We enter the heavenly worship through the Church. We are purified. We are illumined. And then we are sent back into the world. This is the Dismissal blessing of the Holy Qurbana.

Not because worship is over. Rather, heaven has touched earth, and now the faithful are sent.

So “Here am I, send me” is not a motivational quote. It is the response of someone who has stood in the heavenly liturgy, having been cleansed by God, belonging to Him completely. On earth as it is in heaven.