+ Transfiguration of Our Lord – February
26th, 2017 +
Redeemer Lutheran, HB
Series A: Exodus 24:8-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Happy Transfiguration
Sunday. Probably not a common greeting you’re used to hearing. Merry Christmas.
Blessed Easter. Those are familiar. We know why those days are significant.
But what about Jesus’ transfiguration? Why is this event so
important?
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John
his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was
transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became
white as light.
Ever tried looking at the sun? (And I highly recommend that you
don’t). It was like that but the light was radiating from Jesus’s face. Think
about that the next time you hear the benediction: “the Lord make his face
shine upon you.”
The word is “metamorphasized”. Changed appearance. Transfigured.
For a moment, the covering of humility is pulled back. Christ’s glory concealed
is now revealed. The glory that once filled tabernacle and temple is now seen
in the man Jesus. This isn’t Mighty Morphin’ Power Jesus or Transformer Jesus –
though there is more than meets the eye. For the fullness of deity dwelt in him
bodily, as Paul says. Jesus the man
is there, but his divinity is revealed.
Epiphany is a season about
revealing, making known, and manifesting who Jesus really is.
That’s exactly what Jesus is doing on the mountain.
Jesus’ Transfiguration reveals who he is
and what he’s come to do.
Jesus’ transfiguration shines forth the glory of his divinity and
death for you.
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with
him.
You have to appreciate the
irony that the two men in the OT who wanted to see YHWH’s glory (and couldn’t
but were both hidden in a cave to protect them from it) now get to see it
radiating from the incarnate God-Man, Jesus. Now in Jesus, it’s safe to be in
the presence of God’s glory. Now in Jesus you can see the face of God and live
to tell about it.
.
It’s no coincidence that
Moses and Elijah are there. Mr. Torah and Mr. Prophesy, standing talking with
Jesus like old friends catching up. It’s a great sneak preview of the
resurrection. But more than that, the words these two prophets spoke is
fulfilled in Jesus. In many and various ways God spoke to his people of old by
the prophets. But now in these Last Days He has spoken to us by His Son.
But Peter quickly disturbs
the conversation: “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will
make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
Peter says what everyone else is thinking. We’ve all thought it
before. “Wow! What a sight. Wish I could’ve been there.”
Be honest. We want the mountain. The experience. We prefer the
glory to the cross. We prefer the power and the majesty of a Jesus who shines
with unearthly glory than a beaten and bloodied Jesus who hangs dead and
defeated. But here’s the rub: Only Jesus crucified saves you. Only Jesus
crucified bears your sin. If all that Jesus ever did was appear shining on a
mountain to three of His disciples, we’d still be dead in sin.
Thankfully,
Before Peter could build his shrines, a thick cloud covered the mountain. The
same cloud that covered Sinai and filled the tabernacle and temple. The pillar
of cloud that guided Israel. The Father’s voice came from the cloud:“This is
my Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.”
Epiphany ends as it began: with a voice from the heavens
resounding: the Lord’s presence in the cloud, and Jesus standing in our place.
We heard these words at Jesus’ baptism. Now as Epiphany gives way to Lent, we
hear these words again: “Hear Him.”
You don’t need to go to the mountain. We don’t need to go find the
glory of God. The mountain comes to you. God’s glory comes to you….in Jesus.
Christ draws near, comes to you personally in the water of your Baptism, in the
bread and wine of the Supper, in the spoken Word of forgiveness, wherever two
or three gathered in His name. The Scriptures, the Font, the Altar – here’s
your mountain. Here’s the place where Jesus meets you.
This is why Peter hangs all hope – not on the glorious vision -
but on God’s word:
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of
his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the
Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we
ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the
holy mountain. 19 And we have something more sure, the prophetic
word…
Christ’s Word is that “something more sure”. In our life as
stewards of God’s gifts at home and in this congregation, Christ’s word is our
great treasure. In our life of speaking the Gospel with others, Christ’s word
is a firm foundation. In our life of devotion and prayer, Christ’s word is our
life. In all our daily vocations, Christ’s word leads and guides us, and
reveals Jesus’ promises to us.
Jesus’ transfiguration reveals his glorious divinity and death for
you.
And that’s the key. Without the cross we don’t understand Jesus’
person and work. Without the cross we have no idea how to live as Jesus’
disciple either. Peter sure didn’t…at least not until after the resurrection.
Like Peter our fear is exposed. Fear is our denial of God’s
promises in the first commandment, that he will be our God and we need no
other. And people do strange things when they’re afraid. The disciples fell on
their faces.
But what about us? When our relationships are strained, finances
are tight, futures are uncertain…do we fear, love and trust in God above all
things or do we panic, turn inward on ourselves and lean on someone or
something else? It’s no different at church either. When giving goes down, when
we don’t see as many visitors or new members coming as we hoped, when our
friends constantly reject our invitations to church, do we fear, love, and
trust in Christ’s word and sacraments to do what he says they will or do we
panic, turn inward, and lean on other spiritual means of hope and comfort? The
same light of Jesus’ transfiguration that revealed Peter’s foolishness also
exposes the foolhardiness of our sin.
But look at how Jesus answers his disciples. “Arise. Get up.
Stop fearing.” That’s death and resurrection language.
Arise. Stop fearing. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they
saw no one but Jesus only.
The glory was gone. The cloud was gone. Moses and Elijah were
gone. The splendor, the mountain-top moment…the divine revelation all of - gone.
But not Jesus.
Moses and Elijah can’t save us. Jesu’s word opens heaven for you.
Jesus’s word forgives your sin. Jesus’ word feeds and nourishes you along with
his body and blood. Jesus’ word will raise you from the dead.
Arise. Do not fear. Jesus speak those same words after his resurrection, to the women
as they leave the empty tomb of Jesus in grief and confusion. Arise. Have no
fear.
That’s why Jesus charges his disciples, “Tell no one the vision
until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” Jesus’ transfiguration only makes sense after His death and
resurrection.
Jesus’ Transfiguration reveals his divinity and his death…but also
his resurrection.
We’ll see
shining, glorious Jesus one day. He will come again in glory to raise us from
the dead and give us eternal life. We’ll see Moses and Elijah and all the
saints. And we won’t need any tents to preserve the moment, because the moment
will be an eternity. And what a sight that will be.
But for
now, the mountain of transfiguration gives way to the mountain of crucifixion. Alleluias
give way to ashes. Shining Jesus gives way to crucified Jesus. Transfiguration
Sunday gives way to Ash Wednesday. And in all this the Father is pleased with
his Son, and through His Son Jesus, he is well pleased with you.
A blessed
Transfiguration Sunday to each of you…
In the
Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment